Tips for nervousness and anxiety?

[Kat the metalhead]

I thought I would ask if any one had tips for nervousness or anxiety when playing in front of people.

ive been taking online lessons for a bit and I always feel pumped and ready to play and do not feel nervous at all. But when it comes to playing I get stiff and sore and physically can’t play like I feel frozen but in my head I feel good and how I normally do.

any tips to help with this?? It’s driving me absolutely crazy! It makes me seem like a sloppy player who doesn’t practice even though I practice 2 to 3 hours a day.

 

[Alicia Willis]

I completely feel you on this ! My best piece of advice would be to play more in front of others; especially people you’re close too like your parents, sibling, friends etc. someone you feel totally comfortable around. The more you do it the easier it’ll become.

 

[idssdi]

It's partly practice really but also for me it's about breathing. Just breathing in and out slowly helps me a lot already. Furthermore, what helps me is just telling myself I got this. Doing anything in front of people requires practice whether it is presenting or playing in front of people, it gets better if you do it more. That's really because if you do it more you start realizing it's not that scary anymore. It doesn't matter in front of who you do it but I do remember that I used to be terrified when I had to give a presentation and 2 years ago I had a blackout during a presentation it was able to bluff myself through it and the prof never noticed(besides the presentation wasn't that great)

In short, doing it more will make it easier. Whether it's a stranger, parent or a friend it really helps.

 

[Forgetabull]

For me it was more along the lines of people didn't really care if I messed up. If I was doing a chord progression, I also found that people often didn't notice a wrong chord if I kept the rhythm correct and kept going. I found the same when I was jamming with people. What I do find though is I need to warm up before I start playing properly. I do that with chord progressions and some noodling. Maybe if you do some basic chord progressions for like 5 minutes or more before your lesson that may help?

 

[Ed Seith]

It is 100% a self-confidence thing and the only thing that really gets rid of it is repetition. The shitty thing is that if you don't do it regularly, your confidence "resets," too, so even if you played in front of thousands a long time ago, if you haven't in a few years, that stagefright is right there with you again. I know this from experience .

 

[Kat the metalhead]

Thanks guys!! I’m gonna put all your advice to use!! You all gave me amazing tips @Ed Seith @Alicia Willis @Ids Schiere @Forgetabull

 

[Muz Malek]

I thought I would ask if any one had tips for nervousness or anxiety when playing in front of people.

ive been taking online lessons for a bit and I always feel pumped and ready to play and do not feel nervous at all. But when it comes to playing I get stiff and sore and physically can’t play like I feel frozen but in my head I feel good and how I normally do.

any tips to help with this?? It’s driving me absolutely crazy! It makes me seem like a sloppy player who doesn’t practice even though I practice 2 to 3 hours a day.

To add-on to everyone up there, also remind yourself of your goals.

Tell yourself that this is what you want, and you've gotten the opportunity, so it's now or never!

 

[Calvin Phillips]

The only way to break through.. is to break through. Just go live on instagra. Even if no one is watching. And just go with it. Eventually you'll forget the camera is even going

 

[William B.]

bring your guitar outside to the park and have a picnic with friends? I struggle with this too sometimes but than I think to myself " who cares, it's for me "

 

[Brian Haner Sr.]

I thought I would ask if any one had tips for nervousness or anxiety when playing in front of people.

ive been taking online lessons for a bit and I always feel pumped and ready to play and do not feel nervous at all. But when it comes to playing I get stiff and sore and physically can’t play like I feel frozen but in my head I feel good and how I normally do.

any tips to help with this?? It’s driving me absolutely crazy! It makes me seem like a sloppy player who doesn’t practice even though I practice 2 to 3 hours a day.

The good news is you can overcome it (at least to a certain extent). The tragic news is - it's like ANYTHING else. The more you do it, the better you get.
There is no magic formula. I have played thousands of shows - hundreds of them in arenas in front of 10,000 people. I can count the "perfect" shows on one hand. Thankfully, I can also count the disasters on one hand. All the others fall somewhere in-between - but always high on the scale - 8s & 9s on a scale of 1-10. Nobody knew I made a mistake except me.
I have NEVER played a show in my entire life where I wasn't nervous (even panicked) just before I walked on stage.
As a matter of fact, I have only met two people in my life who weren't nervous before shows - and guess what? They both sucked. Their lack of care came through in their performance.
You're supposed to be nervous. You're nervous because it matters. You just don't want to be paralyzed. You just need learn how to channel that nervous energy into positive energy.
As soon as I start playing, the nervous energy morphs into performance energy.

If performing is something you want to pursue - play in front of people that won't judge you too harshly - friends & family, (that's assuming your friends and family aren't assholes). Expand from there - and just assume you're going to make a mistake or two. And understand, (with the exception of some catty guitar players), everyone is on your side. They WANT you to succeed.
Play a song people can sing along with. Make them part of it. Make it fun. This will give you confidence to follow up with something featuring just you.
Take a couple of deep breaths and jump in.
You will soon get addicted to the process of performing:
1. The pre-show panic/nervousness.
2. The show itself - which is a combination of hard work, concentration, and hopefully some fun.
3. Euphoria - when it ends and you realize you pulled it off - or better yet - killed it!

Good Luck!
pg

 

[Calvin Phillips]

Good practice would be to announce your strea...play for 15 minutes or so and see if anyone shows. I did that and even tho mostly no one was there it still kinda felt like they were.

Eventually you think no.one will.come and then people.are thre when you don't realize it.

 

[carlosmqr]

I know the feeling xD even when I play to my wife I make mistakes I dont usually do xD but its all fun when you playing to friends and family, my friends always say that I improved a lot since last time whatever and I make tons of mistakes and feel like I played like shit

But hey its your journey, usually we are our biggest judges but we are the ones who know how many hours we put in it too and unless you playing to someone who payed a ticket to see you play they cant really complain.

Im sure we let ourselves down way more when we make mistakes than we going to let someone watching us play and thats the mental block.

 

[Kat the metalhead]

The good news is you can overcome it (at least to a certain extent). The tragic news is - it's like ANYTHING else. The more you do it, the better you get.
There is no magic formula. I have played thousands of shows - hundreds of them in arenas in front of 10,000 people. I can count the "perfect" shows on one hand. Thankfully, I can also count the disasters on one hand. All the others fall somewhere in-between - but always high on the scale - 8s & 9s on a scale of 1-10. Nobody knew I made a mistake except me.
I have NEVER played a show in my entire life where I wasn't nervous (even panicked) just before I walked on stage.
As a matter of fact, I have only met two people in my life who weren't nervous before shows - and guess what? They both sucked. Their lack of care came through in their performance.
You're supposed to be nervous. You're nervous because it matters. You just don't want to be paralyzed. You just need learn how to channel that nervous energy into positive energy.
As soon as I start playing, the nervous energy morphs into performance energy.

If performing is something you want to pursue - play in front of people that won't judge you too harshly - friends & family, (that's assuming your friends and family aren't assholes). Expand from there - and just assume you're going to make a mistake or two. And understand, (with the exception of some catty guitar players), everyone is on your side. They WANT you to succeed.
Play a song people can sing along with. Make them part of it. Make it fun. This will give you confidence to follow up with something featuring just you.
Take a couple of deep breaths and jump in.
You will soon get addicted to the process of performing:
1. The pre-show panic/nervousness.
2. The show itself - which is a combination of hard work, concentration, and hopefully some fun.
3. Euphoria - when it ends and you realize you pulled it off - or better yet - killed it!

Good Luck!
pg

It’s good to know that being nervous is normal for everyone! Thanks so much for your feedback, it means a lot!