# Not Stage Fright, but.......



## BrianUV777BK (Aug 31, 2011)

So when I'm jamming at band practice or at home or even hanging with some buddies jammin I can solo like a pro. I would be proud to video and post 99% of the stuff I play then. I'm no Govan, mind you, but I'm proud of the stuff I can do sometimes.

But when I get onstage at a real gig I can play my ass off until I get to the solo. I choke. I suddenly have no idea what to play or how to play it. My fingers freeze up and I find myself reverting back to a few familiar shapes and patterns and just wailing away with no coherancy. The same thing I just smoked on the night before at practice I now suck at like a beginner. Whatever I play just sounds like a big, hairy mess. People say it sounds good, but I know better.

I'm not even really sure what posting this will do for me. Hoping for some helpful advice or similar stories.


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## jrg828 (Aug 31, 2011)

when in it comes to solos, i always have to have some sorta idea before i play, i've never been an excellent improviser. people tell me the same, and i always know i can do better, but if i take to long on something like that, it'll never get done  if i mess up, like rly bad, i get panic attacks pretty easy cuz i dont even rly like people looking or listening to my solos, i kinda look at it as, the vocalist can only scream, no singing, so theres some sorta extra notes goin on, but idk


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## Winspear (Aug 31, 2011)

Do you mean improvising, or forgetting a solo you've rehearsed?

I have always been very calm before shows, even my first one, never getting nervous when everyone else was. However, if I think about what I'm playing, I forget it and have to make noise until the next phrase. That always did kinda scare me, I really had to zone out and not think about my fingers. Solos usually being the most techincal part of the set, I did used to find it would happen most there. 
So if that's what's happening to you, I'd just try to concentrate _less_ - that worked for me.


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## Ill-Gotten James (Aug 31, 2011)

Most of the solos I play are pre-rehearsed, but many times while playing on stage I have messed up a solo that I have nailed perfect over and over again during a practice. I think a lot of it has to do with over-thinking the part, instead of relaxing and letting muscle memory take over. I hate screwing up my solos on stage though. I feel like everybody notices, even though most likely I may be the only person, plus a few other musicians that really notice.


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## BrianUV777BK (Aug 31, 2011)

EtherealEntity said:


> Do you mean improvising, or forgetting a solo you've rehearsed?




Yea, that info would have helped, huh? 

My solos are about 70% worked out 30% improv. But as soon as I feel people's eyes on me when I go into a solo I choke.


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## Slamp (Aug 31, 2011)

I experience this all the time, whether it be on stage or at rehearsal, and for me i think the main reason causing me to mess up is the constant thought: "here comes the part i have to nail/ the part that needs focus/ the part i have messed up on before" or along those lines.
So it's basically my own fault for over thinking while i play.... Thank you brain!!!


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## Ckackley (Aug 31, 2011)

That happens to me at guitar stores ... Seriously.. I can play a huge club and nail every lead , but as soon as I sit down to try out a guitar I turn stupid.. I treat my solos like just another part of the song. There are some rhythm and melody lines that I fear more than my leads just because they have to be JUST RIGHT. No clue what might help except for maybe writing a few songs with a very out in the open rhythm line. Use it to break the ice maybe ?


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## SirMyghin (Aug 31, 2011)

If you count on extremely rehearsed solos, that might be your problem. That is the value of improv skills really, in that you don't think nearly as much. If you are trying to play something you 'know' and can't remember it, you haven't practiced it enough that it is still internalized, that is to say you need to think about it. When it comes to a solo, I just use landmarks, not actual lines typically. Works out better, generally. I do a weekly jam, various styles, where we do nothing but through ideas and improv. It is a really great thing to do.


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## BrianUV777BK (Aug 31, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> If you count on extremely rehearsed solos, that might be your problem. That is the value of improv skills really, in that you don't think nearly as much. If you are trying to play something you 'know' and can't remember it, you haven't practiced it enough that it is still internalized, that is to say you need to think about it. When it comes to a solo, I just use landmarks, not actual lines typically. Works out better, generally. I do a weekly jam, various styles, where we do nothing but through ideas and improv. It is a really great thing to do.



I'm kinda 50/50 with ya on that. I think my problem may be NOT having the solos written 100%. I'm one of those "never play the same thing twice" guys. Probably because nothing was good enough the 1st time to play it again...lol. Seriously, tho, I like to improv most lead stuff and when I'm not in front of an audience I'm fine. I can wail away for days and it all sounds good and coherant. It's when I get in front of people that I choke.


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## CrushingAnvil (Sep 1, 2011)

Sounds like you just need to be re-creating a club scenario and practising your solos over and over again.

Ask your family/friends to observe you practising?


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## clockworksam (Sep 1, 2011)

play in front of as many people as possible!


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## Ckackley (Sep 1, 2011)

BrianUV777BK said:


> I'm kinda 50/50 with ya on that. I think my problem may be NOT having the solos written 100%. I'm one of those "never play the same thing twice" guys. Probably because nothing was good enough the 1st time to play it again...lol. Seriously, tho, I like to improv most lead stuff and when I'm not in front of an audience I'm fine. I can wail away for days and it all sounds good and coherant. It's when I get in front of people that I choke.



I used to do that to. (The improving every solo) It was kinda fun for a while but as the songs got more complex it was harder on the band and myself to know exactly what was going on and it seemed the more complex songs were getting loose live. I started writing solo's out and we started coming up with great stuff. Now for instance, the drummer can accentuate parts of my leads and our vocalist and I even harmonize together on leads. Makes for a much tighter gig.


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## XEN (Sep 1, 2011)

BrianUV777BK said:


> I'm kinda 50/50 with ya on that. I think my problem may be NOT having the solos written 100%. I'm one of those "never play the same thing twice" guys. Probably because nothing was good enough the 1st time to play it again...lol. Seriously, tho, I like to improv most lead stuff and when I'm not in front of an audience I'm fine. I can wail away for days and it all sounds good and coherant. It's when I get in front of people that I choke.


Here's the most important thing to remember when you're up there:
Have fun.

Unless you're at a DT concert, where it's nothing but guitar players and their girlfriends, the audience is there for a good time. If you're not having fun, they won't either.

Stay in the pocket, make the groove move, and when it's your turn just go fucking ape shit. 

When the show's over you won't be thinking about your solo, but about the awesome time you had.


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## ZeroCool (Sep 1, 2011)

I've always taken the approach of being in the moment of where I am in the song. Kind of like staying in the pocket like urklvt said. If I think about a part that I'm not actually at yet then I almost always mess it up. I play my music but I listen to it as if I'm just jamming out to another band. Muscle memory will take over.


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## Inazone (Sep 1, 2011)

As much as improvisation CAN be very cool, most guitarists who I've seen improvising solos live struggle with it and end up either 1) rehashing an existing melody line from earlier the song with some added effects, 2) just playing some "canned" tapping, hammer-on/pull-off or sped-up blues licks for eight measures or 3) butchering the part completely. I prefer to stick with 100% written/planned solos, and fall back on improvisation if I either lose my place entirely or break a string and have to work around it. (Luckily, neither of these has happened often.)

I find it very helpful to practice in a completely dark room, or at the very least with my eyes closed, essentially playing my parts blind. That's a true test of muscle memory, which is absolutely necessary.


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## Lagtastic (Sep 1, 2011)

I used to have the same problem as the OP. Doing improv live I would feel like my playing was subpar compared to playing alone or in front of a couple friends/family members. 

Then at a smaller gig, I was eyeing this brunette for quite a bit of the night. I talked to her afterwards and she was saying how much she liked the show. I went on to tell her that I was playing ilke crap because I get a little nervous sometimes playing live and I don't do as well. I still remember the look on her face as she said "YOU get nervous? What the hell you are awesome!" I've never had any bit of stage fright or nervousness no matter the size of the gig since that moment.


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## drgamble (Sep 1, 2011)

I kind of take the appoach that SirMyghin uses. For some songs I have a few lines on the recordings that I really like and I will usually quote them live, well I guess it would be more of a paraphrase. Usually in the studio, I will do several takes of a solo and kind of piece it together with the best lines from each take. I find that I am way more creative when I go into things improvising. I find that different moods, mind-frames, etc open up possibilities that you don't get when trying to stay within a certain structure. By the way, this approach also helps when you pop a string right before the solo section or on an outro and have to either a) adjust for the missing string on the fly or b) improvise with what you have left. Of course, you can get away with a lot more live than in the studio. Any pro guitarist will tell you that you don't necessarily hit every note of a blazing arpeggio live because it goes by so fast that the listeners brain will actually "trick" them into thinking they heard the note. When recording though, everything is amplified and even microscopic mistakes can be audible. 

I always remember what the old blues guys used to say about this. "If you play a sour note, play it again with more conviction so they know you meant it."


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## wlfers (Sep 2, 2011)

clockworksam said:


> play in front of as many people as possible!



I find it easier to play in front of 500 people as opposed to say 20. It's so much less personal.

That being said, I have also played blatant scribble shred and have people tell me it "sounded sick dude!". When I practice at home, I always sit classical style with the most comfortable wrist positions, but standing up makes the guitar sit completely differently so I must do the "stance" haha.

My advice would be practicing it in different ways. Play the solo over and over again, then play throughout the entire song while walking around your room so you don't afford yourself a false start. Have some hot ladies over and serenade them etc.

edit to addon: somehow I think how nice my hair/beard looked was linearly proportional to how well i played rofl.


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## Ryan-ZenGtr- (Sep 2, 2011)

Here's some ideas that might help;

Approaches to lead guitar:
1. Compose then practice to click track/metronome/backing track at various speeds until fail performance possibility reduced to 0.00 %
2. Make it all up as you go along 

With my own music I write and record a 100% complete demo for the musicians to ponder, incorporate any contribution and revise the recording. This gives plenty of time to secretly work on my solo's.  what I aim for is the simplest way to express a unique melody for each piece.

You know them when you hear them; the purest, least complex yet elegant musical expression which is unique to the chord progression and feel of the band.

That can take of few passes over the backing track, some time to listen back and check the "leftover" solo ideas for powerful statements. They are instantly recognisable when you hear them... They scream at you; "Keep ME!" or "Don't delete this one!"...

I think you know what I mean.

Once you have that starting point, improvise around it, add some shred and you have a focus point for your solo which you would repeat similarly each time and the rest of the solo you can improvise.

That's my method, which is 30% repetition of a melody I'm content with and 70% space to play around with. Usually I will have a lot of ideas for the 70%, but it can be changed.

Having the pre composed part ensures any improvisation is coherent and inspired by the prepared parts.

Confidence

Go to a jam night regularly, or some other public place to play where it doesn't matter if it goes wrong. There's a way of dealing with phobias called "Flooding". Try it and get stage fright cured quickly.

The only things that concern me live are technical issues or people trouble. With a little preparation you can take the musical aspect apart weeks before a performance. 

Think about your diet and use of stimulants (alcohol, caffiene etc.), the personalities you expose yourself to before and during playing and most importantly your breathing, mental pace and serenity and your balance, mental and physical.

I usually try to slow my thought process and my breathing down before I play so no monkey mind distracts my playing. Monkey mind = Distracting thoughts. Please don't imagine anything too drastic, the point is to be calm and zen when you are performing.

I know a lot of great players who allow themselves to be rushed in thought and their playing suffers. There are a lot of frantic people who allow their concerns to distract them from their playing. You must know people who are always in a rush, concerned about being somewhere else or constantly playing with their phones? Take a lesson from them; slow down! 

The only thing that gets me down about playing live is not using my own equipment/ bad stage sound/volumes/etc. but usually when these things happen it is out of my control so no need to feel responsible and I get over it pretty quick. 

To solve this I bought a Digitech RP12 from eBay for the lint in my pocket and a snake belt...





Snake belt, the ultimate bargaining chip .... 

It's served me well at inconsequential performances, where I'm really there to chat and have a beer with friends. 

TL: DR
Preparation beats unprepared every time
Chill out!
Record and jam over it!


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## Ryan-ZenGtr- (Sep 2, 2011)

The snake belt thing was a friend of a friend was a motorbike fanatic and he traded a fridge, some money, a bike and some other things for a lamborghini countach kit car. He's from the north of England and things are a bit strange there. As he listed the household items included in the trade, the snake belt stood out as the bargain of the deal for pure ridiculousness. Needless to say, private joke.


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## cwhitey2 (Sep 2, 2011)

I dont have any solo's but my band does a lot of alternating/individual parts i guess 

example: i have an intro where i do this tapping thing...i play it all by myself and then each instrument comes in...yeah the first time i played it i totally messed the pattern up  but i kept on rocking. Plus unless its like way out of key or something most people wont notice. 

Like stated above...its all about having fun


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## samincolour (Sep 2, 2011)

Ckackley said:


> That happens to me at guitar stores ... Seriously.. I can play a huge club and nail every lead , but as soon as I sit down to try out a guitar I turn stupid..



THIS is the sole reason I hate guitar shopping! I'm not the worst guitarist in the world, I like to think I'm pretty good, but there's something about guitar stores that make me freeze up and just awkwardly play some chords and talk about how it plays. Haha


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## Ancestor (Sep 10, 2011)

just keep doing it over and over and eventually you'll get past the nerves. it goes away. you just have to keep playing live all the time.


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## BrianUV777BK (Sep 10, 2011)

Lots of good input here, guys, thanks! I guess the key is more time in front of people. Even tho I've played so many gigs I've lost count it's still nerve wracking when I go into a solo.


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## Albionic (Sep 11, 2011)

i'm always more comfortable with improv if i play a cover i tend to learn the more memorable bits and wing it the rest of the time that way you are not under pressure to nail every note.its important to remember its supposed to be fun.

make a backing track for all the songs you play so you can practice at home. and don't beat yourself up about it. the more you relax the better you will play.


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