Playing with a band

[taxman]

...When you "think" too much' date=' about where you're going you screw up! [/quote']

That phenomenon is called:

"Paralysis by analysis."

 

I always had trouble in baseball with two strikes on me. I started thinking too much about that next pitch. I suffered from "Paralysis by analysis." Skiing or boxing I am great at - no time to think. Apply that to music. In music, don't give yourself time to think about the coming solo. Turn your back to the others, get into your own world, think about Hawaii or something, and then just let the music flow. Don't think about it. Don't agonize over it. Don't analyze it.

[charlie brown]

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']

 

WHO wrote that book? PAUL?! LOL! (Just kidding)

 

CB

[Dennis G]

This is pretty interesting. There's a similar discussion on another board I'm on as to whether or not alcohol, etc. improves your playing, etc. In a nutshell, do you play better because you're not thinking/concentrating as much, but rather going on instinct, if you will. Very similar to whether or not you tense up while playing with other musicians. Here's an excerpt from my post...

 

 

"I usually practice my lessons in the afternoon, the strongest stimulant being maybe a Coke on ice. All business. But, after dinner and a couple of glasses of wine, I spend some time either noodling or playing along with jam tracks. Pure fun. No thinking about anything except what you "feel" will sound good, and I think it helps. There is however, as others have said, a very fine line between creative/instinctive and diminished capabilities I played in a band for a couple of years in the 60's and it didn't matter if we were playing bars or high school dances, we always had a beer or two before we went on and during breaks.

 

My other hobby is driving race cars. Several years ago I went to a seminar that teaches the concept that the less you think about what you're doing, and the more "instinctive" it becomes, the better you'll do it. Example...while sitting in the car before going on track, you visualize yourself driving lap after lap, in real time. As you do, you begin to visualize your brake points, shift points, corner entry/exit points, etc. The more you can "automatically" do from your visualizations, the faster your lap times will be. Obviously, it's a bit more involved than that, but the point being, the less you're thinking, the better you're doing. FWIW, and yes, it worked for me, and in my opinion anyway, it's the same with the guitar. "

 

Moral of the story, just let it flow. You'd be surprised how well you'll do. My opinion, anyway.

[keoki]

I think if you keep with it you will gradually adapt and excell in the band environment. It is different as you are working with persons of various skill levels and it can be challenging. Given that, if the members of your band are in it for any other reason other than to have a great band, as opposed to a collection of individuals, I would advise to continue with them for the experience but to continue to look for musicians interested in the band's product. You will still have ample opportunity to dispay your wares. I wish you luck and happiness with your music.

[antwhi2001]

Another slant on the breathing thing. A drummer told me recently that your "internal metronome" is relative to your heartbeat. If you hold your breath while playing a tricky bit, your hearbeat speeds up slightly, and you return to the rythm with a faster beat. If you can keep your breathing going, you keep time better. Makes sense to me. Also explains why speeding up (rather than slowing down) is such a common problem with amateur or semi-pro bands.

 

I only beat the nerves thing by putting myself under that pressure repeatedly until it wore off. As a beginner I got into a covers band and played gigs 3 times a week for about 3-4 months and that got me through the barrier. When I returned to gigging after a gap of about 15 years I started going to several local jam nights. The pressure of getting up in with strangers to jam on unfamiliar songs was stressful at first but I soon got over it.

[Whitmore Willy]

Practice 'till you don't have to think about it.

 

"If you have to think about it, you are already too late."

SRV

[stan 58]

What about red light fever? The second the recording light comes on and every thing goes out the window. Now theres pressure! Stan.

[lpdeluxe]

What about red light fever? The second the recording light comes on and every thing goes out the window. Now theres pressure! Stan.

 

I see that all the time. I tell people, "that red light doesn't know who you are or what you're playing. Do you freeze up when you play in front of the toaster?" -- said with a smile, of course.

 

I've been recording for so long I don't even notice any pressure. If anything, I get a lot more focused and able to concentrate. Of course, when I record something, by definition, I'm well prepared.

 

Race driving is an interesting analogy. I started riding motorcycles when I was 15 and got into road racing when I was in college. By then all the moves required (foot shift, hand throttle and clutch, etc) were pretty well ingrained in my muscle memory. But, damn, things happened a lot faster!

 

The good ones (just like the good guitarists) started really young, and rode without thinking. We used to run at Willow Springs Raceway (among others) in Southern California, and once a year, the club would run a race "backwards," or counterclockwise. It's amazing how different the track looked. One guy said it was fascinating, every so often, to find himself watching the hills rotate around in front of him and the sky overhead (Willow is out in the desert, and runs through low hills -- challenging track).

 

The adrenaline rush experienced playing gigs and racing is more similar than you might think.

[tulsaslim]

Never...I repeat.. NEVER worry about making mistakes. You're gonna make them. Get over it. Nobody but a robot can play all day without making mistakes. Fact of life.

 

Play on. Don't worry about it. You'll be fine.

[Notes_Norton]

Never...I repeat.. NEVER worry about making mistakes. You're gonna make them. <...>.

 

Amen.

 

I make them on every gig. I can't play a night without making at least one mistake.

 

Fortunately I can cover most of them up so the audience doesn't know. After all, any wrong note is a half step away from a right note. And if I can't cover it up, I don't worry about it, I just go on.

 

If I make a huge mistake that stops the show, I simply make a joke about it, blame the drummer (we don't have one, I use a computer), point at the computer and threaten to dock his pay, and try to get a smile.

 

Also, good practice would be to go to jam sessions. In jam sessions, you have to concentrate on the music since you are not in familiar territory and you don't know what the other musicians are going to do next. That makes the music more of an adventure so you don't have time to think about anything else. Plus it's a lot of fun.

 

Notes

[Dave]

We all make mistakes. If you listen to live concert CDs, you will hear them, too. The trick is to turn them into excursions to where you should have gone. A bad note can be extrapolated into your solo with the audience thinking you actually meant to do it if you do it right. Listen to some Steely Dan and you will understand what I'm talking about. They did it on purpose. It's call a jazz lick when YOU do it. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it. GRIN

 

Scales, Scales, Scales. Learn them and make them a part of your right brain tools. Once you have the scales and patterns in your head, you will never be without a vehicle for an improvised solo. After all, the right brain is connected to the left hand.

[lpdeluxe]

Never...I repeat.. NEVER worry about making mistakes. You're gonna make them. Get over it. Nobody but a robot can play all day without making mistakes. Fact of life.

 

Play on. Don't worry about it. You'll be fine.

 

+1

 

I used to tell the guys in the band, "if we did it perfect, they'd have to pay us more."

 

Interpretation, feel and personality all trump "perfection." If you want perfect, go buy a Steely Dan CD.

[stan 58]

If I worried about mistakes I'd never pick up my guitar!!Stan.