Dealing With The Pressure...

We all get the jitters on stage, and its safe to say that we aren't always prepared, but how good are you in dealing with sudden change?


Before heading up on stage, its safe to say that we always have a game plan, and a ready to go set list, but sometimes our papers get lost in the shuffle where we have to make imediate changes before the show begins. A lot of us aren't very good in working under pressure, and sometimes there are those who thrive in sort of situation. I think the major problem is that if we aren't confident with our own matieral, then we can't help wondering how the audience will re-act to our efforts. The last time I perfomed an acoustic show with a few friends of mine, I ran out of ideas, I had a few lyrical transcripts ready for the show (due to the fact that our singer didn't have time to memorize them before hand.) While she was practicing before the show, she misplaced the lyrics to our closing song, all that she remembered was the chorus. And frankliy, it was a long time since I wrote them I forget the major verse lines. But still she was adament to sing this song over the acoustic arrangement that I had perfected over the weekend. So she just improviused on the spot, she naturally sang two verse lines added onto the chorus, and everything worked out nicely. Not to mention the fact that I gave her a break with an extended (impulsive) solo line.


I recently found out that the new band Staind, with their song "Outside," the verse lines were totally impulsive the night that the singer recorded the song live for the family values album. He was nervous throughout this performance, but the passion in his voice disguised how he was really feeling, and that night he worked well under pressure. I'm not exactly huge fan of their work, but I like this song, and to think that most of their other stuff was slaved over compared to this song, it makes you wonder...These guys should go with their impulses more often if they wan;t their creative to reach its highest peak. But overall, when you're under pressure, are you better at rattling off lyrics, or solo lines?

-Joseph

May, that was a pretty good month for me. :) Also, I think this is a pretty interesting topic.

-Joseph

I took an exam 3 months ago in france, I had to play in front of ten professional guitarists, and I had chosen to play "mission impossible" fingerpicked, because I wanted to be special
This setting was so weird (audience who actually listens to find your flaws...)that my hands were totally sweaty, and I sounded like "mission impossible" played by primus and buckethead!!!
I did a concert a couple of nights after this exam, and I had some pressure, since it was a new place we were playing..
But since people came to enjoy the music, I played my ass off, and the music plowed through me...

Joseph

I would rather play under pressure.I sometimes get,
high off of pressure on the stage.
I seem to play also better to a large Audience,
than a small audience.
When i play for just a few people i seem to get,
very bored.(which i know i shoud'nt)
Now if i had my pick of Audience's i would,
pick all professional guitarist's, plus other bands.
Why because, they understand more what your trying,
to do plus are better listener's than your run of,
the mill audience's.
Of course when i started out playing for live,
audience's i used to use someone i knew in the crowd,
to look at and not look at the rest of the crowd.
But now i scan the whole crowd from left to right.
I will say this when you are first starting out,
in music or going to play for a crowd its a lot,
differant than just playing at home for people you,
know .
I've played with some bands through the years where,
some of the player's would get so scared they would,
have to go to the bathroom during a song.
You can think of it this way those people your,
playing for, are just like you ,they have skin covering,
thier bones just like you do.
I will admit that i had to have 1 beer to get started,
back when i first started ,but after playing about 6,
years i now only drink diet pepsi and have for year;s,
and so dos the rest of the band. We can get high off,
of are music.We do'nt need a little help from are friends as they say.We don'nt need hard drinks our dope ect.
I found out many years ago that i really was'nt playing,
the guitar that good while drinking .But i thought i was.

(Good Topic Joseph)

Mark

I think pressure helps myself and my band as a whole get things together and focus on what we need to do, and when. As for getting up and doing it; Tae Kwon Do took care of stage fright a long time ago.

Originally posted by lalimacefolle

But since people came to enjoy the music, I played my ass off, and the music plowed through me...

As musicians, we have to be prepared to expect the unexpected, and pressure can sometimes work for us or against us. It all depends on the environment that we put ourselves into, and if we trust ourselves and what we are fully capable of. I've had some really rough experiences over the past few years, hoewever, (for the most part)I've always worked very well under pressure. It's not something we look forward to, or something that we ask for, however in situation where I've come unprepared, I've always managed to perservere.

However, when you're in a band, it's much more difficult, because the mistakes of others sometimes become your own. When you're by yourself in a coffee shop, sometimes it's easier, because you know what you can do, and where you weak spots and strong spots are.

skee1: Joseph

I would rather play under pressure. I sometimes get,
high off of pressure on the stage.

(Good Topic Joseph)

Mark

I guess in a way, when we know so many other people are counting on us, it kind of makes us feel important. As a musician I've always been very meticulous, and when it comes to playing under pressure, sure we all sometimes lose our lunch before hand, and our palms get very sweaty, but once we're up there, we just get to business. If we didn't have those butterflys before the show, than it wouldn't be real. I usually save the beers for afterwards, because it's hard to drink on an empty stomach.

Raskolnikov: I think pressure helps myself and my band as a whole get things together and focus on what we need to do, and when. As for getting up and doing it; Tae Kwon Do took care of stage fright a long time ago.

We all need a little bit of pressure, because it's important to focus on both the good aspects and the band aspects of our performance. We can't expect to be perfect, so we have to be prepared to notice our weak spots so we can have them under control next time around. I don't think those weak spots ever completely diminish, because that's what leaves room for improvement.


When it comes to writings music and writing lyrics, I work well with pressure when it comes to music, but as for the lyrics, I just have to wait for the right words to come along. With music, when I know I have a deadline, I tend to toss a few ideas back and fourth, depending on my mood. However, as a lyricist, we aren't always quite sure what to write about, (or how to express ourselves.) Sometimes, in order to feel fully confident we have to delve into our past for inspiration. And that's something that we're not always quite ready to do.


-Joseph

ive worked under pressure once before, and gotten very nervous once before, and seriously, how people can do it??
*Pressure - saying i can play songs that i cant really play to friends, and them coming over next day and wanting to hear
*Nervous - get taught dancing at school. when the guys have to pick girl partners, i know it sounds silly, but i forge notes from parents saying sore ankle so i dont have to do it

(i am 16 btw)

i play my first live performance in front of half of my school in a few months, me being the lead guitarist. i know im a pretty good one, and im looking forward to the day, but at the same time, im also dreading the day, because it is playing in front of all my peers, everyone i know, if i screw up big time, will they think different of me? and what will i do if i screw up? all kinds of questions like these run through my head


any advice, because i know i will be sweating like hell and have the biggest butterflies in my stomach beforehand.

i can try and deny it, but the reason why i wanna go up there is pretty much to show off, i like playing by myself, with no one listening, so i can just let my fingers carry themselves, and get taken away somewhere else, but im not too sure if i can achieve that with hundreds of people paying attention to me

So after all that, does anyone have any advice, tips'n'tricks to share with me so i can conquer that evil butterfly feeling in my stomach so i wont have to deal with it in a few months time, and do not suggest pretend theyre in there underwear, as much as id like to see all the upper school women in underwear.......*ahem* so help me peoples

Just have a good time. It'll take you a little while to loosen up, but once you do that, settle back into your place and start having some fun, you'll be OK. And OH what a rush it is. Once you get a taste, you'll come back for more and more. Anyway, the big thing is that if you mess up, keep going and don't look back. At the very worst, your band will have to stop and pick up where you left off, and don't worry, it happens to everybody. The last time I saw Primus Les messed up the words to Tommy the Cat so many times that they stopped trying to play it and moved on with their setlist... and he's been playing that song for eleven years.

The bottom line is that if you're having a good time you'll play better and the crowd will have a good time too. It's all a matter of getting comfortable. Yes, I realize that's a big step when you're starting out, but you'll make it.

This reminds me of the time my freinds and I tried to record a demo tape in one day just to get into a compition... I remember one of my freinds bought one of many rubbish metal magazines, and she showed me this amazing competition, where you could win all of Black sabath's gear, but you had to be a band, and you had to send a demo tape and a photo, i thought it was cool, and didn't really consider it seriously, and then one week later and the next isue came out (you need the copouns from the two issues), and my freind says, I really want what's his names drum kit, I looked at Iomie's buitiful chery red lefty Gibson SG, and i thought damn it, i want that!!!
Somehow... I dont remeber exactly how we decided that we were going to form a band that day, book some free time for the next day and the day after in the music rooms, jam the first day, and then record the second, run down to the super market, and the three of us (by this time my best freind who plays guitar decided he wanted a bass, and though joyning us was a cheaper way of doing it) would cramm into one photo booth and have our phot taken and printed in 3 minutes...
The next day came, she didn't turn up, and we didn't have a bass, but luckly we got to borrow the most butiful 5-string (yamah) bass, and one of my other friends little brother grabbed the drum sticks and off we went!... There were poeple watching (quite a few of my peers), and to be honest I didn't really care, I mean we had to come up with 3 songs for the next day!!! We only had an hour, but we got one instarmental to take shape, and the kid wasn't bad on drums!!! That night I came up with a little doodle, which i could loop for 3 and half minutes (I was desprate!!!), and decided that the third song was just going to be some noise "endless nameless" style..
The day of the recording was a night mare, we had one hour to set up run through record 3 songs... She turned up after we complained winged and whined...We came in and decided to set up quickly and guy who lent us the bass said he could set up the mics etc, and i thought "yeah he's done this before, why dont you let someone who knows what they're doing do it"... First we could only find one drum stick!!! We were desprate, so we found a broken wooded ruler as a seconds drum stick... Secondly someof the mics didn't work... We ran through the intramental without drums just to show her what we were doing, she asked us again, we did, again and again and again, and our hour was nearly up! The recording equipmnet had just stopped working... Before we knew it the time was up and we hadn't recorded a single note!! Only to find the reason we couldn't record was that the tape had the plastic bits brocken off so you couldn't record on it!!! That's how I didn't manage to get Toni Iomie's guitar...

When we're supposed to record, I was soooo nervous, I was having trouble the chord changes, and i was hitting some bum notes, my hands were shaking that much... But the fact the we came up with so much in one day (the day before the "recording") really has surprised me, and if we had a new tape we would have pulled it off...
Anyway looking back at this I think it's quite funny at how stressed we got in 48 hours just over some silly idea that came into our heads....
So i think i work well under pressure before the important day, but not on it!!!
Sorry about the length of the reply...

Originally posted by educatedfilm

Anyway looking back at this I think it's quite funny at how stressed we got in 48 hours just over some silly idea that came into our heads....
So i think i work well under pressure before the important day, but not on it!!!
Sorry about the length of the reply...

It's stories like these that make we wonder what it would have been like to have a front row ticket. I thought I was the only one who obsessed over different sudden changes, but I guess everyone goes through the change. I understand how a little pressure is great for building up a great ptroject, but for some people it's just not worth it to drive yourself up the wall hours before the show or recording.

However, I usually like to keep my mind busy, and for me a little pressure is what it takes to get me through those waiting hours before show time.

-Joseph

to me this topic is pointless... you can't describe how your feeling about your music or what to do, or how to buckle under pressure... you can't explain anything. it just comes to you and thats how it should be. you can play guitar for 50 freakin years for all i care but, to me, a true guitar player plays 5% with his hands. 5% with his mind. and 90% from the heart. and its the truth. it should just come to you. there is no expecting this or that. just go out there and do what you want and if people like it and understand you than great.. if they don't **** em cause its not like you like them anyway....

Anyone listen to Pulp? From what I hear Jarvis is known to make the lyrics up for all the tracks the night before they go into the studio (and I really do like them). I guess for some people it comes naturally.

Playing gigs I'm still as nervous going on stage as I was the first time. That's why I love frontmen. Someone to take the attention anway from you.

oh god...that reminds me. in february theres a talent show im thinking about doing. now, im a pretty good guitar player for my age (14), but my singing skills arent that great (they are okay and i do like to sing), and i play alot of grateful dead, what dead song would u recomend me playing?

If you're playing Dead music, I assume you have more than one singer, so you can do the harmonies. I'd recommend "Truckin'". The vocals don't require a lot of range, and its the sort of song that you can make as simple or complicated as you want.