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I struggled quite badly to play in front of people at IGC 2013. Then I went to IGC 2014 terribly unprepared, and didn't play much better. While exploring performance in the workshop at camp last year, I set myself up for total failure to play, and somehow managed to exceed the failure I expected and set myself up for. Fellow IGC camper Big Bear proffered a theory that confidence in one's ability to play may be an essential element in playing publicly. He promptly tested his theory by rocking out an impromptu performance of Lucky Man. This the only Level 1 song in the TG repertoire, and Bear totally smoked it. Placebo or, not, I am not one dispute empirical data. I think Big Bear is really onto something.

I am looking forward to camp this year, and I will show up far more prepared than last year, but my practice time is limited, very limited during the week, so I needed to build and polish my set list of mostly (I just can't resist at least [strike]one[/strike] [strike]two[/strike] well, maybe three new and difficult) songs I already learned and forgot. Even some that were too difficult to play in my early days I might now find easy enough to play comfortably. I dug out all my old sheets, selected fifteen or so songs, and went to work. Now I know Bear was right. Every chance I get to practice, I first drill with the metronome a few minutes then rip through my set list. Progress has been quick. I haven't played any of this stuff at open mic yet simply because of time, so I found another audience to try it out on. I started playing lunch time sessions to my staff at work. Poor guys. Those first few songs were pretty bad. But I got better very quickly, and my public play is definitely improving. At first I thought it is just because I was playing for people with whom I am familiar, but last Saturday, I was tested, and I think I passed. I went to my local music store to try out a different pick shape. The guy in the store was an instructor and wanted to sell me lessons, so he asked me to play with the picks I chose. The store owner wanted to sell me a certain guitar, so he put it right in my lap, and plugged in. The instructor is a locally well known jazz player, and his wife, who happened to be in the store, is a music professor at a local college. There were also about eight or so other customers in the store. So I played. Without difficulty. I actually played pretty good. So I moved on to harder stuff. Nailed it. I played about an hour, and I wasn't even really paying attention to what was going on in the store until I got off the stool, and saw everyone in the store frozen, staring at me. My first reaction was, uh oh. Then someone applauded. And now I actually look forward to playing publicly again.

So I think Bear was absolutely right, and my strategy to play at camp this year is to play stuff that's already rattling around somewhere in my brain and does not challenge the upper limit of my skill set (well, except for those three pieces). And if I bite off more than I can chew, there's always Lucky Man to fall back on.

And Rick, I can't thank you enough.

Dan:

All I can say on this is that I picked about as easy a song as you can find last year (Pocahontas), and still found a way to forget the lyrics when remembering the chords, and forget the chords when remembering the lyrics...

I do think it is a good idea for those of us who really feel the nerves to pick something more within our comfort zone. One less thing to stress about leading up to actually taking the stage.

Jason

I think you're right on Dan!

What a wonderful report of your 'playing in public'-experiences! I am really happy for you how that all has turned out, I'm sure it made you feel really good too. :cheer:

Can't wait to see you perform again in September which I'm sure you'll do just great. Just keep up with what you're doing, which is working for sure. Proud of you!

Ness

Dan, it is a pity that no campers can't see your progress in performence, pity.

Willem

Wrench,

A huge congrats on making such enormous progress on your ability to play in public. I should definitely take quite a few pages from your book.

Inspiring!

Shel

Music Junkie wrote:

Dan:

All I can say on this is that I picked about as easy a song as you can find last year (Pocahontas), and still found a way to forget the lyrics when remembering the chords, and forget the chords when remembering the lyrics...

I do think it is a good idea for those of us who really feel the nerves to pick something more within our comfort zone. One less thing to stress about leading up to actually taking the stage.

Jason

Bourbon syncs the chords to the lyrics. Tequila syncs the lyrics to the chords.

Hi Dan,

Sounds like you are having loads of fun playing which is what it is all about. Hard stuff or not so hard :laugh:

Looking forward to seeing you in September.

Bob

wrench wrote:

Music Junkie wrote:

Dan:

All I can say on this is that I picked about as easy a song as you can find last year (Pocahontas), and still found a way to forget the lyrics when remembering the chords, and forget the chords when remembering the lyrics...

I do think it is a good idea for those of us who really feel the nerves to pick something more within our comfort zone. One less thing to stress about leading up to actually taking the stage.

Jason

Bourbon syncs the chords to the lyrics. Tequila syncs the lyrics to the chords.

Damn.....

See, last year, I had IPA first, and then Fireball...... That explains everything! :woohoo:

Music Junkie wrote:

wrench wrote:

Music Junkie wrote:

Dan:

All I can say on this is that I picked about as easy a song as you can find last year (Pocahontas), and still found a way to forget the lyrics when remembering the chords, and forget the chords when remembering the lyrics...

I do think it is a good idea for those of us who really feel the nerves to pick something more within our comfort zone. One less thing to stress about leading up to actually taking the stage.

Jason

Bourbon syncs the chords to the lyrics. Tequila syncs the lyrics to the chords.

Damn.....

See, last year, I had IPA first, and then Fireball...... That explains everything! :woohoo:

YEAH! I remember the IPA! But after that, it's kinda blurry and fuzzy in my head........

Seriously though, I think this performance anxiety thing has nothing to do with ability to play. It's the brain granting permission to play - and physically restraining you from playing when you don't have permission. Looking at the history of performance anxiety failure, with which I am intimately familiar because I made most of it, I am reminded of the Canadian Guitar Festival in 2010. An artist named Andrew White was the closing act of the weekend. He has a song called Spanish Gentleman, and this thing is wicked difficult. See it here.

At the end of his set, someone requested from the audience that he play this song. Andrew hedged a bit as he explained he hadn't played the song in a long time, and he didn't have the right guitar for that song, and so on. It was clear he wasn't comfortable playing that song at that time. And at that point his brain won. It did not grant Andrew permission to play Spanish Gentleman that night. But Andrew, an accomplished professional performer, an accomplished and highly skilled guitarist, composer, and singer, having just spent three days among his peers and friends, told his brain to stuff it, he is going to play Spanish Gentleman for his audience. And his brain continued to deny permission.

Andrew's first attempt lasted about fifteen seconds. Familiar with the song, I couldn't link any of the first attempt to the song as I remembered it. The second attempt lasted about thirty seconds, and was worse than the first. Again, a combination of the music playing hide and seek in his mind and the dexterity draining from his fingers, the result was unpleasant. He began to sweat; the expression on his face was one of stress, embarrassment, and disappointment. He made a third attempt that was about a duplicate of the second. He paused for about a minute to regain his composure, drank some water, took some visibly deep breaths, and his body was ready. But his brain continued to deny permission to play Spanish Gentleman. Andrew's fourth attempt was a duplicate of the first attempt. A fifteen second battle with his body and his brain that Andrew categorically lost. And so ended the 2010 Canadian Guitar Festival. To this day, though, Andrew White is one of my favorite artists, and I am in awe of his skill and talent.

I am firmly convinced that what Rick taught us last year is how to successfully negotiate with the brain, or at least identify the criteria the brain accepts to grant permission to play. That's my story, I'm stickin' to it.