Help: Locking up on solos

Subject: Locking up on solos
From: SlickerBill
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 03:01 PM

Here's a problem I've been struggling with for quite awhile.

I've been playing guitar and singing for many years now, but had the devil of a time overcoming my fear of playing publicly. i did eventually manage to work it out, and have played with bands and on my own for quite a few years.

But when I play in a band setting, I ofeten run into this problem of just kind of "locking up" when my turn comes to play/provise a break. I can practice on my own and things are quite fluid and pleasurable. But up on stage, suddenly I become very tight and lose my confidence and end up often playing in a way that isn't very satisfying.

Any catters out there relate to this? anyone overcome it? Any advise, or tips I might try? sb

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: Genie
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 03:52 PM

Slicker, I don't know how much help I can offer, but, if it helps at all, I can relate. I seldom do many instrumental breaks (only about 7 or 8 songs that I do lead on in public), because it seems no matter how much I practice a song I can't guarantee the solo guitar work will come off smoothly and without a hitch when I'm in a situation where there's pressure to do it perfectly.

The things that interfere with my playing melody runs smoothly are osteoarthritis (which makes my finger very stiff sometimes), Reynaud's disease (which interferes with both fluidity of motion and proprioceptive feedback from my fingers when my hands are cold -- e.g., playing outdoors in cool weather), and the nervousness or distraction that comes from having an audience when I'm not used to having one. (Or, as I said, the nerves that come with high performance expectation.)

Of the factors I mentioned, it may be that only the third and fourth applies to you. And the cure there, I believe, is to "practice" more often in conditions similar to those under which you will be performing.

You can practice all you want, say, sitting down in front of your friends and family with no mike, and when you try to perform standing up in front of a bunch of critical strangers with a mike in front of your guitar, your muscle memory is not going to carry you, and your attention will have new things to focus on that weren't there in your rehearsals.

So all I can say is that if you have the chance to gradually increase the length and difficulty of the solo breaks you do and maybe gradually try them in larger and larger groups, that might help. But also, if you had the chance to practice on the stage as though the band were there, that might help.

Nothing helps get over stage fright more than a well-received performance. So maybe it would help to really overlearn one short instrumental break (till you could play it in your sleep) and then play that for the group. That way you'll have a powerful success experience that should make you less nervous next time.

If you learn how not to lock up, please let me know. I haven't overcome the problem yet myself. :- )

Genie

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 05:09 PM

SlickerBill

You don't say what type(s) of music you play, so I don't know if this will help you any.... but, if not, maybe someone .....

I do not, can not, and will not even attempt to take a solo break on guitar in standard tuning anymore! There is a tremendous change in dynamics between playing rhythm guitar and soloing. I never could get the hang of going from playing big booming chords to controlled single-string picking. Tried it for years and finally gave up.

However, when I started messing around with open tunings, I found I could make the transition from rhythm to melody pretty much seamlessly. The thing about soloing in open tunings is that it is not absolutely necessary to make sure that the "target note" is the only one you play because the surrounding open notes harmonize with it instead of clashing. Therefore, there is not as much difference in right-hand technique moving from rhythm to lead as with standard tuning. Playing melody with a flatpick in open tunings, at least in the style I use, is like a cross between conventional rhythm and lead playing.

Whether this is something you could or should try, I have no idea. If you're playing bluegrass you would be shot for even thinking open tuning (even though I once saw Kenny Baker -yes, the fiddler - flatpicking the hell out of a guitar in Open G). You just can't get that driving 'grass rhythm guitar thang going in an open tuning. But, if you're into Celtic or original stuff it may be worth playing around with.

Bruce

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 06:07 PM

You may want to try playing on Paltalk (www.paltalk.com). Even though you are in the comfort of you own home, it is in fact a performance. I had and continue to have the same problem you describe, and it has gotten much better since I started playing to "an audience" on a regular basis.

dw

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: SlickerBill
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 06:51 PM

I'm most at home in a blues setting, but also play old time, blue grass and folk with bands. I had an experience at a festival recently where we were playing an old time/bluegrassy type of tune and the singer called on me as we his the break- totally unexpected, and I just froze. yikes.

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: Jeri
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 07:20 PM

Although I've never really performed on stage I always froze when I got breaks. Now, folks around here don't ask me to "take it" although I'd like to every once in a while.

You get to a point where you're so sure you're going to mess up that it's almost a given you will. Just concentrate on the tune and keep the fingers moving. When you hear that little voice in your head saying "OK - now is when I totally lose it," tell the voice to shut up and concentrate on playing.

Keep on doing it. Someone kept more or less forcing me to take breaks, and I figured "Hey, he's MAKING me do it - it's HIS fault if I suck!" If you mess up, laugh and call it jazz, but keep going. You'll muddle through a few times and be less scared. A while later, you may find yourself having fun with breaks.

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: Justa Picker
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 08:31 PM

In the end it comes down to confidence and self assured-ness - which only comes from practise and getting used to playing in a group situation with or without an audience present.

Hard as it may be, you have to bite the bullet and get up in front of people and just do it, mistakes and all. 9 times out of 10, the audience won't catch your mistakes unless by your body language, facial expressions, etc..you clue them in. You make a mistake? Play the mistake twice...then it looks intentional.

Another good psychological ploy is to assume the audience ISN'T listening to you. You're working on the presumption that they are. Try working it the other way. Tune them out and just focus on you and your fellow musicians...and entertain yourselves.

Don't try to do anything too flashy at first (because the audience doesn't care how many or few notes your solos contain) or what contortions you have to go through to make a given series of chord formations.

Keep it simple, keep it tasty and keep it completely managable. In time, you WILL get past this and then when the confidence comes, you can have fun with it and with the audience...and then when you can be relaxed and in control on stage, you can get as fancy as you want.

Once you can get past being intimidated by an audience, you can do anything. Believe in yourself and your abilities.

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: GUEST,Susan-Marie, on the cape
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 09:16 PM

One thing that helped me when I was starting to sing solos was to NOT stand up there all alone. I stayed right where I was, surrounded by the comforting presence of my band mates, and the song just seemed to float out of the group. Not very much on the stage presence front, but very good for getting comfortable with the solos. After several months of this approach I had enough confidence to step up front.

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: M.Ted
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 09:38 PM

A lot of times, the problem is simply one of not quite having something together that you thought was together--you should be as comfortable playing your leads as you are playing rhythm--this isn't necessarily hard--simply work out a few simple leads,(with blues, you are lucky, because you can play the same solo for damn near any song) and play them til they are second nature--Thing to remember: when you practice, play the solos all the way thru--too many times, people get into the habit of play up to to a certain point, then stopping--they end up knowing part of the solo really well, and part of it OK and little bits of it not at all--guess where they "lock up" in a performance situation--

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: Genie
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 10:59 PM

Bee-dubya, thanks for the tip about open tuning. It makes sense. (The main songs I do lead solos on are in the key of G or C and have melodies that stick largely within the 1 or 5 chord--songs like "Tennessee Waltz" and "Jambalaya" and "Wildwood Flower"--, for the same reason you mentioned.) What you said about switching from rhythm to lead guitar in standard tuning makes me feel a little less like a hopeless incompetent in view of my inability to really master instrumentals in standard tuning even with a lot of practice.

I think Jeri and JustaPicker made a very important point. Put another way, if you begin and end well, hardly anybody will notice the "mistakes" in the middle. As Jeri sais, "If you mess up, laugh and call it jazz...." -- Gotta love it! -- Also if you hit the wrong chord, just go immediately to the right one and call the "mistake" a "transitional chord."

As for tuning out the audience and concentrating on your playing, Slicker, I think you can "get by with this" on instrumental breaks. It doesn't make for being a good entertainer, though, if you do this throughout your whole performance. (Yeah, I know, it depends on the type of music you're doing. Segovia never paid any attention to the audience unless they were rude--in which case, he'd leave.)

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: georgeward
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 12:36 AM

I remember an enthusiastic young fan whom David Amram called up to join him on stage one night years ago. The kid labored to keep up, chording like mad on his 12-string while Amram and bandmates did their virtuosic turns, one by one.

Finally, Dave put the kid out front in no uncertain terms. "And now, Mr Mike!"

"uh oh," I thought, "he's toast."

Wrong. Mike couldn't have thrown off a solo at Amram's level any more than I could. The difference between he and I was...he didn't try. He stuck with his chording. May have added a few licks. But - and this is the key - he stayed within his comfort zone and played what he knew. The tune and the performance stayed solid. Nothing fell apart, nobody was embarassed, nobody had to scramble to cover a hole.

He got a good hand at the end of that solo, and he deserved it. He'd found the way to hold up his end when he was way over his head, when trying to match the hotshots he was up there with would have been suicide.

And I imagine that the confidence (and the high) he got from pulling that off was a helluva motivator.

So often, when we think "break" or "solo", we begin to imagine stuff beyond what we've really worked out, instead of turning first to what we are sure of - however limited or inadequate we may think that is. But that's your foundation. It is where you have to start.

And the most minimal foundation CAN take you places. Once you have the security of knowing you aren't falling apart, other things you've been working on will sooner or later find their way back into your fingers and brain.

I still push too hard and fall apart, if I'm not careful. But Mike, wherever you are, thanks for the lesson. Just about every successful break, solo or lead I've played since owes somethng to that night.

-George

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: Genie
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 12:48 AM

Great story, George. A point that ties in with part of what I was trying to say earlier, but that story brings home the point so well!

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: Gamine
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 01:33 AM

I can relate...and haven't found much that helps me yet. When I sing solo, I get incredibly nervous and my legs, arms, stomach, voice shake uncontrollably. It is very embarrassing!

It took me almost three years just to sing in front of my husband! In fact, when we were dating, he used to call me before he left his house so I knew that he would be over in ten minutes or so. Often, I would be jamming in my room with the door closed. He didn't tell me until after we were married that he used to call me from the living room using my roomates line and then he would sit by my door to listen to me sing!!!

The next step for me was playing/singing when I knew he was just in the next room, and then playing in the dark, then with candlelight, and now I can sing in front of him just about anytime (unless its a new song and then I get shy all over again).

The problem is, I don't have that luxury with an audience, though I do often quip with them (at open mikes) that if they all just pretend they aren't listening I will sing much better. I get a pretty big laugh outta that one.

I will be watching the post with interest for any hints for me, too!

Thanks to the original poster for breeching this tough subject!

Jenn

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: Kaleea
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 01:45 AM

In the "Jazz" genre of which "blues" is a part, it is often the standard these days that the song is played once through & then everybody including the drummer & bass gets a "break." This is common in bluegrass, but mostly the melody instruments. SO...first, is the music you play the music you are most comfortable with & love the most? "Most comfortable with" may not be the same music as "love the most." If not, consider playing with a band which plays the music you are most comfortable , or perhaps the music you love the most will inspire you to play better--you have to decide. (I love to play everything!) If you are uncomfortable with playing lead on the music you love the most, perhaps there are local jams in which you might participate. The big jams are terrific for learning. If there are several guitar players,(& there often are) you can watch them & experimentally play along on the parts you don't know as well because with lots of instruments & all the noise, it won't be noticed. Also, consider lessons if you think you would benefit from this, as at large universities there are often professors of guitar-they are often at schools where there is a Jazz program where they will start you in playing scales--from which we derive our melodies!--and teach the basic 12 bar blues. There are also a zillion bluegrass/folk music festivals going on this time of year, and others all year long. They often provide opportunities for Flatpicking or Fingerpicking workshops. You may even be fortunate enough to live in an area where there is a local organization(s) which meets regularly & offers workshops & Jams. And, of course, there are some good suggestions from others above. You might consider volunteering at a local nursing home or VA Hospital or other facility. The Senior citizens grew up with Jazz, Blues, Old Time music, & Bluegrass, so they love the music. They are quite generous & appreciative audiences, even if some fall asleep while you are playing--"see how that lady loved your music so that it relaxed her & lulled her to sleep!" I once told a talented young (12) budding guitar student. Remember that "As ye practice, so also shall ye play!" Which means that if you practice fast-then slow in the hard parts-then fast, faster, you will not be able to play correctly during performance. Practice slowly at a steady pace, and gradually increase the tempo when you can do it correctly, say 3-4 times in a row. If there is a spot where you mess up every time, you will mess up during performance. So--isolate that measure or 2 & start at the beginning of that measure(s) & play slow & stead--slow enough to play it correctly!--ALWAYS GO JUST ACROSS THE BAR LINE! I call this 1 + 1, or a measure(s) plus a note. Keep this up till you have it under your fingers for keeps. Then begin the measure before, & go an extra measure plus a note or 2 across the bar line so that you do not have the urge to stop there in performance. In learning a new flatpickin solo, try the 1 + 1 and learn it by playing SLOWLY & STEADILY a measure plus a note, then 2 measures plus a note, & increase the tempo ONLY after you can play the entire thing correctly every time without stumbling. No matter what, keep playing! Good Luck!

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: Mudlark
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 02:07 AM

Great thread, thanks for starting it and thanks for posting. I've had a lot of trouble with this too, being very shy about performing. One thing that helped me a lot was playing in a convalescent home to a very tough audience. Mostly Alzeimer's, senile dementia patients, etc. The distraction was such that there was no way i could get thru a number w/o losing my place (losing my hair, sometimes), having people wander out in the middle of a song, start wailing, etc. I really enjoyed these folks, especially when I realized the only one with a problem was me. They were all just doing their thing...it was up to me to do likewise. Had to leave my fear and my perfectionism behind and just play as best I could. It really loosened me up!

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: Whistle Stop
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 08:11 AM

There's some really good advice in this thread. I'll join with others in saying that you should keep your breaks simple, and resist the urge to play at maximum speed and with maximum flash. A slow, simple part played confidently will always sound better than a fast, flashy part that is a little beyond your reach.

Also, I notice in one of SlickerBill's postings that he froze up when a singer surprised him by calling for a solo out of the blue. There are a lot of singers/frontpeople who like to do that, but they really should not. Instrumentalists should know when their breaks are coming up, so that they can be prepared to launch their solos, and also handle the transitions into and out of the solo (playing a well-constructed intro to the solo is half the battle). If you are playing with a singer who likes to call for solos on the spur of the moment, with no warning, you may want to suggest that he or she not do that in performance (they can still pretend that it's a spontaneous outburst, as long as the band members know better).

And yes, as so many have said, keep at it -- playing in front of audiences does get easier the more you do it.

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: Blues=Life
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 10:06 AM

Whistlestop, I see your point on "Instrumentalists should know when their breaks are coming up, so that they can be prepared to launch their solos", but a lot of that depends on what kind of group your with. In a "proper" band, i.e. one who plays together all the time, there should obviously be ground rules. If you are uncomfortable with solos, YOUR rule should be either "don't call on me" or "give me X amount of warning." On the other hand, if you're in a jam session, and the music you're playing has a tradition of solos, you need to assume that it's going to be your turn sooner or later. The vast majority of players that I know WANT their time in the spotlight at some point in the set.

Also, as re: stage fright. I don't normally suffer from it, having had it beaten out of me by years as a corporate trainer. I can sing, I can play my harmonica, no problem! However... make me solo with a guitar, and my comfort level is almost nil. That's because I am well aware of my limitations as a picker. The only solution is the same as the classic answer to "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?"

"Practice, Kid, Practice!"

Or as the man said, "A man's got to know his limitations!" Point to me for the solo, and I'm picking up my harp.

Peace, Blues

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: GUEST,ChopBuster
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 11:02 AM

Don't mean to be offensive--but you guys should be listening while you play--that way, nobody catches you by surprise. If you know the chord progression, you know what's coming--it's not like you need a written notice to figure out where the turn-around is--

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: GUEST,Les B.
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 01:19 PM

To me the trick is to play out of chords. I used to be amazed (and still am) at people who can drop out of a chordal back-up and go into complicated single string leads. I've found you can construct a good lead while playing full or partial chords. All the notes are there, and if you miss a specific string, you'll hit one that harmonizes -- and it may even sound better than the melody! Also, if you work out where all the inversions are, up the neck, you can move around from bass to treble voicings and really play the whole fingerboard.

And the good thing is, you keep track of where you are by where you are in the chord structure, making your timing more solid.

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: SlickerBill
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 02:37 PM

This is great stuff guys! Nice to know you're not the only one who runs into this sort of thing. I'm with you on the practice thing, though I still think there's this psychlogical hurdle when you've got an audience. I kind of like the idea of pretending they're not listening; I wonder if you can kind of turn that on and off during a performance...

Sometimes I think part of the problem is the competitive mood that seems to linger in music that keeps so many of us hiding for so long. When we know somebody present is far better than us, I think many of us just feel like not playing at all, which of course is ridiculous, but there it is. It almost seems like a soloist needs to train the mind to think a certain way, like some kind of Zen thing, to be able to strech out and play.

Just an observation; as I listen to many of my records, and particularly live recordings, one thing I notice is that, when improvising a break, many of the pros (say, Clapton for example) take the first time around quite simply, and build from there. Kind of like wading into the pool rather than diving into the deep end. As my musical interests extend more these days into bluegrass, I'm wondering if the same idea applies, as I'm not as familiar with bg. sb

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 02:50 PM

One point--it's much easier if you keep it simple. Most audiences aren't instrumentalists, and couldn't care less how difficult the solo is.

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: Blues=Life
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 09:07 PM

Slickerbill, I like your point about "When we know somebody present is far better than us, I think many of us just feel like not playing at all, which of course is ridiculous, but there it is." I was jamming with my brother-in-law (one of those annoying people who can pick up almost any instrument, play it by ear, and sound good) and an old friend who's been a pro musician for 35+ years. Between us we had 2 guitars, an acoustic bass, a sax, a piano, a mandolin, and my harmonicas. We got to a song where the sax (brother-in-law) wasn't going to fit in, so they both grabbed guitars, and I picked up the bass. Confession time. The last time I tried to play bass was 24 years ago, I sucked, and I haven't touched one since. But I wanted to try to keep up. I hate just sitting there. All I played were simple riffs on the pentatonic scale, and just tried to keep the beat. Baby stuff. When we were done, they both looked at me and said, "Smoking! We didn't know you could play the bass!" The KISS method at work; Keep It Simple, Stupid, and pass me a beer.

Who knew it was that easy?!? *big grin*

Peace, Blues

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: Jeri
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 09:29 PM

As far as keeping it simple, some of the best solos I've heard haven't been fancy but have just sounded right. You mentioned Clapton up there. I've always thought much of what he plays doesn't sound all that technically fancy, just good!

As far as being intimidated by better players, it's happened to me and I think lots of folks. At some point you realise that it's all in your head and the people you're afraid of messing up in front of will probably be very supportive if you give them half a chance. Nobody got to be good without taking chances and messing up sometimes. That supportive attitude gets passed along the same as music and technique. Just don't forget it when you get really good and some poor scared guy is trying to play in front of you!

And don't be surprised to find there's somebody that feels that way about you now, simply because you're in a band and have the guts to play on stage.

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: Whistle Stop
Date: 09 Aug 02 - 08:24 AM

Blues, I think you missed my point earlier about being surprised by being called on for a solo. Yes, if you're playing music that involves different musicians taking solos in turn (as so much jazz, blues and bluegrass does), then you should expect your turn to come around. And I agree that most people look forward to their turn in the spotlight; I certainly do. But the person calling the shots should not wait until the "one" at the head of your solo to let you know it's your turn. A lot of inexperienced frontpeople do that, because it allows them to shout out the person's name with a flourish right at the top of the solo. But it does not provide the soloist an opportunity to structure the solo very well. It's kind of like being thrown into the deep end of the pool and having to thrash around, when you would have preferred to execute a swan dive.

The soloist has his/her job, and so does the front person. The music works best when they both do their jobs well.

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: Blues=Life
Date: 09 Aug 02 - 10:09 AM

Whistle Stop, good point. And I did miss it. A "sudden" pointer, huh? I don't know, maybe a severe beating backstage might educate them, huh? *grin*

If the soloist is made aware of the problems they're causing, and won't change, then the solution should be kindof simple. Either change the soloist, or change the front person. (I know "frontman" is an exclusive term, but isn't there a better, more elegant term than "front person"? But I digress...) On the Fourth of July, I was in a jam session with a bunch of pros at a party, and half the time, the front position was taken by the host, who was NOT the singer. He'd just wave the singer off, and point off on the breaks. As an old pro, he made it look easy. When I was singing, I also played front, but I tend to turn and look at the person whom I'm going to hand off the lead to, a few bars before I hand it off. Eye contact is a wonderful thing.

Maybe the solution is to have the band decide on a new front. Or maybe the beating thing would work!

LOL Blues

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: M.Ted
Date: 09 Aug 02 - 12:50 PM

There has to be a leader calling the shots, and you're only going to be as good as this person--it shouldn't be a vocalist, because they, just like the soloists, are waiting for a cue to do their thing--it should be someone who is playing all the time--

Soloists should have about two measures warning--and you should keep in mind that it hard to go from pounding out rhythm guitar to squeezing out a lead, especially if the bottom falls out of the music because you stopped playing rhythm!!!

Subject: RE: Help: Locking up on solos
From: Genie
Date: 09 Aug 02 - 10:31 PM

I like Tommy Smothers's response when Dickie would call out, "Take it, Tom!" He'd just keep rhythm picking and say, "Well, no. I don't wannna take it...".

¤;- )