Pericles, the great orator and statesman of ancient Greece, observed about 2500 years ago that

” Those who can think, but cannot express
what they think, place themselves at the
level of those who cannot think.”

Ahhh, good ole Pericles. So wise. So insightful. Amazing air guitar player.

Few elements of modern life can be so detrimental for one’s ability for self-improvement and success than Fear of Public Speaking or as applied to guitar, Fear of Public Performance.

You may think that the world’s best and most seasoned players are fearless, never getting nervous before their sessions or gigs. Well, you probably are right. They have reached a high level of confidence in their abilities, and have come to accept themselves and their style of playing.

How did they reach this level? By increasing their skillset, and by increasing their experience. It is not enough to be the world’s greatest player but you still might get nervous if it is only your second show. The best way to go about eliminating your fears is to confront them and just as Nike advises, to Just Do It.

Get out there and book gigs and play open mics in a variety of settings. Coffee houses, bars, clubs, campuses, guitar shows, sidewalks, bathrooms. Use your imagination. Who cares how much you get paid. The more experience you get, the more your confidence will grow as a player. Also, by playing in all sorts of venues, you are going to spread your beautiful, sweet music with a wider range of people. I hear Grandma Gertrude absolutely loves to headbang to some Death Metal down at the old folks home.

A while ago I was chatting with a seasoned guitar pro (whose identity shall be protected) who has been playing concerts and sessions for quite some time. He began to become more and more popular and get more recognition. Pretty soon, this guitar player was headlining his own tour. All of a sudden, he found himself struck with fear, nervousness, and anxiety. It reached a point where if the tour was cancelled, he would be a happy camper. Well, he didn’t cancel his tour. He looked fear right in the face and after each following night, he felt more confident and relaxed.

In the future, we will include some more detailed posts utilizing NLP, Hypnosis, and relaxation techniques to help turn fear into excitement.

In the meantime get yourself out there!

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