hi all in one month I have my guitar exam...I study in the national music school of mexico and I will have to play in a hall in front of lots of people......something that I have never done before in my hole life so Im really nervous!! does someone have any tips or advices against nerves?? thanks all peace
Well one thing I always do if I have to perform in front of a large crowd, is before you go on (a good 10 minutes or so) take deep breaths and think about what you'll be doing after this performance, then right before you go on stage, pant for a bit, use your stomach muscles and quickly inhale and exhale air. An old drama teacher of mine said panting on purpose helps to release your nerves. Good luck.
One thing : HAVE FUN! Just relax. You like playing? You're good? So why worry? But I know how you feel, the worst moment is when you`re about to enter on stage. But then you start playing and all the stress just goes away magically. If you`re having fun you can`t fail.
I agree with this. Doing lots of gigs can prepare yourself for playing infront of crowds. But I guess it's too late for that, hehe.
i'm really shy so i don't play often but the few times i did i always had a few to drink first. lol so maybe not the best advice but hey, it worked for me...
well now that i've played over 100 gigs and concerts, i'm not frightened anymore.... but when i first started performing 9 years ago, i used to just pretend i was back in my garage playing...... just close your eyes and pretend you are just practicing...... worked for me
Everyone gets a bit nervous before a gig at some time in their lives. Different folks handle it differently, and you kinda have to do what feels right for you. For me, I have a couple beers, but then Im not playing at a school. That might not go over so well, and as a performer one wants to play for the crowd they have! I also find it helps to have a few quiet minutes before going on to play. Taking ten mins of silence beforehand helps the focus. Avoid caffeine if you tend toward the shakes when nervous. Once onstage I try to pick someone out of the crowd to play to. A friendly face always makes it easier, and by putting in mind that Im only trying to play for this one person, the rest of the room kinda disappears. I often make a deliberate mistake early, so that I can get on with playing and not worry about when the first goof up will take place! Just something small that I can feel is easily tossed off, and makes me bear down a little more. Best of luck, and try not to worry about it!
Practice, practice, practice. The more confident you are that you know what you are doing, the easier it will be. I don't know what sort of stage it will be, but most usually there are an awful lot of lights and they tend to blind you so all you can actually is the first couple rows. Try focusing on an inanimate object instead of the people. Practice doing that while you are practicing. If I am not feeling real confident in the material or my ability to get it right I close my eyes so as not to be distracted by anything...
well I guess that right now Im gonna practice a lot and dont think about that day..... thanks all for your help peace
playing in a live setting in front of a bunch of people, playing your own tunes, and expressing yourself is completely different than a educational setting where you are being judged based on your technical ability. I have done both many times and playing in front of a judge, especially someone that will hand you your grade, is one of the hardest things you can do. The ONLY thing that will really steady your nerves is confidence. If you practice your ass off until you can't get it wrong, then you have the confidence to go out on that stage and perform at 100%. a couple of methods that helped me: practice your piece at half tempo. It is much harder to play really slow than really fast. Playing at an extremely slow tempo (use a metronome if you have one) will expose any little glitches or flaws that you breeze over when playing at a normal speed. These little flaws always seem to jump out at the most innoportune times and can sabotage a performance. This method is also extemely helpful with retaining memory becauses it forces you to think about what notes come next as opposed to motor memory, which will fail if nerves get the best of you. I always play really slow the entire day before the performance. when you get on stage, change the rate of time. Most of the time nerves get us subconsciously thinking that we are taking too long fussing about the level of the bench (I play piano) or whatever else and we forget to get comfortable! Take your time, sit on the stage and do whatever you need to do to feel comfortable on stage. Then sit there. Look at the audience and breathe deeply for at least three breaths before you start. Not only does that 3 to 5 seconds calm you down, it puts the audience in your hand. The silence builds tension and when they see someone calmly sitting on the stage just looking at them, it grabs them. I guarantee that (barring a calamity) your first few bars will be the most beautiful music they have ever heard. sip some hot green tea about 30 minutes before the performance. It has a very calming effect. If you sing, add some honey. let your hands rest. If you don't have it down by the day of the performance, cramming a couple hours of practice in beforehand will hinder rather than help. Just play enough to warm up, run through the song once slow and once at regular tempo, and then relax. Lean on your own confidence as a musician. that was really long, but I think it will help. let us know how it turned out.
wow, thanks Illmaeo, really Im gonna try your method cause it seems not so hard to do it! I will tell you how it turned out, I hope very good thanks peace
