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How to Overcome The Fear of Playing in Front of People

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Most musicians have to deal with performance anxiety sooner or later in one way or another.

There are professional musicians who struggle with it each and every single performance and others who overcome it quickly.

I also was not immune to the fear of playing in front of people. I remember one of my first gigs when I smoked 2 pack of cigarettes before going on stage.

The nervousness was unbearable, but the strange thing was when I got on stage and started playing I was so focused that the anxiety fell away. All that was left was pure excitement.

Once I started playing gigs every week it was no more an issue. I learned that doing more of the same thing takes away the fear.

But then “change” can come along, new things happening, unexpected situations, bigger stages, different people, larger crowds and you have to deal with the uneasiness all over again and that’s a pain in the #ss.

Still, when you’re aware of a few simple rules and take the necessary steps the nervousness becomes tolerant and will eventually disappear completely. A big part of the salvation lies in your own hands and is easy to attain.

Fear simply comes from worrying about the future, the unknown, thinking about what might happen, going through all the ‘what if’ scenarios and torturing yourself with what others might think.

They are all scenarios that arent’ there, cause you’re here now and those situations aren’t. They only live in your mind.

And yes that’s the theory, you still have to deal with it or better said ‘let go of it’.

Well, here are the keys to help you out and truly enjoy the entire experience of your performance.Continue Reading

10 Indispensable Tips from Famous Guitar Players

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I just came back from a holiday in Spain. I didn’t bring my guitar on the holiday and I really missed it from time to time, but I enjoyed great quality time with my wife and three kids.

It’s was also a good time to reflect and evaluate my life. I do that often anyway, but holidays in particular are really suited for some good thinking and gaining new inspiration.

I filled my moleskin notebook with new ideas, things I want to do more or less (more guitar playing, less worrying, more running, less email, more space, less clutter), I wrote down everything that came to mind. Just putting that stuff on paper is good for the soul.

While enjoying every minute of my holiday I also couldn’t wait to start applying all these new ideas when I got come home. It’s great to start over again every time you want to.

Coming back it felt great to feel the strings on my hands again. Later that evening I was watching some interviews and masterclasses of great guitar legends. I always love to do that. There are is so much to learn from that and so many insights to discover.Continue Reading

The Importance and Value of Learning Lead Guitar Solos

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When I first started playing electric guitar (4 years after I picked up the acoustic guitar) all I wanted to do is learn those almighty guitar solos of Slash, Nuno Bettencourt, Joe Satriani, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Scott Henderson, Marty Friedman, Kirk Hammet, Dimebag Darrel and other great legends.

It was the best thing ever. Unawarely I built my guitar vocabulary like that.

After a while fellow musicians, guitar teachers and guitar players from around town that I looked up to were advising me to develop my own style and learn to improvise. It was the obvious next step to becoming a better guitar player.

I practiced scales, sequences, licks, arpeggios, intervals, just about anything I could get my hands on and continued to work on my improvisation skills. Freedom on the fretboard at last.

Then I started playing in bands doing covers, creating and performing my own music. Playing some more and more and more. Time went by and I gained a lot of gigging experience, developed my own style, learned a lot of new things, but on the other side I also stopped building and expanding my guitar vocabulary.

Years later I got back into transcribing and practicing solos by other guitar heros that found my interest. It was refreshing, inspiring and opened up new worlds. It took my soloing to other places and improved my playing once again.

To gain input and keep educating yourself you got to keep practicing, studying and memorizing guitar solos regularly. It’s like reading a new book or watching a brilliant movie to fuel your inspiration.

Besides that there are also other important reasons and benefits to learning lead guitar solos.

Check them out:Continue Reading

20 Questions to Figure Out Your Purpose as a Musician

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Somewhere along the way of your guitar adventure there comes a moment when you think about what you want to do or who you want to be as a musician.

The possibilities are almost infinite and sometimes overwhelming. Where do you go next?

Maybe you play acoustic guitar but feel there’s an electric guitar beast inside of you. Or you play lead guitar in a rock band but are secretly swept away by those jazz musicians.

You sing, write, play guitar but think of learning another instrument. You might even want to make a living out of it or pursue a music career, but doing what?

There are so many choices. You can be a songwriter or a singer songwriter, a rhythm guitar player, lead player, music producer, session player, guitar teacher, street musician. You can play in a cover band performing at coffee houses, weddings, bars, small venues, etc. The list is endless.

And then there’s all those different music styles: Blues, rock, jazz, country, easy listening, alternative, classical… Isn’t it great? Yeah but it doesn’t make it easier.

So here are 20 questions to help you figure out your purpose as a musician. Take out a piece of paper, write down the answers and get to know yourself.

Enjoy!Continue Reading