Perfect when practicing, crappy when playing live/recording?

General Music Discussion
#1

I’m not sure if this is the right place to post this but…

Have you guys ever practiced something so much for a show or for a recording session in the studio, putting weeks and months of dedicated commitment to getting it right for that one moment, but your form just either doesn’t sound like what it was in the bedroom, or it completely falls apart?

Im not sure why I have this issue but I get it most of the time when I’m performing live or tracking something. I make mistakes that ive tried getting rid of during the prep stage.

And in the studio I’m just lining the engineers pockets because of this shortcoming.

Does anybody have any experience in overcoming this problem?

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#2

Do you practice while sat down but stand up when playing live or in the studio? That could be making a difference. It could also be that you’re concentrating on something to the point that you’re overly self conscious about it and maybe just need to ‘stop thinking about it’ so much when you’re doing it…

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#3

I believe this is called red light syndrome? I have it as well. I think you could try to record something every time you practice, and see if it helps over time? I noticed that recording forces me to pay attention to many things I would normally ignore (timing for one!)

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#4

I usually sit down to practice. I only stand up and practice in front of the mirror like 2 or 3 days before the gig. But yeah I guess I’m overly conscious of how I’ll play when it comes to performing cuz my train of thought usually involves me not trying to screw everything up. Like technical parts or solos. Those scare me so much and it just disappoints me to have that house of cards blown down at the actual show. Maybe it’s a confidence issue as well?

I think I’ll do what you said: not think about it so much. Let’s see how that goes c:

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#5

Mmhmm that works too :slight_smile: thank God for cellphones these days.

And audio interfaces, if that’s what you were referring to lol.

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#6

Another thing is, if I had to play live I would throw in the bin all the licks that don’t feel 100% comfortable, or add whatever mix of hammer-ons pull-offs that would make my picking easier (e.g. accommodating my primary pickslant).

It is usually the right hand that gives most problems live, in my (very limited) experience!

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#7

Looking at this thread and your other critique post (you know - the one where you blazed through some serious picking insanity! :grinning:), I think your issues stem from fear or lack of confidence (as well as the usual 'red light syndrome, mentioned above) - you are aleady a great player. Have you seen the interview Troy did with Noa Kageyama?

I have joined his ‘Bullet Proof Musician’ mailing list and received some really good articles about practice and performance.

From a practical point of view regarding studio time. Have you considered using ‘re-amping’? Where you record directly what comes out of your guitar, which can then be fed back through a guitar amp at a later time when recording. So, you could slave away at home getting the perfect take and then reamp it in the studio - less money spent and more time spent on getting the right amp tone and other production needs. I believe it takes minimal hardware to do (reamping box and a DAW).

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#8

I’m usually very very very OCD when it comes to picking so compromising alternate picked stuff for HOs-POs kinda makes me cringe in a way. I need to be a beast on stage, not a puppy, something like that lol.

My right hand likes to troll me RIGHT at that opportune moment xD

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#9

That’s true actually. I’m pretty insecure at times from experiences in other bands and times where I’m playing the instrument. Then again I’ve always had some sort of musician inferiority complex from the beginning and I was just pushing myself to be better than people who said I wasn’t. I don’t have much of that now, just that it kinda haunts me now and then when I’m not able to figure out a problem, even if there really isn’t a problem haha xD

I haven’t seen that interview yet tho! :hushed: this will help me heaps as I still have stage anxiety, which I douse with a bit of alcohol to calm my nerves before the show xD

Yep, I’ve heard of this method before, just that back then I had no time to do it. My session tracking usually took place after work and I had to return home late at night where my energy could only afford to shower, have my dinner and I’ll be out like a light, and I’ll be back to work in the morning again.

Although the engineer at the time preferred I’d do it all in studio instead for some reason.

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#10

I was gonna recommend checking out Noa Kageyama’s stuff as well. Our interview with him is a bit more focused on practice strategy, but performance psychology is a huge part of his practice. I believe he studied with one of the pioneers of the field, and works with musicians all the time who experience these sorts of problems. So I think well worth browsing his site for further info!

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#11

I would be careful to take this attitude to the extreme (ask me how I know :wink: ).

In some hard licks, picking - say - 90% of the notes makes many licks a lot easier, and often it makes them sound better as well!

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#12

As a performer in two bands, i want to echo the prior post recommending Noa Kageyama. I’m on his mailing list. Another person to look into is Tom Jackson.