Alright so for a while I thought it was just to do with whatever I’m playing over but lately I’ve found that it kinda applies to everything.
Basically what I’m talking about is, I’m twice the player I am on stage when I’m anywhere else. It just seems that everything I’ve learned and worked on just disappears in a live context and the moment I try to fix it the solo is already over.
I just turn into a basic ass stock player as soon as the time comes in a show, but when it’s not live I’m exploring different ideas, being wayy more melodic and my fast picked stuff is far better.
Just curious as to how many others experience this and if/how they ever overcame it.
Cheers in advance
From the context on your post, did you mean to say you’re twice as good when you’re not on stage? Sorry this one sentence reads strangely to me, but that’s what I got from your post.
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Well I know how you feel. I went thru something similar when in a band.
The only advice I can give FWIW:
- Always practice standing up at home to ensure any sitting/standing differences dont cause problems.
- Practice playing whole songs over and over. If there’s a particular part in a solo that troubles you then sure focus on that, then play the whole solo through over and over, then progress to play the whole song over and over.
- Don’t let mistakes derail the solo and don’t be afraid to improvise if you lose your way. Practice improvising the solo at home to have some licks or ideas ready for this eventuality.
- Have confidence in yourself and forget about who’s in the audience. This can be hard and for me was very difficult but was really essential at the start of playing in a band to enable me to perform. Also, you wanna connect with the audience and enjoy the gig, but I normally found my best performances were where I was completely closed off to who was watching and was concentrated on playing. As time goes by, and shows come and go, you develop some kind of stage presence because you know the songs inside out and build up real confidence. Thats the goal.
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Yeah sorry, bit of a typo there. You were correct.
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I also find it very different to play on stage. I don’t have much live experience, but I really think my strap length plays a big part here, I can’t get my guitar into a comfortable position without standing on my monitor, but that’s not always possible as we play in small pubs very often where the stage is barely enough for a family of hamsters. I’m looking for a short strap, I’m short myself so my guitar is knocking on my knees even when I set it to the shortest possible way.
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Do it more. Until stepping on the stage becomes natural and you don’t fear it anymore.
Also, practice more. The stage is a measure of how good you really are. It is normal to be anxious on stage, and that leads to worse technique and more mistakes. That often means you have to be twice as confident on your practice room to get half of the results on stage.
It is easier, of course, if you’re one of those people who absolutely loves being on the spotlight and has an easy time with people and making jokes and not being awkward. I’m not one of those people, so I get the anxiety, but I also do get the thrill of being on stage and it inspires me, even if my technique suffers.
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I haven’t played a gig since 2013. I suffer from panic disorder and that really kicked in on the day of a gig.
Last gig I played I was throwing up in the venue before going on stage! Lol
Usually after the first song it eases off a little though.
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Wow I used to get very anxious and suffer from anxiety but panic disorder sounds worse.
I hope this doesnt offend anyone but sometimes I wonder whether all the time us guitarists spend practicing on our own, prevents us from developing our social skills. I seem to of known a lot of players with some kind of anxiety or social disorder, including me I must add.
As with everything in life though it’s probably more complicated than that.
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You could be right. Spending too much time alone seems to cause issues for some people. I noticed this a lot more during covid restrictions. Some people working from home started to get very depressed or anxious.
I live alone and only go out for the essentials, which I’m sure doesn’t help with my own issues.
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This might be a bit different but sort of in the same category.
I’ve had stage fright for decades, but have played a lot of gigs. For me it has been medium tempo parts that fails or feels awkward to play. Fast stuff is mostly on reflex so I don’t have to worry about messing up, there’s no time to think.
The main problem is (at least for me) the adrenalin messing up my playing. So, breathing exercises helps a lot. Some meditational stuff with affirmations in them can help too.
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First of all thanks heaps for all your comments, love how active this forum is.
Secondly, I probably should’ve seen this coming but for all the comments leaning toward stage fright being a factor, I’m ruling that out. I’m absolutely at home on stage. As well as the lead guitarist I’ve been the lead vocalist in every band I’ve been in, so I’m used to being in the spotlight.
The standing up part people have mentioned is probably hindering the fast picked stuff because it’s so precision based and all the angles are different. But for the most part I’m just in a completely different mindset musically, maybe it’s a case of Performer vs Musician where the former takes all the brain power away from the latter.
I think next time I hit the stage I’ll try hard to switch off from the Frontman mode and just play what I would alone.
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My issues is with picking angle mainly, not stage fright. I hope I can solve this with a shorter strap.
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Can also be chicken/egg thing: obsessive practicers practice obsessively and have underdeveloped social skills leading to social anxiety, or socially anxious people seek solitary hobbies to immerse themselves in for comfort. But you’re right, it’s probably much more complex than that, I’m oversimplifying.
Anyway, to commiserate a bit, I’ve definitely had my share of intense performance anxiety, to a point of feeling like I’m a different person (in a bad way) after a show. Or sometimes being so amped up and excited it’s really hard to come down.
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I have experienced this and continue to. I’ve come to expect that when I play live, I can do about 25% of what I can in the practice room (talking fast picking here). I’ve seen footage of my gigs days later and…I actually sound just fine, iso I think for some it’s just a performance vs. practice room thing. I’m not particularly nervous on stage either.
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How about spending some time practicing performance? Instead of playing the song many times just give it one go and try to put yourself as close as live performance conditions as possible. May be little or no warm up, playing in the position you usually are on stage. May be filming it too so you can have some external feedback. This way you can also practice how you get on stage (in front of the camera) and how to put yourself in the right mindset for the performance. If you can get some people to watch it might be even better.
I got this one from a course called Unlock your performance. It’s based a lot on managing anxiety, self-confidence. But I guess even if self confidence and stuff is irrelevant for you. The practicing performing part could be of some help…
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Haven’t played live in years, but I have a similar emotional experience when I record myself.
I’m like “hey I could play this perfectly fine, why can’t I play it when i press record?”
But in reality… how do I know that I am playing fine when I’m not recording, if I am not recording myself? It’s hard to listen objectively while you are busy playing. So I came to the conclusion that the only thing that counts is what I can play when I record myself. Do I like what I am hearing back? If not, why? How can I fix it? Etc. Etc. 
So at the end the “solution” is to just record myself more.
Of course, emotionally I am still convinced that I play better when I’m not recording myself 
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Years ago I worked as a recording engineer and confirm that most play better before hitting that record button, it’s red light syndrome!
The simplest of things can become a problem as soon as you put yourself under pressure to not make a balls of it!
The more you record though, the less of a problem this becomes!
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I’m constantly recording myself, every day, but if I compare what I can do on the stage and in my room, it’s around 25%. I’m still looking for the perfect posture for playing solos, and also, I noticed that sometimes even if I have visitors, my performance level goes down to 25%, but sometimes I can play at the same level. There must be some psychological aspect too in addition to the crappy picking angles and the guitar hitting my knees constantly when not sitting.
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I’d agree that there is likely a psychological aspect to it for sure.
I remember my first ever gig. A song I’d played hundreds of times before. Just as the drummer is counting in, I forget what the first chord is 
Funnily enough though, my first ever gig, at 16, was probably the best gig I’d ever played. I got more anxious about performing as time went on.
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Also, I played my last gig last week without any booze, and I played much worse than before when I was drunk af…
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