I Freeze Up

Mark Edwards · From: Weatherford,Texas, USA

I am fairly new (almost 2 years) playing the steel. I have played in several bands and get by (not very well I might add). It has boosted my self confidence, and has allowed me to take some bold chances when on stage. I still practice my butt off at home (3-4 hours a day). I have been working on Buds Bounce for almost 3 months. I have it down perfect at home by myself. The guys in the band heard that I had been working on this one song, and Saturday night told me during one of our breaks they were going to call on me to do Buds Bounce.

I immediately went into panic mode (defcon 4) but thought it through and reasoned that I had it down, hell I had practiced and played that song at home at least 500 times (at home), but when it came time to play they called on me.

I kicked it off, so far so good, then all of a sudden panic struck, I just went blank, lost my place, couldn't seem to get to the next lick, and to make a long story short, major train wreck. The guys in the band and the audiance were gracious enough, but I'm still sitting here licking my wounds.

I didn't get home till 2:30 am that morning, and when I did the first thing out of the box I set up my guitar, and played that song over and over until about 3:30 am, hitting every note just like I had practiced. Talk about major pucker factor it took me a week to pry my pack-a-seat from my butt after that gig. What did/or do ya'll do. please help, I'm really thinking about taking up the Kazoo or the spoons. At least it won't take as long to pry them off my butt.

Alan Sim · From: Lancashire, U.K.

Hi Mark

I know exactly how you feel,but unfortunately,I can't offer a solution.

My problem is called Red Light Syndrome,I have been trying to record a tune for 2 weeks now,I can play it perfectly,but as soon as I hit the record button,I make all kind of mistakes.

Any advice on how to overcome this would be appreciated.

Thanks

Alan

John Daugherty · From: Rolla, Missouri, USA

Mark, first I think you should know that we all get panicky at times. Show me a musician who never gets nervous and I'll show you a musician who doesn't care how he sounds or doesn't care if he is accepted by the audience.
In my case, I must know that I can play the song well and that the band can play the song well.
If that is not the case, and you make a mistake.... here is a very important attribute to develop: Learn to laugh at yourself. No one is perfect...
I am sure your confidence will come with practice and if you believe in prayer, that will surely help.........JD (still makin' mistakes and laughin' in Missouri)

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www.home.earthlink.net/~johnd37

Mickey McGee · From: Phoenix,Az

Well,I know what a lot of guys do-they get DRUNK!Not the best way but it works - the key is to relax.

James Morehead · From: Prague, Oklahoma, USA - R.I.P.

Just do more of it, or if you really feel you are not ready, tell the band maybe next time. When I get in those positions, I try to be the one to kick off the song----at MY speed. Just realise there ain't no body there that can tackle an instrument like steel guitar---you are the one brave enough. If someone complains that you make a mistake, politely hand THEM your bar, and ask them to show you how just how easy it is!! If someone can, steal their licks! It's about gaining confidence.

[This message was edited by James Morehead on 27 March 2006 at 05:07 AM.]

Michael Johnstone · From: Sylmar,Ca. USA

Jam till ya clam. Or is it clam till you can jam......I forget.

Charles Pompe · From: Illinois, USA

The first time I played out, the same happened to me. Plus I couldn't keep my P/P in tune (right under the air cond. vent). The lead player, a very experienced veteran, said "Don't worry, they (the crowd) just want a beat they can dance to". So I watched when I hit what I thought was a klinler, and he was right. I still keep that in mind after hundreds of gigs. Of course, if your playing a steel show???????????

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1973 Emmons P/P

John Ummel · From: Arlington, WA.

I can sure relate. Once you get into the "worried about how its gonna sound" mode everything gets haywire. A bass player I worked with years ago said, "Trying is failing". You gotta get locked in where the music plays you. You can't force it to happen, but rather must LET it happen.
Give it a big dose of tincture of time and don't give up.

T. C. Furlong · From: Lake County, Illinois, USA

Mark,
Why don't you try starting out with a slower and less complicated song. Get that nailed on the bandstand and then move on to more challenging songs. OR BETTER YET...try working out Bud's Bounce as a break song with maybe two verses max (do bands still play break songs?). Get those under your belt and it will be a piece of cake to extend the length. Hey, I have been playing 30+ years and I get keyed up every time I play an difficult instrumental. I am schedule to play on a steel show in a couple of months (my first time). I'll be nervous for sure.
TC

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

I wouldn't put to much worry into this..

wait until you have played it for maybe 10 years and then all of a sudden forget how it goes...

Then it may be time to consider the worry factor...

but probably not until then...

give it another 10 years or so..

It happens to all of us...

no big deal...

Just tell them you decided to play the Jazz version..

t

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TPrior
TPrior Steel Guitar Homesite

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

You really have it down PERFECT????

Meaning:
You can come in the house, sit down at your guitar, and play it the first time and every time with NO MISTAKES?

There's a BIG DIFFERENCE between playing it 500 times and playing it PERFECTLY 500 times. How many of those times were perfect? If you can't play it two or three times IN A ROW perfectly in your practice room you WON'T PLAY IT PERFECTLY IN PERFORMANCE. It's a fact.

You did have the option of telling the band you weren't comfortable playing that tune yet.

If you are confident you have the tune down, it's just nerves that keep you from pulling it off in front of people, and you will have to deal with that in your own way. Everyone has some degree of performance anxiety that may get in the way. If you don't REALY have what you plan to play down perfect EVERY TIME the jitters will disassemble your composure. I know a lot of players that are satisfied with 'close enough'. If you really must play it perfectly, it's an exercise in self discipline not to let 'close enough' suffice.

Another issue is how you recover from a mistake. That's a big difference between a newbie and a seasoned musician. You can even practice making mistakes and recovering. Letting it tear you apart is the LAST thing you want to happen. Most steel players make mistakes but many disguise them so well it's difficult to recognize they're mistakes. That's an objective.
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added later
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Another CRITICAL aspect is timing. Playing a tune in your music room with nothing to set the time / tempo is not good enough. As soon as you play that tune with a band, the timing and tempo are set FOR YOU and you MUST KEEP UP. That will throw you every time if you're not used to playing with a metronome or, preferably, with a rhythm track -- at the same tempo (or faster) than the band will play it. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.
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I've been playing gigs for 45 years and I know it's easy for me to say, but experience will help. Also, learning to cope with mistakes without freaking out is a very valuable skill.

The way I usually approach playing high anxiety gigs is to back way off on the complexity. Play simple, effective stuff that you are confident you can pull off. That confidence is what will pull you through. Nobody but you will even realize you backed it off a notch or two. The sound of the steel guitar is what sells it.

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S/D-12 6x6, 1984 Sho-Bud S/D-12 7x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 27 March 2006 at 10:29 AM.]

Jim Sliff · From: Lawndale California, USA

One suggestion that has worked for me countless times:

Never practice a note-for-note arrangement of a song. Ever. It either sounds stiff, or if you lose your place you are DEAD.

Practice tunes like that in a more "jamming" way - play around with it, have no really "set" way of playing it - that way if you foul up, you do not HAVE to get to a particular note or phrase to save yourself....you just have to play something close to the song, an noodle your way back.

It's much more inportant to mantain the "feel" of a song rather than a note-for-note, frozen version IMO.

I've never head Sneaky Pete play the same song the same way twice. Same with Clarence White on guitar. Two great examples of guys that play(ed) things that sounded roughly the same, but varied things enough they could/can get out of tight corners...

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

I disagree, Jim
If you're playing Bud's Bounce, it is a tune that someone else has written that is a steel guitar classic. It has a melody and harmony that Bud Isaacs composed and that's what makes it Bud's Bounce. While I'd agree that it's not always necessary to play that melody note for note like Bud, if you just 'riff around it' you're not really playing the tune. Write your own instrumental if you don't like playing someone else's melody and progression.

Good players can play the same thing over and over perfectly. Often they DON'T, but they CAN. There is a discipline to playing music. It's great to be able to riff and comp and solo, but it's also critical to be able to learn (and eventually create) a melodic passage that you can play perfectly every time. One example is the head of a classic tune.

That's what I think in any case.

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S/D-12 6x6, 1984 Sho-Bud S/D-12 7x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

Tony Orth · From: Evansville, Indiana, USA

I agree with Donny H.
and...
It's probably gonna' happen again!

As one true musician once told me, It's not so much making a mistake, but the recovery that's important.

We're all in your shoes, at some point, my friend.

Tim Bridges · From: Hoover, Alabama, USA

We're all too self conscieous. Drinkin' won't make you better; it'll only make you think you're better.

Play, have fun, smile, accept your mistakes and go to the next tune. As long as the train wreck doesn't hurt anybody (except your pride), all is OK.

And of course, don't bite off any more than you can chew. I'm officially a novice and do my best. My band buds are glad to have me around, thankfully.

Jim Sliff · From: Lawndale California, USA

"if you just 'riff around it' you're not really playing the tune"

That's not what I meant. Playing the tune is important, but you need to have some flexibility so that if you do get fouled you have a way out.

Note-for-note playing is great in classical music, but country, rock, blues, bluegrass are a little less "structured". Yes, you do play a "head" note-for-note...but otherwise, copying someone else's arrangement perfectly isn't real creative, nor does it allow you any leeway in case you freeze.

Bud's Bounce has a basic melody line. You play that, or close to it, and leave yourself some room to sound like yourself and get out of problem situations. It's not "riffin around it" - you play the song, but with enough variation it's perfectly recognizable yet flexible.

"but it's also critical to be able to learn (and eventually create) a melodic passage that you can play perfectly every time."

Now, I don't agree with that. But it doesn't mean it's wrong - just diferent interpretations and ways of playing. I prefer learning and creating "outlines" and working within them (sometimes outside them!) - some structured heads, but not "programmed" tunes.

I've heard some great fiddle players who could play any music you put in front of them - but couldn't jam around a chord progression to save their life.

;-)

Larry Robbins · From: Fort Edward, New York

Just relax...its supposed to be fun. Keep it that way Smile

We all goof up now and then.
Most people dont notice anyway.

Larry Strawn · From: Golden Valley, Arizona, R.I.P.

Mark,
I'm still trying to work my way up to the "Hack" level, but what I do when I lose one that I can't recover from is smile and laugh,[maybe slap my hand] so the crowd will laugh also then tell em oops, overs!!!
My wife [and bass player] has been working with me for so long she's used to it, she just keeps on playing the song giving me a chance to catch up!!!! lol.. Bless her heart!!

But then after 10 yrs.I've still never tried Buds Bounce on the bandstand !! lol...

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Emmons S/D-10, 3/5, Sessions 400 Ltd. Home Grown E/F Rack
"ROCKIN COUNTRY"

[This message was edited by Larry Strawn on 27 March 2006 at 12:03 PM.]

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

I guess we'll just have to ask Mark whether his problem was playing the TUNE (the head) or trying to play some solo (from tab or something) note for note.

From what he'd said, I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that the problem was with playing the TUNE ITSELF.

I personally feel that a solo is a very personal thing. Playing someone else's solo is a bit like using their toothbrush, with the exception of identifiable 'signature lines'. One of the first things a steel player should develop is the ability to improvise.

I also agree that a solo should be flexible. You should have the ability to back off and play something VERY SIMPLE if things get too hairy. Just play the tonic note from the chord for a whole note if you can't come up with anything else. A solo is a conversation. You have to learn words, sentences, inflection, and how to vary them in different circumstances.

And, if it helps any, Bud's Bounce is a deceptively difficult song to play well -- just playing the head.

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S/D-12 6x6, 1984 Sho-Bud S/D-12 7x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 27 March 2006 at 12:17 PM.]

Gerald Menke · From: Stormville NY, USA

Man I'd be done for if I had to play "Bud's Bounce" on the bandstand, lucky for me, most New York audiences wouldn't know "Bud's Bounce" from "Bud Light". All right, that didn't make much sense, but what I'd like to add, are four little tricks that seem to help me with my nerves factor, which after six years gets better all the time.

One, I try to never play on an empty stomach. Two, I always stretch out a bit before the gig. Three, I try to get to the gig early so I am not stressing myself out rushing through NYC traffic to get there in time to set up. And four, I actually prefer NOT drinking when playing. Recently, for God knows what reason, I started having a beer onstage, and my playing stank up the place. Go figure, helps some people but not me. I'm going back to my old sober ways. Just keep at it, and play live as much as you can!!

Gerald

Roger Francis · From: kokomo,Indiana, USA

You got some good advice here and the only thing i could add is maybe try it on the last set and try focusing more on what your doing and don't worry about the audiance, if your in a club. I think the only way to over come the fear of making mistakes is to makem and move on, because every body makes mistakes, use it as a learning tool and don't EVER EVER get discouraged.

[This message was edited by Roger Francis on 27 March 2006 at 01:48 PM.]

John De Maille · From: On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.

RELAX !!! This happens to EVERYONE! I've heard Herby Wallace,Buddy Emmons, the late great Jeff Newman and quite a few of our other heroes flub a tune, now and then. IT just "happens". Playing the tune repeatedly in a public forum should loosen up your freeze. The more you play it publicly, the more at ease you'll be with it. Your own mechanisms will start to kick in naturally, without over-thinking about what you have to do."Stage Fright" effects all of us, at some time or other, but, it eventually lessens and might even go away with confidence.Keep at it, but, don't beat yourself to death over it. Hang in there, buddy! Even Lloyd Green gets nervous sometimes. He told me so at a PSGA show, in Armonk, NY, many years ago.

John De Maille · From: On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.

RELAX !!! This happens to EVERYONE! I've heard Herby Wallace,Buddy Emmons, the late great Jeff Newman and quite a few of our other heroes flub a tune, now and then. IT just "happens". Playing the tune repeatedly in a public forum should loosen up your freeze. The more you play it publicly, the more at ease you'll be with it. Your own mechanisms will start to kick in naturally, without over-thinking about what you have to do."Stage Fright" effects all of us, at some time or other, but, it eventually lessens and might even go away with confidence.Keep at it, but, don't beat yourself to death over it. Hang in there, buddy! Even Lloyd Green gets nervous sometimes. He told me so at a PSGA show, in Armonk, NY, many years ago.

John De Maille · From: On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.

Sorry about the duplicate post. I was practising my index finger.

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