Before live playing...

[dalpozlead]

What do you guys do playing live,not talking about warm up exercices, but where do you put your mind, to relax and to do a great work...

I keep trying to remember the hard passages in the songs, the sounds I'll use and how to change it more fast, I don't think it helps me, sometimes I can almost lose the control over my head...

 

Please discuss...

[Byrdman]

Originally posted by dalpozlead:

What do you guys do playing live,not talking about warm up exercices, but where do you put your mind, to relax and to do a great work...

I keep trying to remember the hard passages in the songs, the sounds I'll use and how to change it more fast, I don't think it helps me, sometimes I can almost lose the control over my head...

 

Please discuss...

My mind is mostly in the mode of "Why the hell do I carry all this gear - I should take up harmonica".

 

I don't think worrying about technicalities of performance helps at all. If I do that I find myself feeling out of touch with what's going on all night.

[R.S.M]

dont think about it when its time just go play and have a good time

[sevush]

Make sure last minute changes to the set list are correct. Then I'll note which songs I'll need to make patch changes for and try to get them done in time.

[Dave Pierce]

I find that thinking about a performance immediately before performing makes things worse rather than better. I like to do a quick 5 or 10 minute meditation before leaving my house for a performance, then thinking about other things on the drive over. During the setup, I try to joke around with the other musicians and just generally have a good time and set a light mood.

 

When starting time comes, I try to be the first guy on stage, so I can just take 90 seconds or so to review the first set and make sure I'm prepared for patch, drawbar and effects changes. Then.....away we go!

 

--Dave

[konaboy]

I have a habit of going to the bar and buying as many beers as I can carry.

[marino]

Good topic. I find that my behaviour changes, depending on the kind of music I have to play. If I'm playing rock in a big place, I usually don't feel nervous - I just enjoy the energy the people gives me, and in no time I'm totally involved in giving it back to the audience... I just love it.

If I'm playing jazz in a club, for example, it really depends... To have a good relationship with my bandmates becomes vital. Rarely I allow myself to go completely wild before a jazz concert - I'm involved, but in another way. So in this case, I tend to hang with the other musicians, to seek for their simpathy, so to speak.

I still play classical music at times, and that used to give me problems - I used to get anxious and nervous, and had to resort to breathing techniques and relaxing exercises. Not anymore! About one year ago, I played a solo concert in disastrous conditions, well, my conditions, not the concert's. The piano was good, the place was wonderful and packed... But I was falling in pieces. I had had a very bad backache attack the night before, and that had kept me awake the whole night. THEN a person close to me had suddendly died in the morning, so I had to drive for hours in total distress... When I arrived at the place I could not move. My back was blocked, my body cried for revenge and my spirit was under my feet. But I decided to play and I played, the whole program - how well I can't remember, because I was in a state of shock, but I played that whole fucking program to the last note. And guess what, I NEVER had stagefright anymore after that, not once!

 

Anecdotes aside, if I feel nervous before a concert, I use this mental game and pretend to be there to *listen* - I watch the place as for the first time, I watch the instruments, then I say something like, "This is a nice place, I would love to play here if they allow me." It has worked for me in the past!

I usually don't get nervous while playing, but if I do, there's the old trick to concentrate on one small point, and keep returning to watch it every time you can; this technique can help if you tend to get obsessed over responsability - it simply distracts your mind a bit. I know it helped a friend of mine, a classical pianist who used to get very nervous and play much below her potential.

Also, I played at an international Yoga convention once. In the spirit of the occasion, all four band members did about 30 minutes of mild Yoga exercises before playing. They really help concentration - It was one of the best concerts of my whole life!!..

To conclude, I'd say that today I don't feel the need to do anything special before going on stage if I feel prepared, just to be relaxed and not harassed by problems. But I do realize that this comes from the experience of having been onstage for 25 years. I see no substitute for that .

 

Carlo

[Rick K.]

First, I wash my hands. Then if I'm really nervous, I'll put a little baby powder on my hands. Then I turn the sound off my RD and just do scales. Up and down and up and down over and over faster and faster. Then I shake my hands, trying to loosen them up a bit. Check my set list. Make any last minute sound system adjustments and double check settings so that nothing goes wrong when I unmute everything. Double check that all the amps are up and running with a glance.

 

Finally we circle up, say a prayer, and off we go!!

 

Rick

[Pat Azzarello]

It's rare that I get more than a few minutes to think about the performance (in my band, I often run the monitor board, deal with the FOH soundman, etc. ). When I do have time, I usually end up with someone in the audience that I have to talk to.

 

On those rare occasions where run the songs that I'm concerned about through my head, and try to relax (slow down my breathing, do some arm circles. As the first downbeat occurs (actually, our opening tunes almost always have a pickup ) I focus on the drums, and spread my musical consciousness out from there.

[Superbobus]

Good topic! For me, a direct warm up right before the show or concert makes things worse. I prefer to go on stage as "empty" as possible. Start off clean.

There are small differences in concerts. Before a musical show it's just talking and having fun with everybody, in a bar it's getting the sounds right and then drink one or two beers to loosen up (not more, otherwise things get too loose...), in a theater it's this 15 minutes before take off dressing room thing which makes me completely hyper.

What works best for me is to be there in time, to build up relaxed and get the sounds right, to have a look at the set list and then just don't worry anymore, have fun and kick off.

 

Soulstars

[jimw]

I try not to think about the musical side of the performance, unless I've been screwing up a certain song. Then I might turn the volume way down and run over the rough parts quick.

 

If my hands are cold, I'll try the washing my hands in warm water trick and a few scales help.

 

...But definitely a cold beer helps with the mental part.

[Blues Disciple]

As I am one of three of our Praise band who does the load-up, load-out, and set-up routine, I often don't have alot of time before we go on. When we get set-up I usually find the can and change into my stage wear and then try to find a few minutes to get the last minute details of my own rig ready. I will make sure the patches for the first song are all set. I will make sure I have my bottles of water preopened and ready to swig. I'll check and securely tape the songlist down and try to mentally get ready for the second song and then make mental notes of when I change patches and how much time I'll have to do that.

Then I will take a few seconds or minutes to pray and be silent in order to calm down and focus myself on why I am playing music and to pray for our performance.

 

BD