I was going to post this as a new topic but it fits well here....when I play infront of other people I freeze up. I doubt thats due to nerves, I play three other instruments and have been doing stage performances since I was 10 years old (although i was never a kid prodigy but still....)....it's because with the guitar I've never played the kind of music i play in my bedroom in a band. As soon as I'm infront of one of my friends I think 'Okay i'm perfectly relaxed about playing, but what the hell do i play??' If someone asks me to play the most flashy and impressive thing i can, I play one song, then later I go home to my room and play and think 'why didnt i play that song instead? or play as well as this earlier?'

I often improvise when hopelessly lost like that but it often descends into mess and my technique and sound go to hell. This happens to a worse extent if I'm not playing my own guitar.....does anyone else get this problem? I've always been jealous of my teacher who could pick up any guitar and sound great. Sometimes he would even say 'that guitar is a real piece of ****' having just copied a Jimmy Page solo on it!