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Post by dicky on Feb 28, 2015 21:40:15 GMT
I recently started going back to folk clubs after 30 plus years . I thought I would have a go at playing and singing . The second club I went to I sat and played a few chords with the other folks and it was ok. I didn't do a solo as I wasn't ready!!. . I next went to another club I knew and did a song which didnt go all that well ,missed a few bits an pieces . however, when I got up for the next go my fingers wouldn't work my hands were sticky and the instrumental I was doing went the way of the pear. At home it works quite well. Anyway, any tips on how to keep calm and perform a bit better in public would be welcome , to say the least. cheers dicky
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leoroberts
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Post by leoroberts on Feb 28, 2015 22:11:43 GMT
I wish I could offer advice, dicky, but I gave up 'performing' many, many years ago! There's plenty on here that do regularly gig or do singers' nights and I'm sure they'll chip in. The two things I do remember from back in the day were: drink soft drinks only before your set - save alcohol for when you're done; and, closing your eyes sometimes helps you forget that there's anyone else there (and makes you look like you're at one with the music) - but also makes it more difficult to dodge the bottles.
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stringdriventhing
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Post by stringdriventhing on Mar 1, 2015 3:10:39 GMT
The best bit of advice I could offer is to keep doing it - it gets easier and you start to feel more relaxed eventually, but it takes time or at least it did with me. I had a very similar crash and burn experience to the one you describe the first time I went to a local folk club. I totally messed up a tune that I could practically play in my sleep. I found the whole going round in a circle thing that you get at folk clubs really intimidating. I quickly discovered that I prefer playing with other people to doing things solo, so I was able to find less formal sessions locally where I could do just that.
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Martin
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Post by Martin on Mar 1, 2015 9:41:34 GMT
Wish I could offer advice, but my experience is the same. Nerves, unresponsive fingers, dodgy memory...I gave up too
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brianr2
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Post by brianr2 on Mar 1, 2015 9:50:20 GMT
Many years ago in my working life, I was compelled without warning to start delivering presentations to audiences of very senior people from all walks of life. I was absolutely terrified, not sleeping for days beforehand, unable to stray far from a toilet and reduced to a flushed gibbering idiot on the day of my first speech to a group of about 200 forbidding strangers.
I was given two pieces of advice, one of which worked and one of didn't. The one didn't was to imagine your audience naked - not exactly an aid to concentration! The one that did was never to forget how grateful your audience is that it is you rather than them up there in the spotlight and how much they are thus willing you to succeed.
The experience taught me the following lessons: * you need to know your stuff beforehand and be confident that you know it. * preparation is everything. Have the first few minutes content memorised so thoroughly that you can literally deliver it without thinking. This buys time to find your feet before you need to extemporise. * you will always be nervous before you start. This is a good thing, if controlled, as the rush of adrenaline helps you give of your best. * start small if you can, using non-threatening opportunities among friends to build confidence. * exploit the audience's sympathy and good will, and be honest with them that you are new to such things and nervous. * keep things in proportion - the worst that will happen is some embarrassment and, so long as you are seen to be trying your best, glitches will readily be forgiven. * practice, practice and then practice some more. Eventually you will enjoy performing, and be better for it.
This all worked well for me when it came to public speaking and I eventually got a real buzz out of it. However, I have never played guitar in public, mostly because I cannot yet meet the first condition above. I still freeze if anyone - including my wife - comes into the room when I am playing. I shall keep plugging away at this and hope one day to play at the Forum get together, which is as friendly and supportive as you could hope for. However, this still feels a long way off.
I wish you well in your performing and hope these ramblings are if some help.
Brian
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Post by dicky on Mar 1, 2015 12:43:00 GMT
thanks much for the advice.
I now think I went wrong with; taking a new guitar instead of the one I have had for 18 months . I changed my mind of what to play at the last minute especially after the first effort didn't go too well.
I will try to keep it simple, no beer before hand, play what I know well and practice lots .
I don't want to fail as I spent my pension on a new guitar that is too good for just doodling.
any other tips will be gratefully received.
thanks again.
dicky
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Mar 1, 2015 15:56:11 GMT
Can't add a lot really dicky to the good advice already proffered - stringy nailed it with the "keep doing it" - it does get better! Be completely prepared - make sure you practice in the same posture as you perform - if this means standing up to play at home then do it - makes a huge difference. And yes, obviously with the same instrument!! As you say, simple is good - most audiences will warm to a familiar simple song whereas your well worked out complicated obscure stuff will tend to go down less well even if you do get it spot on. Several "crowd pleasers" might well earn you the right to do one of your own songs, or an instrumental piece. Most members of an audience are on your side, they want you to do well. If necessary take some chums along for moral support and to take the lead in bursting into immediate rapturous applause after at least your first song. And, whatever happens, no matter how well prepared, you will still make mistakes. Don't be thrown by that - learn to keep on without missing a beat or pulling a face - they may never notice! All the best to you and your next outing! Keith
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Post by andyhowell on Mar 2, 2015 16:40:13 GMT
I do think it is important to play well within yourself. Practice not only the guitar but the delivery of the vocal. You don't have to be the greatest vocalist — a song delivered with passion and sincerity will always go down well.
You might also want to practice your patter, that can settle you down as much as the audience.
Focus on the mid-distance rather than engaging a single person in the audience. Try and imagine yourself 'filling' the room with your music and personality. Sounds odd this one but it is important.
Finally, be easy on yourself. We all start somewhere and we can all crash and burn. Despite everything you hear audiences are a tolerant bunch and at clubs and open mic most people will want you to do well. They will be understanding if you aren't. A bad evening can happen to us all. If you have a good club then make sure you go back! If you are playing through a PA (the work of the devil) try and see if you can borrow one or use one to practice on — particularly important for singing.
Playing live is weird. Last summer I played an open air gig. I played one of my own songs which is both loveland a little unusual. At the end of the song I suddenly decided (for best reasons un to myself) to go into a little instrumental variation and improvisation at the end. Something felt wrong. As I played I realised I hadn't taken the capo off the neck and was playing a tone higher than usual. This didn't impact the singing or the song but when I came the the instrumental bit I realised I was playing at the right frets for a non capo performance. I made a joke about that serves me right for being clever.
I had another twenty minutes to play and moved on. Afterwards, I was pleased that four or five people came up to say they particularly liked that song! None of them mentioned the mistake!
Just goes to show that audiences respond to the overall message. And audiences are seldom as harsh critics as we are of ourselves!
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Post by ekhohead on Mar 3, 2015 9:17:54 GMT
Everyone else has given plenty of great advice, there's really not much to add. But I would encourage you to persevere, performing can be great fun. One thing I've found is that you've always got to think positive before and during performances, and it's afterwards you can be a bit more critical, but even then don't dwell on your mistakes. Also, perform regularly to friends or family, or even just to your dog or goldfish, play your pieces as if you were playing to a packed house. Anything that gets your mind used to 'performance' mode.
I would also say not to go to loads of different performance spaces, return to one place and get used to it. The second performance in a venue is always much easier, so pick a place where you like the space and the people and make it a regular. You know what to expect, there will hopefully be less nerves, all being well you should put on a better performance.
Hope some of this helps!
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Post by ekhohead on Mar 3, 2015 9:29:58 GMT
Oh and one thing I'd have to disagree on with everyone else: the beer! Having a very casual couple of pint over an evening of performing helps me relax into it a bit more.
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Post by dicky on Mar 3, 2015 9:32:16 GMT
thanks everyone ,onward and upward seem to be the answer . cheers all . dicky
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chinanight
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Post by chinanight on Mar 3, 2015 13:34:19 GMT
Hi Dicky, I play in pubs and do gigs quite a bit and gave done with so with a band,trio and duo for many years. Matter of fact this Sunday I'm doing my first ever paid solo gig at a local pub. I always practice / rehearse every day for about a week the whole set to make sure I know it backwards especially any new songs I've learnt. And if they are not 100% leave them out. I may have 1 pint during a gig but don't like to drink to much as you start to think that you are better than you are a recipe for disaster in my book. Why not find some other players, learn some tunes and go to a local jam / open mic night. I still do it regularly as I can get to play with people of all levels and different types of music. Also I find a song always seem to sound best when played in doors for some reason, so if it's not up to scratch then it's never going to be. The other thing is anyone whose any good a what they do alway gets nervous before a gig or playing in public it's the nature of the beast. Also why not just strum to a song rather than try and fingerpick your way through it to start. Not so much pressure I find.
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Post by slidingwolf on Mar 29, 2015 15:58:11 GMT
Best advice I had was to do 2 things.
Slow down: with the nerves cranking up you will be tempted to play faster than you normally would and finish at an uncontrollable gallop,
And don't forget to breath!
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Riverman
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Post by Riverman on Mar 29, 2015 20:53:56 GMT
Lots of excellent advice here. I've found it helps to be stubborn, so as to turn the inevitable occasional crushing sense of failure into a determination to be better next time.
I think the problem is that we all have an image in our head of the "perfect" performance, in which we make no mistakes, the audience is quietly attentive then bursts into rapturous applause, etc. It's inevitable that, in some respect or another, this will happen very rarely (if ever). And I guess it's human nature (at least for aspiring performers) to dwell on the usually minor things that went wrong - sometimes just a few duff notes, or a fluffed lyric - rather than what went right. Most audiences, in my experience, don't notice mistakes - even ones you feel are fatal! - if you just keep going, and especially if you don't let the rhythm of the piece go to pot. It's as if they're always looking ahead to what comes next, rather than thinking back to what they probably didn't even realise wasn't what you intended. In this respect it helps considerably if you write your own material, in which case only you know what was "right" and what wasn't!
It may seem difficult, but try playing your stuff at about half to two thirds the speed you're inclined to set off at. As has been mentioned, most people speed up during a performance and you need to be going at a pace where your mind can be a phrase or two ahead (either musical, lyrical or both) so you don't hit that blank spot, with no idea of what comes next. But if you do, just keep going - in that situation I'll just keep the rhythm going by playing an alternating bass pattern, and if I realise I'm on a hopelessly wrong chord, and can't remember what the right one was, I'll even just choke off the strings with my left hand so that all the audience can hear is a rhythmic "thud"... I guarantee that their feet will keep tapping while you get your head back around the tune. It sounds bizarre, but it's worked many times for me.
In many ways the best piece of advice I was given was nothing to do with the performance itself. When someone comes up to you afterwards and says they enjoyed what you did, there's only one appropriate response. Not "oh I thought I was rubbish", or "it was perfect when I played it at home earlier", or "sorry about all the mistakes". Just say "thanks, I'm glad you liked it"...and understand that their judgement is actually far more important than yours. You're playing to entertain people after all, and if they liked it then that's exactly what you did.
Good luck!
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Wild Violet
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Post by Wild Violet on Mar 30, 2015 9:31:57 GMT
I've found busking to be a fantastic way to rid yourself of nerves. You don't have to collect money - just put yourself out there where someone else may hear you. Park benches are pretty good. The vast amount of people will walk by you and pay you no attention whatsoever. It's a humbling and liberating experience. When someone stops, you're almost grateful that they want to listen.
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