Topic: Open Mic TRAIN WRECK!!!

[Blue in VT]

So...I decided to play a couple of songs at a local open mic last night....and it was a freakin nightmare!!!!  I totally choked and embarrassed my self... 

I went in thinking I would play one instrumental and 2 songs....but after fumbling my way through the first instrumental (Wilson Rag by Libba Cotten...a song I've played about a million times...  ) and butchering Mississippi John Hurt's See See Rider...sorry John where ever you are... :doh....I decided to play another instrumental (Mama Your papa Loves you...Cotten)....and that one fell apart too....man it was terrible!

I was ridiculously nervous....I do public presentations in front of people everyday for work and thought that I had my stage fright issues all under control....WRONG.....playing music is a whole other level of exposure that I'm still freaked out about...apparently...    One major issue was that I was set up behind the PA system...so from what I could hear my guitar sounded like crap too....not just my playing.... but afterward everyone said my guitar sounded great...which was a very nice way to say that my playing a nd singing weren't good....at least Mary Helen (My Larrivee) came out looking good... :wink:

Anyway...I'm not scarred off just disappointed (I have all these songs down pat at home...  )....I'll do it again...but for the next few times I'll stick to basic tunes and just try to get all the way through them with out making a idiot of myself...we all start somewhere.

***SIGH****

Blue

[CF]

Playing live & with a PA can be the most disorienting thing. I too have been in public performance situations where I played songs I had down pat at home only to give nervous & stilted versions live. But yeah I would suggest trying simpler material live if you're somewhat of a virgin performer.

[Mr.OMuck]

It takes many many times in front of an audience and a mike to feel comfortable, so just consider this your baptism of fire. I would also urge you to examine what your motives are for wanting to perform, it is not essential for enjoying the music. Many classical musicians use blood pressure medication (inderol) to calm their nerves and steady their hands for auditions. Two shots of vodka will work wonders. Some people never get over their stage fright.

PS.  If the audience sees you having fun they'll enjoy it too.

[JugStruggler]

Nothing to do but got out and try those sames songs again as far as I can tell.  Another thing you might try is busking on the street, it's pretty low pressure as most people just pass by without stopping so they probably won't notice your mistakes.  Just make sure you look like a musician not a hobo (fine line sometimes I know).

Be carefull though, once you play a few songs well in front of an audience that appreciates the music there is a chance you'll get hooked.

[Doc White]

There are so many things you have to keep track of when performing that trying to process that while actually playing can do your head in and result in a "Train Wreck". You named a few of them - the sound coming through the PA (can I hear the guitar and vocals, do they sound OK), the lighting (can I see anything), am I comfortable (is the mic at the right height and in the right spot), where is the audience (am I looking at them, is this tune working - if not why not), am I doing a good job. Every performer has had the same experience when starting out. Experience in front of an audience will sort most of them out in time and the good thing about open mic nights is these are exactly the places you should be doing it.
A few suggestions:
Develop a routine for checking things when you are setting up. Something like POSITION, LIGHTS, SOUND.
Position
I'm not sure about other performers here but this is the most important issue for me. If I'm not comfortable then I don't play or sing well and I feel shitty about the gig.
If you have a mic and mic stand at home work out where you would ideally like it placed. When you set up on stage make sure it goes where you've decided it's best for you. I take my own chair to gigs - it's a black lightweight fold up I bought at K-Mart for $10 and it means I don't have to go and hunt for one the right height at the gig. It's amazing how different chairs alter your posture and therefore your relationship to the mic and how the guitar sits in your lap. I can't stand to play sitting on a stool I keep slipping off the damn things. If you stand, obviously this is not an issue. Make sure you are in the right position to here the monitors properly. You need to be sufficient distance back from them to properly hear the bass and mid frequencies particularly if the box has a horn and a speaker. Most of them are designed for people who stand so if you sit when you play they have to be a little further back. If you can't move them, move yourself to the right spot. Make sure the monitor is pointed at you in such a way that you hear the full spectrum. If you have the horn pointed at you what you hear will be very trebly. Before you adjust the EQ on your guitar (if you have an on-board pick-up) check the monitor position.
LIGHTS
If the venue has spots make sure they don't interfere with your playing. If you are having to squint your way through the set or you can't see the neck of your guitar, something is wrong. Get the sound guy or whoever is looking after the lights to move them so you can see what you are doing.
SOUND
If there is a sound guy make sure you tell them what you like but be polite. Introduce yourself before your spot, ask them their name and be sure to thank them afterwards even if you think the sound was crap. It is their job to facilitate the sound you make onstage to the audiences ears. Most of the time the sound you hear on-stage is very different to what the audience hears. If you don't have monitors and are behind the PA then what you hear will be a bit muffled and quite bassy. It may well sound fine aout front. If you are in that situation ignore the sound and concentrate on your playing and singing (this is hard). There is no doubt hearing great sounds coming out of the PA produces a better performance but at the open mic level this is not generally the case.
BE PREPARED
Even though you may have played tunes millions of times there may be spots in the tune that you never quite get. Make sure the tunes is as smooth as possible and if you are singing that you know the guitar part well enough that you can forget about it while you are singing so you can concentrate on delivering a vocal performance.

Cheers,
Chris

[Blue in VT]

Thanks all!!!

The support is very much appreciated...the nightmare aspects of the night are all ready fading...especially as I get good feedback from forumites like yourselves...misery loves company!! 

I appreciate all the set up advice...I certainly think I will try to incorporated a small "monitor" into my signal chain next time...the tone was very distracting and I couldn't hear my singing at all.  I will dial back my difficulty a little bit next time and focus on instrumental pieces until I feel more comfortable in front of people.

I like the idea of busking for experience...the difficult part there is finding the time...I have a 8 month old at home that keeps me pretty busy...but I'll try to find some time.

O'muck...I'm very interested in your comment about motivation and thats really got me thinking about why I want to do this.....I guess I want it to be fun....I want it to be a way to meet new and intersting people....and certainly I want people to confirm to me that I can actually play this music and play it pretty well...I know thats selfish but I think its realistic...I've spent a lot of money on my equipment and an untold amount of time practicing so I would love some feedback from folks that appreciate the music I'm playing and can tell me that I'm doing a good job.  Why do others play out?  Making money is not a motivator for me....so what else is there other than a desire to share your music and something of yourself with others and hope that they appreciate and like that?

Cheers....thanks again all!

Blue

[Norfolk Slim]

It is undoubtedly the case that just doing it as often as possible is the only real way to get better at being able to replicate what you do at home, in front of people.  It gets a little bit easier each time you do it.

Irritatingly, I ahve found that if you stop doing it for  a bit and the try again, it gets worse again :-)  The more often and regularly the better. 

I also think its worth recognising that guitar is a particularly difficult thing to play well when nervous in my view.  Those strings and the gaps between them are really very small- and when you are very nervous your fingers tremble far enough to miss them- as well as being sweaty and liable to slip.

I found that playing in a band (where I could hide a bit whilst getting used to it) and also recording a lot helped.  Some of the anxieties that creep in when recording (omg- Ive not made a mistake yet... please let me get to the end...) are the same as playing live.

If its any comfort- last time I played (at the EBA weekend in Bracknell a month or two back) I ballsed up both songs to some extent.  Blew the ending of a slow and almost perfect version of Jailhouse Blues by relaxing before I'd finished, and then tripped up twice on an upbeat number because I was playing too hard and too tense and my right hand seized up and started missing bass notes. 

All good fun.

The point about motivation is a thread in itself I think- and one which many of us may find it tricky to be 100% honest with ourselves about!

[dave stott]

Blue --

I feel for ya

Just remember the old saying, sh*t happens sometimes, no mater how prepared you are...

I do agree with Mr. O muck about really thinking about what your motives are for playing at open mics or performing in public.


A long time ago, I gave up playing open mic nights mostly because most folks have no clue who Blind Boy Fuller, Big Bill, etc.. is or was.

So my hoping that they would appreciate the way I play a tune became an unrealistic goal.

Worse yet, was when I got comments that my version did not much sound like Claptons at all.... DUH.

Secondary to my decision was the poor amplification systems most places have.

I now hunt out folks in my area that play similar music and we have gatherings at houses to compare tunes, comments, etc....

Post a note at your local guitar store that you are looking to do informal jams and if needed be specific in the type of music.

Hang out in the local park and play your music... dem folks that like it will gather... it will give you more practice for performing in public.

Dave

[Slack]

Performing solo is tough -- no place to hide.  I think we all have train wreck stories.  My worst was performing in front of friends and family (about 50 people) at an annual "festival".  I'd just learned some cool new tunes at Port Townsend the month before (so had not practiced nearly enough), but could not decide what key to sing it in (just learning to sing) and so i was practicing it in two keys - what a mistake.  I started the guitar intro in one key and started singing in the other key, which was so distracting to me that I then forgot where I was with the guitar part, and so I blew that -- but I fumbled around, picked it back up again and finished the song (and making a joke about the beginning of the song being my foray into modern "jazz").

It always helps (me anyway) to build confidence if you realize that 95% of the people in the world cannot get out there and do what you just did (train wreck or no).  And that we are most critical of ourselves -- so what might have been horrible to you, probably was not so bad to the folks that were listening -- e.g. they missed many of your fumblings.

I haven't been performing publicly very long (and it's in a band context). Money is not a motivation, -- it is kind of a relief not to take money as we don't have to worry about giving them their "moneys worth", but then again, it can be an expensive hobby. -- but the nice thing about performing  is that it is fun (once you get over the jitters) and it opens doors to meeting people, making friends, having experiences, playing with other musicians - that you would otherwise would not have.... which provides for some pretty strong motivation.

So keep performing, it gets easier.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I sympathize with your experience, Blue in VT, and the rest of you who've had experiences like this, as I have.  A couple of points that have proven helpful to me in performing and recording situations may help some of you, too.
   * There's a tendency some times to have an attitude about music-making like, "I've got to make it happen."  If you've played your material enough though, and are in good practice, you may get better results by thinking less about "making it happen" and thinking, instead, about "letting it happen", just opening yourself up to the music and letting it pass through you.  I've had occasions (and hope to have more), where I was so far out of my own way that it was like watching someone else play, but at the same time, fully engaged, definitely not in an "automatic pilot" mode.
   * When you consider a musical option and initially reject it, leave it rejected.  I sometimes fall prey to what Edgar Allan Poe called "the Imp of the Perverse", the impulse that goads you to do something precisely because you shouldn't do it.  The interior monologue behind this scenario is something like, "If I try this lick I'm going to screw it up."  "Okay, don't do it."  "Well, I'm doing it anyway!"  "Oh man, I screwed it up!"
I'm not saying you should play it perfectly safe and avoid all chance-taking (though for the first couple of songs in a set it's not a bad idea, until you get settled).  The notion that one's reach should exceed one's grasp is all fine and good, but for that to work in performance situations, the reach should exceed the grasp only incrementally, not by orders of magnitude.  If you miss something you're going for by so much that it's impossible for the audience even to guess what you were going for, it's an option that probably should have been rejected.  "No guts, no glory", I know, but there's always tomorrow and a host of tomorrows to perfect that lick you would like to play but aren't ready for yet.
All best,
Johnm

[GhostRider]

Blue:

Amateur to amateur. I'll bet you a nickle to Slack's lost ponytail that you didn't really train wreck at all. Sure , in your first tune you made some mistakes. But remember (and this has REALLY helped me), and strange as it may seem, the folks in the crowd don't know MJH's See See Rider all that well!   But you do. When you made a mistake, it was grievous to yourself but No One Else Noticed (if you kept the rhythm going) and so it snowballed. I know this from personal experience.

If I play LHJones' "Corpus Blues" and screw it, Nobody Else Will Notice. Sometimes I'll stop playing the tune, just keep the bass going for a while and start again. Folks think its part of the tune.

I'll get off stage after an Open Mic, knowing that I blew (big time) half the licks in "Travelin' Mama Blues" and folks think its great.

Remember No One Will Notice (Unless Waxy's in the crowd).

Alex

[JugStruggler]

I like the idea of busking for experience...the difficult part there is finding the time...I have a 8 month old at home that keeps me pretty busy...but I'll try to find some time.

Take the baby with you, you'll probably make loads of money

I used to take my dog with me busking and two nice old ladies from the cruise ship that was in town stopped pet him.  Then one of them said "he'll never be able to feed you on what he has in there" glancing at the case at my feet.  She then proceeded to throw a $20 bill in!  I thought to myself, "Do I really look like I need the money or the dog won't get fed?"  Quite disheartening.

Of course that same day as I was packing up a kid who had just walked by with his mother ran up the street handed me a $1 and said "I liked your music.  I want you to have this."

[JugStruggler]

Remember No One Will Notice (Unless Waxy's in the crowd).

So true!  As long as you keep the beat going the "crowd" almost never notices.

The flip side is that musicians notice more mistakes than Average Joe, which in some ways makes an open mike the worst place to start out.  Of course mistakes are expected there, which makes it a great place to start out.

My band just played a benifit yesterday.  For the first time ever we had people sign on to our email list for upcoming gigs.  We got compliments from a few audience members after the show and an offer for payment for future gigs from one of the organizers.  Great I thought, nobody heard the mistakes.

Well, our bass players brother was there, and he's also a musician.  He gave our bass player the honest run down from his perspective.  1.  Couldn't hear the harmonies at all (equipment issue)  2.  Pitch problems particularly first few lines of a song  3.  Breaks between songs were to long etc.

[dj]

When you made a mistake, it was grievous to yourself but No One Else Noticed

The best advice on performing I ever got:  When I was young, just after my first (disastrous) attempt to play the krumhorn in public, an older musician took me aside and said "No matter what you do on stage, keep your compousre and smile graciously as if you're saying "I meant to play that".  90% or more of the audience will believe you."

       

[Parlor Picker]

Jeff Beck once said if you make a mistake, repeat it, then people will think you meant to do it!