Session-related klutziness

[khl]

I haven't played in a session. I have played in public and with a guitarist. The thing about playing the whistle in public is that the slight trembling of hands that may accompany any public pressure event is the death of anything nice on the whistle. In the few public whistle outings I've experienced, I ended up leaving out (or goofing up) most of the articulations I usually play at home. It was enough just to get the tune right.

[anniemcu]

It also doesn't help if you are leading the session and one of a handful of melody players. Because my breathing still needs some work on flute I find it hard playing it if I am one of a few players as I feel I have to carry the melody perfectly with great phrasing. Its a lot easier if there are others who can carry the melody as well, not as much pressure.

Yup.. the more players, the more commoflage.

Seriously, though, most people I've ever played with are really very forgiving and encouraging, and I try hard to be too... so why do I still react this way? Actually, though, now that we are talking about it, I have been doing better at relaxing and just doing what I can, the best I can, and not getting all freaked if I blow part of it. Much more fun that way, I must say.

[TonyHiggins]

I went to a house concert a couple of years ago to hear Tommy Peoples, the fiddler, play (the undisputed great fiddler, that is). He admitted to being very nervous, so it may never go away... He said the hand trembling is more noticeable in slow air playing.

The better you know a tune, the easier it is to play under pressure- in front of other people or into a mic that's recording you. The more you do it, the easier it gets. Warm up before you go out. That will help also. If you have to do something solo in front of people, do it a little slower than you might at home and leave out the more difficult ornaments, if need be. If you are anticipating tough spots coming up in a tune, you might tense up for the easy parts as well. At some point, you might find that a little pressure will make you focus and play better. That's happened to me.

I noticed a guy at a session playing whistle and I thought he wasn't that great, but he was sure having fun and he wasn't annoying anyone. (It wasn't you, Tim, you were great. )
Tony

[Redwolf]

The reason I presume it's mostly psychological is that I'll suddenly forget where a tune goes...you know, start out playing "Drowsy Maggie" or something and suddenly my brain goes "duh...what happens next???" It even happened to me in London playing "King of the Fairies," which is a tune I've played for close to 30 years! The "fumble fingered" thing happens too, but usually not so much once I've warmed up.

One of the funniest "what happens next" situations I ever had happen, though, was doing the Morris gig earlier this summer. I'd had to learn a tune fairly quickly, because they wanted to do a three-person dance that the rest of the group hadn't learned yet. It had a polka kind of rhythm, and as I was playing it for the dancers, it suddenly became "Maggie in the Wood"! They kept right on dancing, so I kept right on playing...the wrong tune! It was hilarious, but it worked!

Redwolf

[dapple]

I have the same problem playing in front of anyone, Redwolf. Like Denny said, closing my eyes helps considerably.

[Chiffed]

Have more fun than everyone who's better than you, or be better than anyone who's having more fun. Works for golf, too.

One strategy that works well is to focus on one accompanist. In most groups I listen to the bass player even more than I listen too myself. Rhythm guitar works, too. The only caveat is, you have to trust them.

Keeping one's head on stage is so hard because the only was to practice it is to do it. I'm happy to say that my old method of dealing with stage fright (panic attacks and vomiting) is no longer needed.

[Redwolf]

Have more fun than everyone who's better than you, or be better than anyone who's having more fun. Works for golf, too.

One strategy that works well is to focus on one accompanist. In most groups I listen to the bass player even more than I listen too myself. Rhythm guitar works, too. The only caveat is, you have to trust them.

Keeping one's head on stage is so hard because the only was to practice it is to do it. I'm happy to say that my old method of dealing with stage fright (panic attacks and vomiting) is no longer needed.

LOL! True, vomiting in the pub is generally considered to be a bad thing!

Redwolf

[brewerpaul]

Hi Redwolf,

It's psychological alright.


I find the reason that I stumble is because of stray thoughts. If for even a half second I start to think of something else, whoosh, the tune is gone. I have to re-focus and find a place to join in.

Closing your eyes like someone suggested can help, but I feel kinda strange sitting there with my eyes closed. I've seen others do it and it seems too much like they have removed themselves.

What I do is a couple things. The first thing I do is find a speck of something on the floor. Then I stare at it while playing. The second thing, and I do it at the same time, is hear the tune in my head. Literally try to hear the music with your mind. The memory in my fingers will usually take over and it amazes me sometimes.

Yeah, what he said! At home you're in a nice quiet environment while a session is often a pretty hectic place. One of the sessions that Slowair mentioned is in a very busy restaurant. In addition the players and the music there are the distractions of waitstaff taking and delivering orders, other customers talking (loudly to hear each other over the music), kids running around, people playing darts, etc. It can be really tough to hear yourself think.

Closing your eyes or staring down at the floor can really help. One really excellent flute player around here plays with his eyes closed.

[buddhu]

Happens to me on every instrument I play. My control over my fingers follows some kind of inverse mathematical thingy to the number of other people present. In front of more than a handful of people it's a miracle if I can even pick an instrument up, let alone play without mistakes.

Similarly, I know musicians who play perfectly well after a few drinks. I, on the other hand, lose what modest ability I have after two pints...

[TonyHiggins]

In front of more than a handful of people it's a miracle if I can even pick an instrument up, let alone play without mistakes.

That reminds me that my worst circumstances are in dreams, where I find more holes showing up in the whistle than I have fingers for or my fingers are drifting all over the place and can't hit the holes. I even dreamt I had on latex gloves while playing once. (I'm a nurse...) And sometimes, a whistle turns into a bizarre recorder/chanter/saxaphone sort of monstrosity with dozens of holes.

Last night I actually dreamed that I was playing great. Now that was strange. Maybe getting in a few hours practice before bed contributed to that fantasy.
Tony

[DCrom]

In front of more than a handful of people it's a miracle if I can even pick an instrument up, let alone play without mistakes.

That reminds me that my worst circumstances are in dreams, where I find more holes showing up in the whistle than I have fingers for or my fingers are drifting all over the place and can't hit the holes. I even dreamt I had on latex gloves while playing once. (I'm a nurse...) And sometimes, a whistle turns into a bizarre recorder/chanter/saxaphone sort of monstrosity with dozens of holes.

Last night I actually dreamed that I was playing great. Now that was strange. Maybe getting in a few hours practice before bed contributed to that fantasy.
Tony

I must not be obsessed enough, or any nightmares I've had about my playing weren't very memorable.

The closest I've ever came to that was at a business dinner in Korea once; the team I was working with all knew that I played whistle, and asked me to play for them - after they'd insisted I have several rounds of soju (think: Korean poteen). I panicked a bit - it felt like I was rubber-fingered, and anything demanding was beyond me, especially with 20 people watching to see what the strange foreigner could do. At this point, even the simplest ornamentation seemed impossibly difficult, and anything fast would have sounded like a train wreck in progress. In desperation, I gave them "Red River Valley" and "Whiskey in the Jar" - not my best rendition of either tune, but they seemed to appreciate it (quite possibly because they'd put away a lot more soju than I had).

And Tony - if I ever get my playing to your level of incompetence it'll be a marked improvement.

[Chiffed]

Friend of mine was so nervous she knocked her bass amp over onto Guido Basso's favourite trumpet. Squashed it flat. She played for the next 2 hours streaming tears from her eyes, never missing a note.

At the end of the concert Guido gave her a great big hug in front of 1500 people, then we went out and got her stupid-drunk. Word got around, and she got loads of gigs because of her courage and determination.

I'm always reminded of her when doing pub gigs: it helps relax me when the glass starts breaking and somebody starts bleeding on the mixer.

[Darwin]

I went to a guitar workshop with Wyatt Rice (brother of Tony, lots of recordings and appearances at concerts and major festivals), and he admitted that he was extremely nervous, due to the small size of the workshop group (about a dozen people, all of whom were at least intermediate pickers) and the intimate setting, whereas standing in front of a few thousand strangers didn't bother him at all.

After 40 years of playing guitar, and at least 35 playing in public, including concerts and festivals, I've still occasionally had near freezes. In fact, the last time I performed in public, in a church with just one other performer, I only hit about every other note on one instrumental. Strangely enough, I got lots of compliments from the audience, which tells me that they didn't have a clue about what the song was supposed to sound like.

A banjo playing friend said that whenever he blew a lick, he'd repeat it the next time through, so it would look like he'd done it on purpose. That might not work as well with the whistle, though.

[Cynth]

Chiffed, that little story is very piercing. I'm glad everyone survived.

[Wanderer]

A banjo playing friend said that whenever he blew a lick, he'd repeat it the next time through, so it would look like he'd done it on purpose. That might not work as well with the whistle, though.

When I do that, it's not on purpose