n3r3m4c
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Poop?
Posts: 195
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Post by n3r3m4c on Feb 21, 2009 22:13:40 GMT -5
So I just played a concert in front of 1000 people at a roller derby, and now I just have to say this: shredding in front of people is fuck hard. While my warmed up chops at home are pretty good and I can play fuck difficult shit without thinking too much about it, in front of a bunch of people it's pretty easy to choke up. So, my question is this: Does anyone have any good exercises or advice on not F'ing up playing fast in front of people?
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Post by patril0mic on Feb 22, 2009 0:03:28 GMT -5
Does anyone have any good exercises or advice on not F'ing up playing fast in front of people? get used to playing in front of people. the only way to do that - play in front of people. sucks but it's the best way.
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Post by SHRED FAN on Feb 22, 2009 0:11:02 GMT -5
Well for me, I found focusing on breathing helps, stamina wise at least. When I was playing Scarified at school performances, generally the verse and outro arpeggio parts just got so demanding that I got really sloppy from all the lactic acid building up in my 4th finger especially. I figured I needed to practice more (not a bad thing ) but the main problem was I was taking a deep breath before diving into fast sections. By breathing steadily, the problem pretty much went away immediately. The nerves generally got better for me after some performances so that really just comes down to experience I guess.
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Post by Tungus on Feb 22, 2009 1:35:30 GMT -5
Does anyone have any good exercises or advice on not F'ing up playing fast in front of people? get used to playing in front of people. the only way to do that - play in front of people. sucks but it's the best way. I never did get use to playing in a concert setting. Some of you may remember my "sweaty hands" post from years ago........ The only way I played well in front of ppl was being just about hammered drunk. Not hammered.... good buzz. Prolly why I failed as a musician. Stage fright kicked my ass. Pat is correct.
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n3r3m4c
IG Regular
Poop?
Posts: 195
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Post by n3r3m4c on Feb 22, 2009 1:45:31 GMT -5
Stage freight certainly isn't the problem because i don't have any problem whatsoever with the crowd, it's just that I seem to loose my muscle memory if that makes any sense.
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Post by Torkin on Feb 22, 2009 7:08:51 GMT -5
It sounds like you get nervous in some way, because inside you tell yourself: I gotta nail this solo right and 100% good, just as well as I did it while rehearsing at home. At least, that is how I feel. And while your thoughts are occupied with nailing it 100% perfect, there is less space for concentration, and muscle memories might get mixed up. But pretty much as everything, it will come with practice (i.e. playing in front of real people). The only comforting thing for me is that I am confident that people don't notice minor fuck ups the first time they hear a particular song or even a cover. And many people won't account a fuck up what you think as a fuck up. And still more won't even notice
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Post by patril0mic on Feb 22, 2009 8:58:07 GMT -5
It sounds like you get nervous in some way, because inside you tell yourself: I gotta nail this solo right and 100% good, just as well as I did it while rehearsing at home. At least, that is how I feel. And while your thoughts are occupied with nailing it 100% perfect, there is less space for concentration, and muscle memories might get mixed up. But pretty much as everything, it will come with practice (i.e. playing in front of real people). The only comforting thing for me is that I am confident that people don't notice minor fuck ups the first time they hear a particular song or even a cover. And many people won't account a fuck up what you think as a fuck up. And still more won't even notice yeah i mean at my band's shows, i'll totally screw up solos and turn them into slop-fests (tons of plinkage) and afterward (either after the show or later on out on the street) people are like "man you're an awesome guitarist" which leaves me like 'WTF" because I remember all those stupid plinks i'd heard myself make the night before :\
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n3r3m4c
IG Regular
Poop?
Posts: 195
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Post by n3r3m4c on Feb 22, 2009 12:18:16 GMT -5
damn guitar hero noises.
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Post by Tungus on Feb 22, 2009 22:03:41 GMT -5
Ya Pat, same prob I had. Like Joel told me on the subject......"Most people would never know you made a mistake".
It used to bug me knowing I totally hosed a run and ppl thought it was amazing. People are strange.
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n3r3m4c
IG Regular
Poop?
Posts: 195
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Post by n3r3m4c on Feb 22, 2009 22:22:30 GMT -5
My main problem is single string scale runs. The band I'm in doesn't really require me to shred but I'm a dickhead so I want to anyways. 3 note per string runs are fine though, and although I can do the single string runs in my chair at home, they rape me live.
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Post by Joel Wanasek on Mar 3, 2009 12:43:31 GMT -5
Ah.... the timeless question: how to adequately get warmed up live.
Well haveing just gotten back from playing for over 10,000 ppl w/ Buch Cherry & Papa Roach in 2 different arenas... I can relate quite well. It is COLD AS HELL in a damn arena. I froze my ass off and my hands were totally stiff each night before I went on. The dressing rooms were also cold as hell too. I was freaking out about 20 min before we played because my hands were frozen and I'm thinking there is no way I am going to pull any of my faser licks if I can't move my hands.
What I did was run my hands under warm water for like 10 minutes before I went on. I also did a whole cardio/ streching/joint warm up routine to get my heart pumping and blood flowing to my hands. The other thing is play guitar for like an hour before you perform. That helped me a lot. I also ate some really hot soup + warm tea to warm up the body. All these things helped a lot and when it was show time.... no problems.
Some other general tips: 1) Experiance - as you play more, you get more comfortable in front of people. If you perform enough, you get to the point where you don't get nervous anymore. More like excited and amped. You know you are comfortable when you hit the stage and everything nerve wise goes away. You just go into the zone and do your thing. 2) Don't give a **** - you are a rock star remember? get up there, rock your ass off, who cares if you screw up. You can't please everyone! Just play your ass off, and have fun. It is easy to criticize people on stage for screwing up, but another thing to get up there and do it. 3) extensive warm ups - GET BLOOD TO YOUR HANDS!!!! 4) relax your breathing - slow inhales and exhales keep you calm. Don't breath to deeply. Just pace yourself. 5) A higher guitar strap = easier to shred / a lower strap = you look way cooler but it is hard to rip Try to find a good spot. It is a trade off. 6) practice standing up and playing as much as possible.
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Post by patril0mic on Mar 3, 2009 16:11:36 GMT -5
2) Don't give a **** - you are a rock star remember? get up there, rock your ass off, who cares if you screw up. You can't please everyone! Just play your ass off, and have fun. It is easy to criticize people on stage for screwing up, but another thing to get up there and do it. true words ov wisdom. like has been said, you can totally screw up playing lead in YOUR eyes, but just go through it and do it anyway. most won't even notice.
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Post by Torkin on Mar 3, 2009 16:58:55 GMT -5
people's first impression is in most cases how fast you can move your fingers
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Post by patril0mic on Mar 3, 2009 17:28:21 GMT -5
people's first impression is in most cases how fast you can move your fingers that's how sloppy players and pentatonic wankers that are hailed by the public as great guitarists get that public status - because they can move their fingers fast.
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Post by thenotshredder on Mar 3, 2009 19:16:43 GMT -5
+much and lots
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