in yesterday’s entry i said there were two ways of dealing with practiced-a-lot-but-still-no-jawdropping-syndrome. that could be misunderstood – to make it clearer: those are not two different ways, those are two things you need to know about – two parts of the same way. the first one was messing around as i wrote yesterday. the second one is what today’s post is about. i’m sorry if that confused you, maybe i’ll learn english someday…

so let’s think back, you practiced and practiced at home to finally get your jawdropping scene during rehearsals (or even on stage) but you screw it up, it just doesn’t work the way you practiced, dammit. but why?

what we often underestimate is the fact that we’re dealing with completely different situations here. our brain, however, doesn’t only save the lick you practiced (hopefully :-) ) but also your surroundings, as well as your mood etc. so you practiced at home, relaxed and alone in your room under somewhat perfect conditions. and you finally got it right. now rehearsals are a lot different, there’s not only you but also other people. chances are, the sound’s a lot different and maybe the band plays it 10 beats faster than the recording you practiced with or whatever…. and i’m not even talking about a live or studio situation. it’s just plain stupid to come up with something right before a gig, nobody will notice that one killerlick but everyone will notice if you fail with it – and you will.

so, how to avoid this? well, by messing around as part of practice you can cover different sounds, tempos, situations to be better prepared for whatever comes up. but there is another thing that can help you in that manner. and that is to create a practice situation that is as similar as possible to the situation you practice for. for example if you will stand during playing, than stand up during practice. sounds silly? maybe – but as i said, the brain saves your surroundings. everything looks a bit different if your eyes are at another height, you might hold your guitar a little different etc. and that all adds up. so when it’s getting serious, you’re not only a little nervous as usual but also feeling some discomfort because of the strange situation. i know people who practice in their stageclothes, because it helps them and that’s fine. if it’s about a cover song, don’t practice along to an original recording, use a tape of your own band instead. and so forth. try to get as close to the upcoming situation as possible.

and one more thing: don’t try to be a hero. making up something right before a studio recording or a live gig, playing it 10 times until you get it right once and then go out there/hit the red button just won’t work. it’s better to let go of it this time and really prepare it for the next gig, so you can be sure it will work. and that’s when the dropping jaws come in…

Tags: Business and Economy, Cover version, Gig, Guitar, Languages, Music, Recording, Studio recording