The Chetboard

Ray, thank you for your advice.
I never thought of relaxation exercises for jamming, but it makes sence.
I'll try to find how to do that.

Yes, I've heard of the Toastmasters, and that they give speeches for "fun".
To an introvert, like me, that's right up there with pulling my fingernails out with a pair of channel locks.

I've even thought of a glass of wine just before playing, but enough wine, and I slur my speech, so I
don't know what it would do to my pickin.

Thank you again,

bill

Been playing since I was 9. Never had stage fright until about 5 years ago.

My biggest fear????

I'll forget the tune and then I psych myself out.


But I keep picking anyway!!!

Eddie, I too started performing at 9 but I've never lived WITHOUT stagefright. I was prescribed a "beta blocker", Indirol, and that has helped but I sure wish I didn't need it. Often times I'm asked to play unexpectedly and hadn't taken any yet and knew that would make a fool of myself. I don't worry about forgetting anything but I worry about tensing up and not being able to physically get through it. It's hard for me to stay relaxed.
One interesting side-note is that a few years ago in 2012, the first CAAS after we lost Paul, Palmer asked me play one of Paul's songs. I hadn't taken any medication and had to decline. He interpreted that to mean that I couldn't play! From then on, he assumed that I wasn't really much of a guitarist and never asked me again. Then when I was with Audie this past April we went to Palmer's meeting in Columbus and I think I turned that around in his mind. I had just taken my medication and gradually improved throughout the afternoon. I'll always have statefright that prevents me from playing smoothly.