Performance Adrenalin

[metropolis_4]

Anyone else struggle with this?
I feel like adrenalin is such a double edged sword for live performance.

On one side it makes me play better: I play less inhibited, ideas flow more freely for improvised parts, and I can play faster.

On the other side it makes me play worse: I'm less focused, I'm not thinking as much about what I'm playing, and I'm sloppier.

I feel like I always have to walk a fine line of getting into the performance, but not letting myself get too carried away by the energy and emotion of it. There's a spot where the scale balances and I'm playing at my best, but it doesn't take much to tip it one way or the other.

 

[DrewJD82]

I did for a while, first I was snapping strings left and right from picking up my JEM by the whammy bar and doing Dimebag/Vai pull-ups with natural harmonics and while there's a way to do it "right", I'd be too excited and would just go for it. Then when I started singing, that was the hardest to get around and took years to learn how to properly chill where I was focused and acknowledging the adrenaline but not giving into it. Drinking at gigs definitely didn't help.

I don't really get it now unless it's a really exciting gig, I'm quite relaxed onstage these days but that's 25 years after learning what I need to do to prepare for a gig. Mentally, I just stop thinking about performing about an hour before I go on. If I can get some laughs in with some friends, I'll be fine.

 

[metropolis_4]

I did for a while, first I was snapping strings left and right from picking up my JEM by the whammy bar and doing Dimebag/Vai pull-ups with natural harmonics and while there's a way to do it "right", I'd be too excited and would just go for it. Then when I started singing, that was the hardest to get around and took years to learn how to properly chill where I was focused and acknowledging the adrenaline but not giving into it. Drinking at gigs definitely didn't help.

I don't really get it now unless it's a really exciting gig, I'm quite relaxed onstage these days but that's 25 years after learning what I need to do to prepare for a gig. Mentally, I just stop thinking about performing about an hour before I go on. If I can get some laughs in with some friends, I'll be fine.

For me it's been about learning how to control it so I can lean into it when I want, but I can also pull back when needed.

Sometimes I want to lean into it and let myself get a bit carried away. Like when I have to play a big flashy improvised guitar solo.

It's tricky for me though because I naturally feed off the energy and emotion of a live performance so much (my own, the bands, and the audiences). So I have to be careful not to let myself get too into it.

The show I'm playing right now sucks because there's a spot where I have to play a really long improvised guitar solo feature, and right after that I have to play a very controlled written part. So I'm always wanting the adrenaline for the solo feature, but then I have to bring it down FAST to play the next part soft and controlled.