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Posted

Hi all,
Thought I'd share that I have my first gig coming up next Sunday - big deal for me at age 51 and been playing for a little over a year. I've been asked to stand in occasionally for a local 50s/60s rock n roll and country band, some easyish12 bar blues stuff I guess, but a few more tricky numbers as well. A set list of 30 odd numbers so a steep learning curve.

Playing in a smallish venue, audience of 40. I think I'm ready as I'll ever be, excited and bricking it in equal measure! Any advice welcome... :)

Posted

Don't forget your bass!

I was so nervous about my first gig that I had got everything set up, went to plug my bass in and realised I had left it at home (luckily only about 5 miles away). Aside from that - be a team player and enjoy it. Remember that a mistake is history as soon as it has happened.

Posted

I felt sick for 2 days before my first gig. It wasn't worth the anxiety. I had a great time, the first of thousands.

Check everything the night before and take extra batteries.

Remember. . . . musicians hear all the bad notes, but audiences hear all the good notes.

Have fun and enjoy yourself.

Posted (edited)

For tricky parts I write out the chords on my set list to help me get through if I haven't managed to learn completely. I also tell the guitarist for certain parts of certain songs I need to see his chord shapes so I can follow. We have over fifty songs and it's very difficult to remember them all but we all help each other out.
If doing either or both those helps settle you then just go out and enjoy! Audiences can be very very forgiving. I played the right positions but on the wrong string in my first gig and on our biggest song, nobody noticed. I was upset with myself and didn't enjoy all the backslapping until the guitarist and drummer snapped me out of it.

Edited by uk_lefty
Posted

Make sure you check all your gear before both setting off, both that it works, and that you have everything you need. Aim to be early. Don`t drink to calm your nerves. If you make a mistake in a song try not to dwell on it and just move on to the next song - with the rest of the band of course.

Posted

It's a hell of a rush, I started 11 months ago at 44 years old and have done a few gigs now, got a big one (for us) this Friday. You can get away with a few mistakes and no one will notice, just play through. The first song will ideally be one you are comfortable with and then it will all flow from there. Before you know it it will be over and you will want to play the set again. Have fun.

Posted

My first gig was 56 years ago and I still remember the nerves, the thrill, the fun-especially the fun.
And it is still fun because every gig is different and each one is still sort of a "first gig" until the music starts and the band kicks in and the whole world is the music-go for it and have a ball!If it's not fun make it fun or find another band.

Posted

[quote name='clunkie66' timestamp='1505737427' post='3373858']
Hi all,
Thought I'd share that I have my first gig coming up next Sunday - big deal for me at age 51 and been playing for a little over a year. I've been asked to stand in occasionally for a local 50s/60s rock n roll and country band, some easyish12 bar blues stuff I guess, but a few more tricky numbers as well. A set list of 30 odd numbers so a steep learning curve.

Playing in a smallish venue, audience of 40. I think I'm ready as I'll ever be, excited and bricking it in equal measure! Any advice welcome... :)
[/quote]

Have fun, above all. You will make the odd mistake but if you accept that and learn from it it is a good start. Do let us know how it goes please.

Posted (edited)

Firstly accept that will make mistakes
If you make one just stop playing you until you get an idea where to come back in

Second just concentrate on having fun

Also aware that other people will make mistakes as well

Edited by Geek99
Posted (edited)

[quote name='Staggering on' timestamp='1505748973' post='3373993']
My first gig was 56 years ago and I still remember the nerves, the thrill, the fun-especially the fun.
And it is still fun because every gig is different and each one is still sort of a "first gig" until the music starts and the band kicks in and the whole world is the music-go for it and have a ball!If it's not fun make it fun or find another band.
[/quote]

Wow, Staggering On, I thought I was the only one. Excellent!

My first gig was a talent show in 1965. I still feel the same excitement I felt at that gig in 1965 at my gigs currently in 2017.

Congrats to the OP Clunkie, having fun is what it's all about.

Guys, if your not having fun or you don't know how to make it fun, your time might be spent better elsewhere.

Blue

Edited by blue
Posted

[quote name='Geek99' timestamp='1505751143' post='3374026']
Firstly accept that will make mistakes
If you make one just stop playing you until you get an idea where to come back in

Second just concentrate on having fun

Also aware that other people will make mistakes as well
[/quote]

Well, I'd say yes, accept that you might make a mistake or two, but almost no one will notice unless you stop.

Most of all, enjoy it.

Posted (edited)

Yeah, when I started (not that long ago) it was hammered in to me by my teacher that if you get lost "go to the root note and sit on it if you have to, but don't stop or the arse will fall out of the band". And as above, enjoy it.

Edited by phil.c60
Posted

Remember everyone is coming to enjoy themselves, so you might as well too. You've rehearsed and earned your right to that bit of stage. It's such a great feeling to play live. Once you start you'll not want to stop. Good luck, and here's to your first of many.

Posted

1988, Shipdham Beeches Hotel, Norfolk. My major recollections are.
1. Oh gawd. I'm about to play live.
2. Cripes. I'm playing live..
3. Oh. It's over. I was just starting to enjoy that.

Then the singer from the headline band asked to borrow my trousers even though he was a good 6" taller than me. I probably learned more about playing in a band from that conversation than I had in the previous 30 minutes on stage.

Posted (edited)

[quote name='Nicko' timestamp='1505753472' post='3374041']


Well, I'd say yes, accept that you might make a mistake or two, but almost no one will notice unless you stop.

Most of all, enjoy it.
[/quote]
True but if you're half a bar out and you try and guess it'll sound worse than silence or a random slide

I'm the kind of person who thinks "doh!" But knows what to play in a bar or twos time and is right there when it comes by, so not playing for a moment works better than trying to cover it up in my experience so far

@clunkie you'd be amazed at what people /don't/ notice

Edited by Geek99
Posted

^^ play through. Don't stop. It you corpse a fill, just damp the notes at the right tempo. The impression of low end remains and provided it isn't like 4 bars of it, most people won't notice.

Posted

when you make your first mistake, and you will, we all do, DON'T look like a startled rabbit in the spotlight.

Play on as if nothing happened. Sometimes I even repeat the 'mistake' so people think it was on purpose, like "jazz" hehe

Posted (edited)

[quote name='radiophonic' timestamp='1505768754' post='3374228']
^^ play through. Don't stop. It you corpse a fill, just damp the notes at the right tempo. The impression of low end remains and provided it isn't like 4 bars of it, most people won't notice.
[/quote]

This ^^^^^^^x100 and don't panic. For tricky ones I practised starting from anywhere in the song so I could just drop back in if needed. I now find that with enough practice (and I do put a lot of time in before a gig) I can do that automatically 99.9% of time. Most mistakes are likely to be a missed fret or bum note so it won't affect position anyway, a quick glance down and all will be well.

I went to a gig with a very experienced mate just before my first one, we had the conversation about mistakes and he said no one would notice. He dropped in a couple of complete howlers and looked at me with a big grin, we were the only two people who noticed, the rest of the crowd were just bouncing away happily. That boosted my confidence a lot.

But don't concentrate on the negatives, enjoy the experience.

Edited by T-Bay
Posted

Thanks for all your input and great advice - I've practiced so much I'm playing 12 bar blues in my sleep! Fortunately I'm playing with an experienced guitarist who I know very well. My tutor told me 'just to hang around on the root' if I get lost. :D

I'll report back when it's done and dusted...

Posted

[quote name='rogerstodge' timestamp='1505757854' post='3374109']
If you're like me some of the song titles on the set list won't mean a thing to you so jot down what key the songs are in so you come in on the right note.. don't forget your ear plugs.
[/quote]

THIS.

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