Performance Anxiety

Whistle
1

I’m so annoyed with myself…

I play in session regularly…occasionally even do a duet or impromptu solo, I’ve a mike shoved in my face and not fallen apart, etc. I’m a fair, not great player.

But put me in a situation with two or three other players and I am a blithering idiot. Could someone explain this to me?

For example, I play alongside my instructor every other week, and in session he and I’ve been known to tear through a tune nicely. I play in front of Tyghre all the time. This weekend I was at my instructor’s place, and a musical friend of his was there, and Tyghre came along, and I brought my whistles…and I sucked like a giant whirlpool. Some tunes were played far more slowly than normal…and I still couldn’t cope. I didn’t even try for speed when they picked up the pace on somethings I knew well enough.

A few times I heard it as a really nice little tune between the three of us, then I’d lose track of whether it was first or second time through A…who is holding the tune together and who is improvising to the point that I shouldn’t listen there for guidance. Crap, now my hands are shaking. Oh listen, someone else goofed, its not just me so how can they make it sound like a variation…stop thinking about that and think about your playing. Geez, what must they think of ME. Can’t get the B part right to save my life…stop that and concentrate on what you’re playing

This is very different from the other livingroom session I get to, where we’re all fair-to-middling, we set out tunes in advance and practice them, and very little is spontaneous. It may have something to do with the fact that we’re all women in that group too and talk things through. But even there I’m shy and nervous and can’t seem to pull it together and play.

But this sitting-around-playing-tunes is absolutely where I want to be with my music…not the mega sessions, not the solo, not a concert situation. So I’m in a pickle trying to get past this.

2

There’s no magic bullet, nor are you exceptional in this, IMO.
Just do it, be kind to yourself and patient, and
sooner or later playing in this venue
will become routine. It’s alright being
nervous–others are typically too busy thinking
about themself to care. Best

3

I have the same exact problem.

I play pretty darn good all by my lonesome when I practice, but put me with others and sometimes I’m good, sometimes I suck outloud.

The problem, I think for me, is I’m either listening to what others are playing or I’m constantly bothered by stray thoughts unrelated to what I’m doing.

The best thing I’ve come up with is to hear the tune in my head as I’m playing it. Just kinda hear what others are doing to keep time, but otherwise play as though they aren’t even there.

Wish I could say it works everytime, but it doesn’t. I think I have adult ADD or something.

Actually, I’m surprised I keep going out and playing in front of others. One session is just other musicians, but another is in a pub with real live strangers. I give myself credit for trying.

I usually can’t get through a single tune without screwing up someplace, but I just keep trying.

People still applaud or they just ignore us. :slight_smile:

Oh well, I’m with you. I just wanna play with others.

BTW, Tyg, you haven’t made the trip to Pittsfield yet. Thursdays at 8:00 at the Shamrock in Dalton MA. You said you would…ya big fibber. :slight_smile: Come on, it’s just me and a guitar player almost every week. In fact, we’re so bad, we are going to appear on a local cable access program.

Imagine that.

So just block out all other thoughts, hear the song in your head as you’re playing and it might just help.

Good luck.

Mike

4

I had a similar problem recently,


I play weekly gigs in a band around my hometown. So I figured that I was past the performance anxiety thing. At one show, about a month ago, I noticed something odd about the audience. The entire Reve du Faun band was there (another local band playing the same circuit as mine), half of Ten Seconds of Harmony was there (another band), plus at least three other local musicians I’ve seen around. I almost froze onstage. I love looking around the bar while I play, to see what’s going on and who’s there, but I couldn’t do it that night. I was way too nervous playing while this huge group of “real” musicians watched me.

I don’t know if I will ever get used to a situation like that.


Seth

5

Just try giving lectures to groups of 70 for
15 years or so. Start off peeing in your pants,
end up…peeing in your pants. But you
do get better. Best

6

Unfortunately, the only way to get over performance anxiety is to continue to put yourself in situations where you feel uncomfortable - gradually, it stops being an issue. (Usually). When I was taking lessons, we’d always have to play together as a group, and then we’d do group competitions (this was at under 12 and 15 levels), so that was never a problem. And I could play solo just fine. But the first time I played alone with a bodhran player - I was terrified. Part of me was playing the tune. Part of me was listening to me play the tune, and thinking, “Wow, that sounded good!”, or, “Oops. That didn’t really work, did it. Oh well. Look like you meant it…”. And then another part of me was listening to what the bodhran player was doing - he’s an excellent player - and thinking “WOW! That really worked!” and “We sound good!”. And then every so often one part would take over, and the other parts’d fall in behind, mouths open and drooling slightly, and I’d have to yank myself - I mean all the disparate parts - back to some kind of equilibrium. It was a decidedly odd experience. Not helped by the fact that it was part of the University’s lunchtime concert series, with people who know about music in the audience. It worked out ok, but it’s the only time I’ve ever actually panicked about anything. (Not at the time, the night before. It was frightening though).

I’ll be playing with three other people from college in April, with 2 lecturers, at Wesleyan - we’ll see how that goes. Might be fine. Might not. I have no way of knowing - or of preparing! I don’t think we’re going to be getting together until the day, either - I’m sure we’ll have fun! :smiley:

Five short words of advice: Rescue Remedy is your friend. Oh, and don’t make faces if/when things don’t work out like you want. I’ve been told that I’m highly interesting to watch on stage because everything that goes through my mind is manifested on my face… :roll:

7

Same thing happens to me most times…

We have lot’s of great sessions here but I rarely go and play (I do go and listen), because something about being out there and playing with everyone makes me so nervous my fingers get twitchy and I can’t play worth a darn.

I’m fine at home and even with one or two people I know pretty well playing together, but stick me in a “real live session” and I’ll more than likely fall appart.

We used to have a slow/learning session every week and that was really enjoyable and I didn’t get nervous at all…I think because it was understood that we were there to learn and tunes were played at a slower pace.

I used to be very nervous about public speaking but after having to do quite a bit of it the last 7 or 8 years at work, it doesn’t bother me any more. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to carry over to my musical life.

-Brett

-Brett

8

You’re not by any chance working with Dora and Stan at Wesleyan are you?

9

You’re really better than just a fair player, Tyg :slight_smile:

I think a lot of this problem is too much input. In a session, there are a lot of people playing, and your brain tries to listen to and see everything, and this gets confusing. One thing that I have tried and helps is to simply close my eyes when playing (assuming you’re not reading from music). It at least cuts out the visual input.

Charlene and I play in public with our Baroque group and nervousness is not really a problem with our well rehearsed music. But at a largeish session, even tunes that I know well often get fouled up.

10

In my slowplayer group it’s known as the “hey, listen to this” syndrome. It never fails to rear its ugly head.

11

Yeah…inquiring minds want to know! (live about 20 minutes from Wesleyan Univ in Middletown CT)

12

Dora? Stan? No…

A couple of people from UCC are studying at UCC at the moment, and there are 2 more of us who’ll be in the US in April, when Mel Mercier will also be here, so we’re having a get-together (with a lecturer from Wheaton College in Mass.). I don’t know anyone else at Wesleyan, unfortunately…

13

I am sure virtually everyone can relate. I am fortunate in that playing the whistle is one of the most relaxing things that I do. Most of the time, I do well.

However, I can think of a recent incident where I felt like I fell on my face. I was performing at a small venue doing newly learned Christmas songs and making mistakes on every single tune. With ABC notation in front of me, at some point my mind goes blank and the ABC looks like ancient Greek. A sense of panic starts, but I keep playing, improvising as I go until my brain unfreezes and I can pick up on the music in front of me. I do think that I have an advantage in performing solo and usually original material. A duet following me, also made some mistakes. Each of them smiled and laughed it off (admittedly tough to do on the whistle).

Keep playing, keep smiling, realize that mistakes are average. There is no danger involved. It is the brain attaching danger that makes a mistake a big deal. Virtually every performer makes mistakes, even the most polished professional (though a “mistake” filled performance by a pro would be better than most of us can ever aspire to).

  • Bill
14

Yes, it’s much better not to be annoyed with oneself.
Also, the best antidote to stage fright is to
be very well prepared.

15

One of the other big things to remember too it that whether you ‘hear’ it or not, your brain hears it if someone else is slightly out of tune with the rest and that will mess with your mind if you let it. The hardest thing I had to get past was “listening but not really”. It’s the only way I know how to describe it. Even if I get up on stage with a local band or on stage at festivals or events like parades and such.

Basically I listen enough to keep with the beat of the tune, and to know where in the tune everyone is landing (whoever is leading will sometimes accidently skip around the A and B parts without noticing and everyone else just has to adjust and keep going) and aside from that I just tune everyone else out and listen to myself and concentrate on my own playing and enjoy it. That way it’s no big deal and I don’t even notice everything else enough to even be nervous.

If there’s a crowd or audience present, then you get used to it after a while and just grin while you play and sway with the music… kind of get them going along with you… it’s all of a sudden just a ton of fun! :smiley:

(Basically you just don’t worry about how you’re sounding.. you just know that YOU sound good, therefore it must be coming out just fine. Just play and have fun. When you’re done with the tune, you’ll all of a sudden realize how cool it was and be beggin’ for more!)

If you’d like I could post some of our local hoolie tunes (8-20 people at a time playing on any given night). There’s a few that come out nearly perfect and plenty that have several imperfections where somebody missed a beat or I messed up and had to come back in, but it still comes out really cool! And the people listening in are just plain amazed, snickering, dancing, tapping there toes, swinging their leg, or generally having a great time irregardless. Nothing but smiles, woo-hoos and clapping every time. (And they’re obivously aware they’re not at a concert, but they still can’t stand but enjoy the music)

Take care,
John

16

Thanks for the input, folks. On some level I know perfectly well that the only solution to this problem is to go head on through it, and at some point in my life I’ll be able to sit down with other players and play without being terrified.

I just don’t get why its THIS situation. Sure I do…its because its with people who can hear me seperate from the rest of the music, and people whose opinion I really care about, whose company I enjoy and music I’d like to be part of.

Okay Mike…time to give me that session info again…I’m up for a trip.

fluter_d…let’s clarify…are you talking about Wesleyan University here in the states? The one in Middletown, CT? There are a LOT of Wesleyan Universities, most of them religious institutions. I’d love to meet another Chiffer if you’re in my area.

17

So this thread is not about V1.@gRà, then?

18

same thing… just relax… :laughing:

19

I’m due to perform …musically… in two hours’ time, and feeling wonderfully relaxed - mainly because it’s just background noise for a reception, so the audience won’t be paying too much attention once they get a drink in their hand.

All joking apart, I find that performing gives that little adrenalin buzz that improves my playing, when there’s no audience I tend to be too self-indulgent. The biggest problem is when things are going well and my mind starts wandering, and suddenly I can’t remember how many times we’ve played the tune.

Edited to say that what I just wrote looks poisonously self-satisfied.

The real point is that I’ve always regarded the music as something that I do just for enjoyment, and if someone else hears and enjoys it too that’s a bonus. The sessions that I run here (insofar as they’re run at all) are both welcoming and relaxed. I built up very gradually from playing just among friends to playing in our own session in a pub where people might or might not be listening. The next stage was playing background music, and performances on stage are still only an occasional thing, but the gradual build-up took the angst out of the process (that being said, I’d hate to admit how old I was before I sat in on a real live session in Ireland, and how scared shitless I was in case I wouldn’t be able to play as fast as everyone else, or they’d ask me to lead a few sets and I’d run out of tunes).

20

Yes, that Wesleyan! I think I’ll only be in CT for a day though. And then I assume we’ll have to work out some sort of setlist :smiley:. I’ll let you know when I know exactly what I’ll be doing.

Good luck with the nervousness. It really does get better, I promise.

Deirdre