Need tips on how to not get nervouse!

[Magneten]

Hey!

In two weeks im going to an audition for a music highschool i want to go to next year. I've been thinking about this audition for 3 years now and i have to get in! I'm going to play Confirmation by Charlie Parker, Prelude no 2 by Villa Lobos, and a jazz improvisation.

I've practised alot and i can play the songs flawlessly and improvise good, but my only problem is that I get so awfully nervouse. Even when im playing small gigs infront of like 10 people i get nervouse, I'll play somthing that i know very well but i will mess it up since i get nervouse.
I've played dozens of gigs, and my nevousity only seems to get worse. I've tried everything from eating alot of bananas to running a mile before a gig but nothing seems to stop my nerves from going wild when i play.

I'm so afriad that my nervousness will screw up the audition, i'll probably quit guitar if i don't get into the school ;(

So please, i need some tips from everyone here at IG to help me out. Tell me all about how you guys cope with nervouseness and how you prepare before an audition or a gig.


thanks

[arc_of_descent]

You're nervous because you care. I personally prefer to see that in people. In many professional job interviews a good interviewer will always ignore the nervousness angle and focus on the message.

Screw them! Think Metallica! have fun!

Cheers!

[Ronnie Bush]

You are supposed to be nervous! Now that we are past that, we can go on. You are nervous because you have invested in this project and expect to succeed. Being nervous is not a weakness. Urijah Faber gets so nervous before a fight that he can not carry on a conversation, but when the man says "let's fight" he shifts gears. Nerves(FEAR) become competitive anger, which is always bad for the other guy.He is just like you, as he invested so much in preperation, but had the fear that it was not enough. At the end of the day, he made the other guy look like a little girl.Turn you FEAR into competitive spirit and look forward to showing them how good you are, THAT'S IT. The only problem you seem to have is fixating on being nervous in the past as well as something that has not happened yet. Stand up and show 'em man!

[Steve Hubbard]

convince yourself that you are 'the man', and that no matter what you play, it will blow the minds of your listeners. that every note you play is genius, and that the audience is beneath you.. you basically need to give yourself an ego, but don't really show it.. this is what i do for live shows, and it works great and helps you get into the performance

[adamblong]

One thing really helped me coming along playing in front of people. And it may not apply in your situation, but I'll tell you anyway.

Guitarists tend to have the reputation of "steamrolling" other musicians. Ya know, "everything is about the guitar." Well I've always really tried as a musician to simply be a part of the band I'm playing in to add balance. But inevitably, I would always get really nervous, and stay completely focused only on me, my playing, my tone, my errors, me, me, me. Until one of the guys in my band took me aside and told me that I was being completely selfish and egotistical. He said just because I wasn't talking about how great I was (in fact just the opposite) didn't mean I wasn't being egotistical...and when you focus SO much on yourself it takes away from the audience's experience. It becomes all about you and not about what you are offering your audience.

I was floored. I'd always gone out of my way to NOT fit the stereotypical guitar player. Now I'm not disagreeing with Steve at all. You need to be CONFIDENT and play with a solid ego. But in the sense that you make every note count. But I it was a huge relief after he told me this because it let me pretty much take a huge burden off my own shoulders. I realized it was much more important to just play. That's it. Offer up what you have to the audience and let them take it or leave it. Make it about the music and not about you.

Sorry to get so psychobabble on you but this has been my approach and my nerves have really not been an issue since.

[yupyup]

Everyone gets nervous, even the highest professionals talk about how they still get nervous in situations. You said that you can play songs flawlessly, but when you perform for people you mess up, think about this, the pros mess-up also, but you don't notice because they are pros at "recovery" and what I mean by that is, let's say the pro wants to play a "C" major scale (c,d,e,f,g,a,b,c) but plays a #d in there. The pro is not gonna stop and start over or stop and say "I'm sorry I messed up" he's going to continue on or let that #d sharp lead him somewhere else (to another scale or mode). Most time only you know exactly what you want to play, So, if you go left when you wanted to go right only you know this, not your audience. EVERYBODY makes mistakes, but everybody don't know how to "recover" from them. I hope this made sense to you.

[edwin12]

Great point yupyup.

I think it was possibly Miles Davis who said " Every note is the first note of the rest of the tune " I'm probably paraphrasing. The point being, as yupyup said, if you make a mistake, just go with it. No point crying over spilt milk. Forget it and move on.

Beyond that, with the nervousness. Try to analyze exactly what it is that causes you to be nervous. Is it that you are so overly critical of yourself that you expect your performance to be something more than you can possibly ever offer? I had that problem in the past, but now I just accept my limits. I know as time goes on I will be able to create a much more rich and diverse musical experience for listeners. That all comes with experience and practice though.

For now, be honest about why you are performing and what you are capable of at this point in time. You have your whole life to improve and learn from mistakes. Let this audition simply be one of many learning experiences. So If you make a mistake just know, the sky wont fall

Take a breath. Get comfortable. Play like you never played before! well.. that might sound pretty bad actually but you get my meaning.