Building confidence. How?

[microdmitry]

Ok. Here's the problem. The problem is that I play like 5 times worse than I can when somebody is listening or when I'm recording myself. My fingers get lost on the fretboard, bends don't stop where they should, tapping won't come out as good as I want..., well you most likely know the feeling. It's not even gigging, I get scared when I even think of performing in front of a dozen people, it's just my friends listening to my playing.

I suspect that most of the accomplished players had this problem and got around it somehow.

How do you guys build the confidence and how did you build it strong enough to play your first gig?

[spacenuke]

i just rehearse lots and lots with the boys before a gig. by the time we're done, my confidence level is sky high.

when recording, i just keep the tape rolling all the time when i play, then go back to pick out whatever i want after the entire session.

[Mr Orange]

The problem is that you want to play good. You're afraid of playing bad.
The solution is to let go of the need to play good. I suggest meditation.

Another thing you might wanna try is to tell yourself every morning 20 times "I am a great guitarist", and believe it. Do it for a few months.

[spacenuke]

Originally Posted by Mr Orange

The solution is to let go of the need to play good.

yep, don't think of it as a gig. think of it as a party where you go to have fun, just that instead of picking up girls, you're playing the guitar.

[Sid Vai]

practice.
i used to suck. and then i started to really practice for hours a day. i wanted to get better and i did my best to do so. i never felt like playing in school cuz i thought i sucked. so i had no confidence. but now, god has allowed to practice and improve, and now im confident that what i do doesnt suck. so there u go. my suggestion is pick up the guitar and dont let go until u respect ur own abilities.

hope that helps
Cheers

[Vai the god of Sound]

Really, all it boils down to is your inner strength to coping with performing for people. I won't get too phylisophical, I promise

Just try to raise your level of self-esteem and self-confidence...I never thought I would be performing in front of 2000 people twice in 2 weeks, but I did....and I did it all alone....just make sure you wear cool shades, play at night and look into the lights!

But really...performing with a band should make you feel more comfertable. Realise that not everyone is paying their attention to you and you'll be fine...plus, your mistakes will just drown out within the whole band...if its mixed right

[davester1234]

I think the key is to relax...no ones judging, everyone around you wants you to excel (we hope)!

Try to think of the guitar as a part of you: you're just expressing yourself. When you do that, the world kinda blackens out, and your confidence strengthens.

But do yourself a favor, don't cheese out on your practicing, give it your all, audience or not. If you give it your heart all the time, particular situations will bit a bit less scary, becuase you'll be that much more confident in exactly what you have to do.

[Guitar Wizard]

Originally Posted by microdmitry

Ok. Here's the problem. The problem is that I play like 5 times worse than I can when somebody is listening or when I'm recording myself. My fingers get lost on the fretboard, bends don't stop where they should, tapping won't come out as good as I want..., well you most likely know the feeling. It's not even gigging, I get scared when I even think of performing in front of a dozen people, it's just my friends listening to my playing.

I suspect that most of the accomplished players had this problem and got around it somehow.

How do you guys build the confidence and how did you build it strong enough to play your first gig?

A simple word is practice/rehearsals. You really have to almost "over" practice to be able to play in front of an audience. If you have been playing for a while, think about how you can effortlessly change chords from G to D. You really don't "think" about it. You fingers almost have a mind of their own. This is how you need to feel about soloing. Don't stop practicing until you have that mindless, "effortless effort" in your soloing.

One trick I picked up from Steve Morse is to play a scale or solo 10 times in a row without stopping or making a mistake. If you make a mistake on the 5th time, you start over again until you play it perfectly 10 times in a row. This way when you have to play it "once" in front of people you will nail it. Guaranteed. The muscles and mind take over from your nerves.

Another trick that I used is to build up finger strength is to use a watch. When you play/practice a scale or solo, play it without stopping for 5 minutes straight.

You also might want to start out with simpler, pre-figured out, solos to songs first ranther than to just try to improv on the spot. A lot of great guitarists have used this idea. Look at Jimi Hendix's - Fire solo and Eddie Van Halen - Aint talkin bout love solo for examples. Then, when you get comfortable on stage or in front of people you can open up songs to improvs.

[wddonalds]

The way that I dealt with stagefright was by joining a band that played fairly simple punk rock songs. That way I didn't really have to worry too much about playing complicated music but could 'learn' how to play in front of an audience and to play with other people.

After conquering my stagefright I was ready to move on to playing harder stuff in a different band.

By the way playing loud, sloppy guitar in front of a couple hundred people in a club was one of the best experiences of my life!!

[Reaper]

two things that have worked for me:
a) metronome (for recording), or simply practice over and over with a drum track
b) just kick back and jam

also what Mr Orange said also applies: whenever you take that stage you are a guitar god. Just keep that in mind as you play.

[Guitar Wizard]

Y'know REAPER and MR ORANGE are right. You have to "believe" that you belong on that stage. If you think you are not worthy, it'll kill you everytime. Pretend that you "are" your guitar here. Vai, Van Halen, Page whatever. What would he do in this situation and do it!

[Drew]

Couple of suggestions.

1.) Drink. Your confidence will go through the roof, and you won't give a f*ck about the audience, except for the ones with boobs. On the downside, your ability to execute dakes a dive too.

[/tongue in cheek mode]

2.) grab a pair of dark shades, a la Satch. Not only does this cut the glare of stagelights, it reduces the audience to a dark blur. And as terrifying as a big black blob can be, you don't REALLY think a big black blob is listening to your guitar playing, right? And remember, the faster you play, the harder it will be for the big black blob to catch you.

3.) whoever suggested the "repetition perfectly" thing is right on- it's easy to just not think about this while practicing, but the point of practicing isn't to expand the field within which you can usually play soemthing, but to expand the field of licks and ideas you KNOW you can nail cold at the drop of a hat.

4.) go out and do it. Every time you jam with a band and every time you get in front of an audience, it's that much easier.

Ironically enough, i do better in front of large crownds than a few friends- wen it's just like 5 people, you know everyone's listening, and there's a very "personal" relationship between you and them. With a big crowd, it's just a faceless mass. there's a ton of them, but there's no direct interaction between you, so you can sort of pretend that no one's really playing together.

5.) get some good backing tracks, or (preferrably) record your own. Jam over them. It'll help your phrasing tremendously.

-Drew

[cerealk]

Originally Posted by microdmitry

How do you guys build the confidence and how did you build it strong enough to play your first gig?

about 5 pints of beer