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Over the past few years I have noticed a disturbing trend among bassists all over the nation. From Los Angeles to Boston, I have seen bass players performing on stage…and standing as still as a statue of Jaco! Now, this may seem like an esoteric topic, and one that doesn't affect your music, but believe me, it does. Let me prove it to you:
Exhibit A: Think of all the bass players who you admire for their groove. Have you ever seen them perform live or at least a video of them playing? I would bet you that they were not standing perfectly still, staring down at the fingerboard. Groove is not just a product of playing the right note at the right time.
Exhibit B: Let's look into another art form to see if body movement is linked to artistic expression: Acting. One of my favorite actors is Robert De Niro. Imagine Mr. De Niro acting in any of his classic movies while standing perfectly still and looking down at his feet. Do you think you would feel his emotions and get moved by his performance? Not on you life.
Exhibit C: Name me one successful bassist who stands perfectly still on stage, contantly stares at his or her bass neck and doesn't move to the music he or she is creating? I sure can't think of one. Even John Entwistle would tap his foot, move his shoulders and stare out into the audience. John may not have jumped around on stage, but you can't argue that he looked confident qand comfortable. So if no one has become successful while not moving on stage, what makes you think you can be the first?
I fully realize that there are normally two reasons why some players do not physically groove on stage. One is stage fright and the other is musical confidence. Luckily, there are things you can do to overcome both obstacles.
Stage fright is simply a product of unfamiliarity. I have rarely met a veteran player who had problems with stage fright. When some people get on stage they feel uncomfortable with the idea that they are the center of attention. I spoke with a few of my bass player friends and they all had tools they used to get over stage fright:
2) When you are on stage, don't look at the eyes of the people in the audience if that bothers you. You can look just over there heads, or at the bodies. Once that feels more comfortable, try looking directly at one or two people. When I first started performing I would pick out a few people in the audience who seemed to be really getting into the music, and I would interact with them. They were already digging the show so I knew they would get off on the personal attention.
3) If you are having a show where the audience isn't really into it, try interacting with your bandmates. Make I contact with them and have a good time. The audience will be more likely to have a good time if your band and you are having a good time.
4) If you just can't stand the idea of facing your audience, try wearing sunglasses. The sunglasses will give you a sense of protection while you get used to looking up and out into the audience. Just don't wear them if you cannot see your bass well enough to play. After speaking with some bass players who stood still on the stage during their performances, I quickly realized that most of them told me the same thing. They all expressed doubt in their musical abilities and were afraid that they would make a lot of mistakes if they moved around on stage. Thankfully, this is easily remedied.
2) If you practice at home while sitting down, it should not surprise you that things seem different when you are standing on stage. When you stand up your body changes position, which means your playing posture will be different. To minimize this phenomenon, Billy Sheehan once taught a class at BIT where he told players to set their strap height so that their basses do not change position when they are standing or sitting. That was great advice that I still use today. Before a tour or an audition, I always practice the songs while standing so I can get used to the position and eliminate any surprises.
3) If you can, practice while standing in front of a mirror. This isn't so you can see how good you look! It will naturally draw you eyes up to see yourself play, which will help you overcome the tendency to stare at your fretboard all the time. It is also a great opportunity to analyze your left and right hand technique to see if you have slipped into any bad habits. 'Nuff said!
As always, feel free to email me with your questions! 1) When you are not playing your bass you should visualize yourself on stage, moving all around and interacting with the audience. One pro player told me that before every tour he lies in bed at night and "sees" himself playing on stage and having a great time. He goes through a few of their famous songs, note-for-note, visualizing himself playing perfectly and dancing on the stage. He told me that if he does this enough, he has zero stage fright when he hits the stage for real. Heck, pro athletes do similar visualization exercises before the big game, so why shouldn't we?
So now that you have tools to overcome your stage fright, lets address your musical confidence.
1) The first step is to improve your fingerboard awareness. Players stare at their fingerboards because they are afraid to look up for fear that they would lose their place. When you are at home practicing, play through some of your scales without looking at the neck. Locate the root you want to start on and then look away. Use your ears and your muscle memory to help you. Once you conquer one-octave scales, try 2-octave scales that have at least one position shift. When that becomes consistent, take a song and see how many times you can look away without screwing up. It is important to note that I am not saying you can never look at your neck on stage. That would silly and impractical. I am just saying, get used to looking up at times, looking down whenever something tricky is going on.
I fully realize that this lesson has been a departure from my norm, but I felt it was something that had to be said. Performing on stage should be the best time of your life, so you shouldn't look as if you are serving out a life sentence. The basic thing to keep in mind is that your music won't groove if you aren't grooving.
©Copyright 2003 Warwick Bass Products/Dana B. Goods, Inc.