Stage Fright
Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 7:30 pm
Afternoon, everyone...
"Support" seemed like the most appropriate place to post this, so here goes; I feel a little ridiculous and kind of silly putting this on here but, thought I would run this past all of you and see what words of wisdom you may have for me regarding my situation.
I've been playing guitar and bass professionally since 1968 and other than the first couple of times I played before an audience, this has never been a problem (Re: my subject line). I've been in bands that played in-concert, opening for the likes of Marty Robbins, Charlie Rich, Glenn Campbell, The Oak Ridge Boys, Terri Gibbs and many others and was never the least bit nervous or intimidated by any of this. In fact, the bigger the crowd and the more they were into it, the better... I actually fed off their energy and it was then that I played my best.
Well, eventually my wife and I decided to start a family and I was pretty burned out with the "band life" anyway what with trying to run a business full time as well, so I pretty much retired from it so I could be home with my family on the weekends. With all this in mind, here is what is frustrating me now: A few years ago I decided to pick up where I left off many years ago and get back into my true passion which is fingerstlye/Chet style guitar and I've been having a great time with it. To my surprise and delight the good Lord has provided me with enough brain cells and manual dexterity to actually progress with my playing to the point where I'm starting to play at the level I've always dreamed of playing which is indeed very satisfying.
So, I thought I would volunteer to play some solo arrangements in church from time to time for the special music section of the service as a way to give back so to speak as I feel truly blessed with the talent God has given me. Well, the first time I did this I found myself getting really up tight and a little nervous as I started to play and it definitely affected my performance. (I work very hard at trying to get my arrangements smooth and fluid and it's important to me to be able to put forth a nice smooth performance.) Anyway, I kept thinking "What in the world is wrong with me?!" and then it occurred to me that I had never once before played by myself... there was always a band or a singer drawing some of the attention away from me and now it was just me, alone, in front of a congregation that was focused on me and for some reason I found it very unnerving. So, I thought, well, I'll just get more comfortable with it as time goes on and I do more of it. Well, I've played a half-dozen or so of these solo performances, the most recent one being this morning and it doesn't seem to be getting any easier and it's driving me nuts. I can play just fine in an informal environment or around other players but, to play alone in an "in-concert" type of setting isn't getting any easier for me.
I apologize for such a long-winded post but, I was wondering if any of you, both full-time pros and part time hobbyists like myself have ever experienced anything like this and if so, how did you overcome it? I know it's a psychological thing but, I have yet to figure out how to get a handle on it and I want to be able to perform as smoothly and fluidly in these situations as I do right in my own home. Thanks so much. -Tom W.
"Support" seemed like the most appropriate place to post this, so here goes; I feel a little ridiculous and kind of silly putting this on here but, thought I would run this past all of you and see what words of wisdom you may have for me regarding my situation.
I've been playing guitar and bass professionally since 1968 and other than the first couple of times I played before an audience, this has never been a problem (Re: my subject line). I've been in bands that played in-concert, opening for the likes of Marty Robbins, Charlie Rich, Glenn Campbell, The Oak Ridge Boys, Terri Gibbs and many others and was never the least bit nervous or intimidated by any of this. In fact, the bigger the crowd and the more they were into it, the better... I actually fed off their energy and it was then that I played my best.
Well, eventually my wife and I decided to start a family and I was pretty burned out with the "band life" anyway what with trying to run a business full time as well, so I pretty much retired from it so I could be home with my family on the weekends. With all this in mind, here is what is frustrating me now: A few years ago I decided to pick up where I left off many years ago and get back into my true passion which is fingerstlye/Chet style guitar and I've been having a great time with it. To my surprise and delight the good Lord has provided me with enough brain cells and manual dexterity to actually progress with my playing to the point where I'm starting to play at the level I've always dreamed of playing which is indeed very satisfying.
So, I thought I would volunteer to play some solo arrangements in church from time to time for the special music section of the service as a way to give back so to speak as I feel truly blessed with the talent God has given me. Well, the first time I did this I found myself getting really up tight and a little nervous as I started to play and it definitely affected my performance. (I work very hard at trying to get my arrangements smooth and fluid and it's important to me to be able to put forth a nice smooth performance.) Anyway, I kept thinking "What in the world is wrong with me?!" and then it occurred to me that I had never once before played by myself... there was always a band or a singer drawing some of the attention away from me and now it was just me, alone, in front of a congregation that was focused on me and for some reason I found it very unnerving. So, I thought, well, I'll just get more comfortable with it as time goes on and I do more of it. Well, I've played a half-dozen or so of these solo performances, the most recent one being this morning and it doesn't seem to be getting any easier and it's driving me nuts. I can play just fine in an informal environment or around other players but, to play alone in an "in-concert" type of setting isn't getting any easier for me.
I apologize for such a long-winded post but, I was wondering if any of you, both full-time pros and part time hobbyists like myself have ever experienced anything like this and if so, how did you overcome it? I know it's a psychological thing but, I have yet to figure out how to get a handle on it and I want to be able to perform as smoothly and fluidly in these situations as I do right in my own home. Thanks so much. -Tom W.