Originally Posted by: akeAn old pro told me the best way to get over stage fright is to imagine that the people in the audience are all naked. This workes for me.

I had read somewhere at some time that the best way to deal with an audience is to forget them. The more attention you put towards them, the less that's geared towards your playing and overall performance. If you're busy thinking about the people watching you, then you're not thinking about what you're actually doing, that being playing the guitar, thus you're more likely to screw up. Basically, forget about them all. You've got your guitar in hand and it needs your upmost attention when playing. And how do you do that? well, that can vary. Experience would certainly help, but if you go up there expecting the worst and putting all your attention into the wrong things then you're asking for a problem. Also, don't hype up about overly tricky parts that you tend to have a problem with. Again, too much focus on one thing. It's kind of like sorting your priorities when you play live and the crowd impression, contrary to popular belief, is pretty low on the list. Best of luck to you next time.