Playing with a band

[ant7629]

Does anyone else experience this........?

 

I have been playing for about 15 years now, most of that has been sat at home in front of my amp and in my own company. I have recently however joined a band after 7 years and I am having some difficulty...

 

It seems that every time I get together to play lead with the rest of the band, I completely freeze up and start making silly mistakes, even though I can play the songs with ease when at home. I am even making mistakes on chord changes!!

 

I know I can play the songs, it just sucks how everything changes when I come to play with others!!!!!!!!!!

[smerdlap]

well, i've only really played with one other friend (guitarist) before, and i experienced the same thing. i guess i was just nervous until i became more comfortable playing around him, and at the same time, around others. and now i am fine playing around other people. well, friends at least.

[charlie brown]

Very Common! "Nerves," and trying too hard, to get it right, etc. Just try and relax. Forget about impressing the others (we all do it) at first. Close your eyes, when you play (if you know the solos and fretboard well enough), and just concentrate on playing like you would at home. I had this exact same problem, when I first started playing with other people, after a 30 year hiatus. Still do, to a certain extent, but it gets better, the more I do it!

So, it's very common. The key, is relaxation. Even "pros" get stage fright...which is kind of what you're experiencing, even if you're not on stage in front of anyone but your band mates. Buddy Guy used to have to down a bunch of booze, prior to going on stage, just to get through it...relax enough, to even play. So, it happens to the best of them. Clapton, has always amazed me, in that he has always seemed so "relaxed" and at ease, playing. Of course, in the early days, he had some "chemical" and alcohol "help," but nowadays, totally sober...he seems even more relaxed. I envy that, almost as much as I do his playing prowess.

Hang in there, Ant!

 

CB

[dbirchett]

Best advice I can give you is just keep playing. I took about a 30-35 year hiatus and when I came back, I sucked big time. Started playing with some other old farts and boy we must have sounded terrible. But we kept at it. We practiced every week. I flubbed every solo I got for quite awhile. But I kept playing and practicing.

 

Eventually, it gets better. I have moved past suck and am rapidly approaching mediocrity! But the biggest thing is that I don't get so nervous to play in front of my band mates (our drummer's wife calls us his little band friends). How long that'll take for you, who knows. But it does get better!

[charlie brown]

Yeah, the other thing you may notice, is that you'll (at first) play too fast, or too many notes! (I still have a tendency

to do both, but..I'm getting much better, about that, now.) Relaxing will help, on both accounts. And, don't worry,

about doing solos "note for note" from one of your "hero's" efforts. I've seen a lot of my guitar hero's live, and aside

from the defining riffs, or runs...the actual solos are never exactly the same, as on record. Most aren't even close...

but they are great...just a bit different...from their heart, now...not what was recorded, then...if you know what I

mean? Just letting yourself do YOUR version, will help you relax, too. Sometimes, in so doing, you'll actually end up

playing "their" solo, much closer. Sounds weird, I know...but, I have had that experience, myself.

 

CB

[Mr. E]

Does anyone else experience this........?

 

I have been playing for about 15 years now' date=' most of that has been sat at home in front of my amp and in my own company. I have recently however joined a band after 7 years and I am having some difficulty...

 

It seems that every time I get together to play lead with the rest of the band, I completely freeze up and start making silly mistakes, even though I can play the songs with ease when at home. I am even making mistakes on chord changes!!

 

I know I can play the songs, it just sucks how everything changes when I come to play with others!!!!!!!!!!

 

[/quote']

My case is totally the opposite. I've been playing for awhile and I feel more comfortable playing with a band or a looper (or backing track... who needs the band... (evil laughs)

 

I like improvising so playing with something backing you up or you backing up something makes the ideas follow.

[ant7629]

Thanks guys, I feel better about this now. I guess I am gonna just have to get used to it and relax.

 

It is not helping that that other three guys in the band have all played together before for many years, playing covers of songs that I have had to learn pretty quick!

 

Ah well, its all rock n roll isn't it?

[Ricochet]

It seems that every time I get together to play lead with the rest of the band' date=' I completely freeze up and start making silly mistakes, even though I can play the songs with ease when at home. I am even making mistakes on chord changes!!

 

I know I can play the songs, it just sucks how everything changes when I come to play with others!!!!!!!!!!

 

[/quote']

 

Relax and hang in there. Before you know it you'll be completely comfortable rehearsing with the band, and only freeze up in front of a crowd....

[Bender 4 Life]

 

Relax and hang in there. Before you know it you'll be completely comfortable rehearsing with the band' date=' and only freeze up in front of a crowd....[/quote']

 

You got THAT right!...and imagining them naked doesn't do anything but distract.

Only thing that helps with this is time and experience, hang in there.

[Dave]

Ant, a lot of the problem is having to play to someone else's time base. Seriously, playing at home is a lot more relaxed because you can stop and start over and you are not being pushed by someone else playing the next chord or a drummer who is forcing you to keep his time. Playing to a metronome will help you to get used to this.

 

It's a different world when you miss a note and have to suddenly think, re-synchronize, and continue a solo and the drummer has left you in the dust. Practice playing to a metronome or a backing track and things will eventually become easier. You will become used to the time constraints of playing to a time base and you will learn to fix a missed note by doing an adlib and working back into the solo or chord sequence.

[Whitmore Willy]

Not so much about missing notes as being nervous in general:

 

I watched a special about John Lennon. They were interviewing Clapton. He was talking about when they got together to play a concert. (don't remember which one) It had been a couple of years since Lennon had played live with a band. Lennon was so nervous that he had to ask Clapton to tune his guitar for him.

 

If it could happen to musicians of that caliber, it can happen to anyone.

[rossmcv]

I had the same problem when i returned to playing live i found it impossible to play notes in a solo any faster than one per beat. its just tensing up i guess.

 

start with the good old bending up on the g string and playing the b & e 2 frets behind gets you in the groove!

[ant7629]

Well I am glad I am not alone.

 

One good thing is that I have tried all of my Epi's (just to see which ones sounds/feels better) when practicing, and they all sound great! Better than my Fender's actually. I think its the humbuckers that give them the edge for solos and the stlye that I am playing....

[stan 58]

Thats why when you play out, for a crowd, you make the BIG bucks! Stan.

[AS90]

I got up on stage to do a song with a band and played it all the way through in the wrong key. I was so ashamed

[Notes_Norton]

Perhaps it is because I'm just weird, or because I started playing in bands in Junior High school, but I really enjoy playing with other musicians. I think I play better when there are other musicians on stage with me because of the musical interactions and cross pollination that comes with a group improvisation experience (and there is almost always a degree of group improvisation in popular music genres).

 

I think the key is to relax, you are not in a cutting contest but in a group effort. The other musicians with you are trying to create something that is greater than the sum of its parts, synergy.

 

If the musicians you are playing with are competitive instead of cooperative, it's time to find a new band.

 

Mistakes are to be laughed at and learned from. There are some musicians who get angry when another makes a mistake, these people are to be avoided. There are musicians on the opposite side of the spectrum, who are careless and make too many mistakes without trying to improve their playing, they too are to be avoided.

 

My own philosophy is to play with other musicians who are having fun. To me the attitude is as important as their technical abilities. After all, they do call it playing music.

 

So relax, have a good time, and play.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

[charlie brown]

Yeah, Bob's right...playing with competitive (beyond the inspirational variety), whiny or hostile musicians is not only

a drag, it's counter productive! Steer clear, of those types. DO play with those that are on par with you, or even better, ones that are better players, but fun...too. You'll learn more, an have fun doing it. Music is expression, but it's also supposed to be FUN! And, if you're paying attention, you'll learn more from your mistakes, than the things you do right. Pretty soon, the things you do right, will out weigh the mistakes, hopefully. Hang in there!

 

CB

[51xt33]

Time and experience will get you over the fright. You're probably putting pressure on yourself to perform when your bandmates aren't. They obviously picked you for a reason........... so relax and play for the enjoyment of it. If you do make a mistake, don't dwell on it just move on. You'll eventually get to where you remove the pressure on yourself.

 

Oh yea, and what Bob said too!

[lpdeluxe]

Lots of good advice. I've been playing since 1970, and immediately started playing with others, and I still freeze up sometimes if I'm doing anything unfamiliar -- playing a new song or playing a new guitar. To this day I don't like to jam. It seems like I can only play one or two licks over and over, where if I prepare different riffs beforehand it goes easier. I really admire guys who can just pull music out of the air.

 

Preparation helps, but learning to relax, as difficult as it can be, seems to work the best, and that comes with getting to know the material and the other musicians.

 

Our church does a "summer string band" thing with guitars, sometimes a banjo or dulcimer, and me on Dobro. We started three years ago, and I had quite a time. I had never played that genre of music (old timey gospel) and I had never heard of most of the songs. The director said to me, "you think too much!" I'm still digesting that. But now I've learned most of the songs, and where they go, and how to back up the choir, and I've branched out into the Baptist Blues Band, as we call it, where I play electric with a backup group, mostly on '20s and '30s songs written by guys like Blind Willie Johnson and Blind Willie McTell.

 

It seems like I start from scratch in every style of music...but I keep on keepin' on. Playing music is too gratifying to stop.

[Gashole]

Does anyone else experience this........?

 

I have been playing for about 15 years now' date=' most of that has been sat at home in front of my amp and in my own company. I have recently however joined a band after 7 years and I am having some difficulty...

 

It seems that every time I get together to play lead with the rest of the band, I completely freeze up and start making silly mistakes, even though I can play the songs with ease when at home. I am even making mistakes on chord changes!!

 

I know I can play the songs, it just sucks how everything changes when I come to play with others!!!!!!!!!!:)

 

[/quote']

 

Oh! That's easy!

 

Drink more beer. Assuming you are of age. I would never endeavor to corrupt a minor. Only majors.

 

Try taking up smoking too. It helps.

 

And as a last resort, chemical free- just relax. Seriously. Breathing exercises, light meditation. Envision your situation (like an athlete would before a dive, penalty kick or a FG attempt, etc etc) prior to begining, see it how you want it to be, envision it again. relax! Breathe- pay attention to your posture and the tension in your hands as much as possible. Try to stay loose, and keep good airflow going into your lungs. The rest, with the help of muscle memory will just happen.

 

It sounds like you have the tunes under your fingers already- just need a little poise and confidence in a new situation. So don't try too hard-that's where the tension happens and fouls things up..muscularly and mentally.

[JefferySmith]

Does anyone else experience this........?

 

I have been playing for about 15 years now' date=' most of that has been sat at home in front of my amp and in my own company. I have recently however joined a band after 7 years and I am having some difficulty...

 

It seems that every time I get together to play lead with the rest of the band, I completely freeze up and start making silly mistakes, even though I can play the songs with ease when at home. I am even making mistakes on chord changes!!

 

I know I can play the songs, it just sucks how everything changes when I come to play with others!!!!!!!!!!:)

 

[/quote']

According to one book, George Harrison had the same trouble. Sometimes he was screwing up so much, he would take a walk and Paul would play the piece for the album.

[Doth]

This is an interesting topic.

 

In late 90's, I had to do multiple speaking engagements across the country for work. These would be of about 300 - 400 people that were complete strangers. The first few engagements were horrible. And then I sort of realized what I was doing wrong. I was "listening" to what I was saying and criticizing myself in my head. After 4 or 5 of these engagements a week, I got sort of numb to what I was actually saying or doing during the engagement.

 

I think guitar is the same way, if you over think it, you are bound to second guess what you are doing. They say this is why stutterers can sing by the way. They already know the words and aren't listening to themselves.

 

I would just say, play what sounds good, do you best to stay in time and in tune, and if you have to stop for a beat or two, don't sweat it.

 

Doth

[Notes_Norton]

<...>

I think guitar is the same way' date=' if you over think it, you are bound to second guess what you are doing. <...>[/quote']

 

That is a great insight.

 

The best music is made when you are not thinking. By that I mean when your "left brain" is not involved.

 

Practicing is done at home. We play our scales, chords, arpeggios, licks, and practice our songs endlessly so that our muscles memorize what we are playing. Then when we are on stage, the music can go from "right brain" inspiration directly to your fingers (and whatever else is involved, foot, voice, lips/tongue for wind instrument players, etc.) without your "left brain" getting in the way.

 

I haven't played sports since I became a professional musician (can't take chances with the hands), but I do remember playing baseball as a kid. If you take the time to analyze the pitch and get your "left brain" involved, you will not hit the ball very often. Instead you simply let your non-verbal "right brain" take over and after a while it learns when and where to swing the bat and you actually get more hits after your "left brain" gets out of the way.

 

We all have our good and bad days soloing. When I am at my very best, and when my improvisations are their very best, it seems like the music comes through me instead of from me. I find myself listening to myself and enjoying it, and I definitely have the feeling that I am an observer of this player inside me. Of course, I know it is me, but when the "left brain" is out of there, it doesn't seem that way. And those nights are truly magic!!!

 

Insights and incites by Notes

[charlie brown]

This is an interesting topic.

 

In late 90's' date=' I had to do multiple speaking engagements across the country for work. These would be of about 300 - 400 people that were complete strangers. The first few engagements were horrible. And then I sort of realized what I was doing wrong. I was "listening" to what I was saying and criticizing myself in my head. After 4 or 5 of these engagements a week, I got sort of numb to what I was actually saying or doing during the engagement.

 

I think guitar is the same way, if you over think it, you are bound to second guess what you are doing. They say this is why stutterers can sing by the way. They already know the words and aren't listening to themselves.

 

I would just say, play what sounds good, do you best to stay in time and in tune, and if you have to stop for a beat or two, don't sweat it.

 

Doth[/quote']

 

Exellent Doth...that's exactly what happens. When you "think" too much, about where you're going, then or next,

you screw up! Just have to "let it flow!" Bob's right, about learning it so well, that it's second nature, so you'll

be able to, in essence, forget about it, and just "Play!" Good stuff!

 

CB

[lpdeluxe]

According to one book' date=' George Harrison had the same trouble. Sometimes he was screwing up so much, he would take a walk and Paul would play the piece for the album.[/quote']

 

A friend played a CD that purported to be of Beatles sessions while they were working up arrangements in the studio. There's John's solid rhythm, Paul's signature bass, Ringo's backwards drums, and...

 

 

...George, scuffling and fighting, trying to make sense of the song, and doing a pretty poor job of it.

 

Made me feel a LOT better.

 

Notes_Norton, I'm a lifelong artist, and I had a bad reaction to the book, "Drawing on the Left Side of the Brain" because, dammit, I'd been doing that for 40 years, and there were no insights for me there.

 

Then I read a remarkable book, My Stroke of Insight, by Jill Taylor, the first-person chronicle of a PhD in brain anatomy who suffered a left-side cerebral hemorrhage, and what happened blow-by-blow as the effects of the disaster shut down her ability to use language and numbers and memory.

 

She claims that, post-rehab, she is able to experience right-brain-exclusive existence, which obliterates time and self analysis and language -- she says, for the first time, she can now sing on pitch!

 

I began trying to apply this to the problem at hand, my seeming inability to quickly pick up changes and arrangements, and my efforts seem to depend mostly on my spending a lot of time with the guitar/bass/Dobro/harp so that I no longer have a conscious, thinking reaction when I'm called upon to play new material. Perhaps that was the motive for George Harrison's forays into Eastern spirituality.

 

Of course, at my age, I'll be dead before anyone notices any improvement....