Today we’re going to talk about 4 ways to get over stagefright. This will help you learn to relax when you perform, allowing you to play your best.
Stagefright is something I’ve dealt with on and off my entire musical career. It’s probably common to most musicians. I define this as fear that keeps you performing at your best. The drums in particular are a very physical instrument, so I think it affects drummers the most profoundly. There have been times where I have become so nervous from stage fright that I’ve felt paralyzed, like I could barely move. When this happens, it doesn’t matter how much hand technique you have. It doesn’t matter how much independence you’ve mastered or what great ideas you have in your head, because you simply don’t have access to these things when you experience excessive stage fright.
So now that we’ve defined the problem what is the solution? What is the cure? Here are 4 things I’ve found that have really helped me to overcome stage fright.
1. Prepare to perform. This should seem obvious to most people. Are you ready to perform what you are going to be expected to? There are so many examples I could give. I play jazz. In that genre there are jazz standards, familiar tunes that the musicians are expected to know. So if you’re going to be playing that genre of music you should learn the jazz standards. That’s one example.
If you are a blues drummer, the same is true. There are blues standards that you should know if you’re going to play in a blues band.
If you’re going to perform in a country or rock group, they may or may not be playing lots of familiar cover tunes. It’s good to know as many of those as possible. It goes without saying that if they are doing original songs you need to have those down cold before you perform.
Another example is performing rudimental drum solos for auditions or contests. You should know the solo you are going to play like the back of your hand. It would be best to memorize it. You want to know the solo so well that if someone woke you up in the middle of the night and asked you to play it you’d be able to play it half asleep.
The more prepared you are for your performances the more confident you will be and the less stage fright you will have.
2. Use and expand your comfort zone. Most of us drive a car or ride a bicycle. When you first started you were nervous. You gradually became more and more comfortable. You probably started out in your driveway. Eventually you moved out into the street. Eventually you were comfortable driving in heavy traffic.
Music is the same way. Always start with the easiest, most familiar things you can when you perform whenever possible. If you’re playing in a band for the first song of the night pick an easy song, not some crazy hard tune. You will build your confidence with that song for that performance. Then move onto either another easy one or maybe slightly more difficult before getting to your most difficult material. By the time you get to that more difficult material you’ll probably be ready, confident and warmed-up.
But if you start with your most difficult tune it could be a disaster. You’re not warmed up and you’re nervous. Maybe then you don’t play well. Now your confidence for the day or night is shot and your stage fright goes through the roof. This happened to a friend of mine playing for a large crowd at a county fair. He was the guitarist and they opened their set with “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne. Needless to say it was quite embarassing. He was ready to play that song, but not for the first song in front of such a large crowd of people. Don’t let that happen to you. Start with something easy.
If you’re playing a jam session and you are nervous, try and call a very familiar tune to play first.
If you’re nervous about playing in front of a bunch of judges, play first in front of some friends or family.
3. Practice relaxation exercises. These have to do with visualization. These may seem a bit strange to you at first, but I promise if you try them just once you will be amazed how well they work. The more you practice them, the better you will get at them and this will allow you to relax at will, immediately while performing on the drums. I have a short article that describes these techniques quickly and simply.
4. Find ways of distracting yourself during your performance. If a particular audience member is making you nervous don’t look at them for awhile. Ignore them for a few minutes.
If it’s practical to do so close you eyes for a second and totally focus on the music.
Try looking at the drums as you are playing them rather than the audience for a few minutes.
You can also try looking at band members rather than the audience for a few minutes. This can help you focus on the music rather than the audience. It’s the audience that gives you the stagefright not the music.
I can’t promise you these things will eliminate stage fright completely for you. But they definitively help. They can keep it down to a minimum.
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