How To Overcome Stage Fright.

Hello to everybody,

Welcome back again to my BLOG! 🙂

Today I’m not going to tell you about the notes, but something that is intimately related to musical expression.

One of the cornerstones of my GUITARlab – Modern Blues Guitar Academy is, in fact, to create a more constructive and positive mental approach towards music.

The path that I take with my students not only leads to the knowledge of music but also spurs the right mindset which should be the foundation of any good musician, to continually improve themselves and live music in a more positive way possible.

One of the topics that stretch the trail is this: perform in public being able to express themselves, bringing live everything during hours and hours of practicing, we tried and tried, and that during our shows seems to disappear. In other words, to overcome the Stage Fright.

About this, I would like to reassure you: even the greatest in music history have faced the same problem. Reading the biographies of Clapton, Hendrix, Coltrane, I encountered the same difficulty, which made me really think about it.

Clapton and Hendrix have never believed too much in their vocal style (which is saying something!), and Coltrane was afraid to smile because of his teeth (which is why his photos appear incredibly earnest!). We are often mythologizing these artists, as we consider them superheroes, forgetting that they were first of all men, with their imperfections, insecurities, and the inevitable existential problems.

Live music in a positive way.

The first thing that I try to explain to my students is to live music in a more positive way possible. For example, it is effortless to fall into the trap of envy someone. Keep in mind: there is no better way than this or try to envy someone for what he has, TO REMOVE the same things you would want in your life. Being envy is like to think that someone is stealing something from you. But doing this you just limit your imaginations, pretending to live in a world that has in it very few opportunities given to others and not to you.

Nothing could be further from the truth: no one will take anything away! Every human being, every life has its beautiful path to follow, every life has its difficulties in dealing with.

Try instead to love the artists you admire, share their music, try to be positive towards them, always be open to learning new things every day. That’s not a sign of inferiority, but of great maturity.

Every great artist who left the sign in this world was humble, willing to learn at all times.

DO NOT feel all the weight on your shoulders.

A conventional conflict that I find in so many people is to feel too much pressure on himself.

That happens because of the desire to show and prove their skills.

When you consider the stage only as an opportunity to “prove” something to someone, the music becomes depleted of its deeper meaning; that becomes the vehicle of their own feelings.

You do not have to prove anything to anyone! And if something goes wrong, take that incident as a message from you to learn and to grow once again. Remember: nothing happens by chance!

The music is not a race. Each artist brings his vision of things and music. Everyone has their journey, their job to do to carry on the musical evolution, for better or for worse. In any case, the path that we face is uniquely ours: we have “only” to understand what exactly it is.

Never take yourself too seriously!

I am often asked how did I have the nerve to play in front of 5 million people live on RAI 1 improvising a blues with Alex Britti (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXXOh4_i52A).

The answer is simple:  I didn’t think about it!! :-))

I’ve always lived live music as a necessary experience in my life and play in front of five people, or 5 million, does not change anything for me. I do what I like, and I’m already very grateful for that because I had the opportunity to choose it!

If we are so scared of playing live, we can always choose not to play live! But we would be happier? Would we feel better? I do not think! 🙂

We Just have to move our attention to different details!

Why, for example, don’t you see the public as something that makes us more unpredictable?

Each concert is different because every audience is different. We must be able to empathize with people and keep in mind that each of them has chosen to be there for us.

Why don’t reciprocate that choice with a little piece of ourselves? How? For example, playing for them and not for ourselves, trying to express a feeling to share with who you are listening to you.

Always be yourself!

The truth is that we can NOT be what we are not. We can only play in the way we are.

We undertake a journey, grow, make mistakes, learn and become people and musicians better or worse (depends on our willingness!) Only with experience and study.

So if we can not be ourselves, because having the anxiety of being something we are not? 🙂

Choose your life and build it with consistency and dedication day after day. It’s never too late to do so!

The music is pure. It’s a universal language. And a vehicle of emotions.

Do not judge, do not be afraid of being judged. Appreciate others to be appreciated by others. Try to be positive and surround yourself with people who are similar to you, to your way of seeing music and life.

After all, the real thing to do in life and music is only one: Always be Yourself.

See you next time!!

All the best,

Davide Pannozzo