Dec
21
Written by:
bcleveland
12/21/2011 5:40 PM
I remember times when I was younger and used to practice many, many hours a day (I wish I had the time to still do that now). I would feel like I can really play and then go and do a gig and none of what I practiced came out, or, even worse, I would feel I played very badly and wouldn’t understand how it is that after all those hours of hard work I still sucked. Well, here’s my theory:
There is a different part of your brain that gets developed when you play live verses when you’re practicing at home by yourself. It is important to do both, of course, but the reality is that while you should practice as much as possible—the true battlefield is the stage.
You are in your comfort zone, in every sense of the expression, when playing at home. If you don’t like the sound you can always tweak it, and if you make a mistake you can always try it again and no one but you will know. You are in a perfect world, and although that’s where you strive to be onstage, too, in many situations you encounter the exact opposite—and that’s where real life begins.
Here are a few typical obstacles you may deal with in a live situation:
The sound on stage sucks.
Your amp sounds different than it did at home, or on another stage, because every room is different.
The band doesn’t sound so great (endless possibilities here).
The lights are really bright and you can’t see anything.
There’s a really good-looking fan checking you out, which diverts your attention.
There’s a really not so good-looking fan vibing you which diverts your attention.
Now, after all that, you have one chance to play your heart out—to play all that stuff you’ve been practicing alone in your room for hours and hours—and its live or die up there.
And for that you need to develop the other part of your brain—the one that functions away from your comfort zone. You need to get used to jumping into any situation and still be able to deliver your craft no matter what the conditions. The more often you do it, the more relaxed you will be, the better you will become at getting your sound in a strange room, the better you will be at playing with a band no matter how good or bad it is, and the better you will be at staying focused and not blanking out under pressure.
Of course, if the conditions are really rough you probably won’t play as well as you would under better circumstances—and things are almost never perfect. But don’t worry. If you can get close enough to your goal then you will be good, so just play and enjoy playing—because that’s why we do this!
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10 comment(s) so far...
Re: Oz Noy: Practicing vs. Playing Live
Wow , a whole lot of nothing in this blog.
"You need to get used to jumping into any situation and still be able to deliver your craft no matter what the conditions" and you can do this how?
if you wanted to write something useful how about telling people to maybe practice with amp in a different position -if usually right by ear then stand behind amp etc....
Seems like GP needed a few extra words to fill up space and gave this guy a blog becuase of his name.
By Brian on
12/26/2011 9:54 PM
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Re: Oz Noy: Practicing vs. Playing Live
Oz,
I enjoyed reading your comments, 'cause it happens to me all the time! I do things in my almost daily practices that surprise me (I never record them, though. I think recording yourself in practice and live might break some ice??). I'm not actively playing right now, but I jam once a week with another guitarist. We pretty much are trying to cross into jazz. We do standards like "Autumn Leaves", "Just Friends", "All the Things You Are" (this is the one that keeps teaching us -- it's got no mercy on fledgling jazzers). Well, as the weeks go by, we both notice small elements of our personal practice creeping into our jams. We're still not on the stage, but we are a bit beyond the bedroom.
I've been on stage once upon a time. Everything you say is true. It helps to be young, decent enough on your instrument, and ready to rock around the clock.
best wishes,
j' mo'
By j' mo' on
12/30/2011 11:45 AM
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Re: Oz Noy: Practicing vs. Playing Live
Great Article. Soo true. A million different unknown factors come at you when you play on different stages and you just have to stay focused and kill it. Thanks for your experienced insight!!
Moving an amp around any bedroom will never prepare you for what it takes to pull off a "Great" performance live.
By G on
12/30/2011 11:45 AM
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Re: Oz Noy: Practicing vs. Playing Live
Straight up Oz! Get out and play! Open mike..guitar camp..local music school jam.
I never got better until I started playing live.
By the way Oz is such an inspiration. Wished he came to Chicago more often!.
By Richard Foulkes on
12/30/2011 11:45 AM
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Re: Oz Noy: Practicing vs. Playing Live
Play live or never get over the top!
By Richard Foulkes on
12/30/2011 11:45 AM
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Re: Oz Noy: Practicing vs. Playing Live
I've been playing for over 45 years now, with what seems about a million live gigs under my belt. Oz is right on with this column!
The thing that bugs me is there are certain licks that I can practice and play perfectly at home, yet I never can seem to nail them live. I practice them sitting down and standing up, yet they never work live. No doubt it's a mental block… but just once, I'd like to nail those puppies live!
By Mooseboy on
1/3/2012 8:32 AM
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Re: Oz Noy: Practicing vs. Playing Live
Ah- forgot to mention one thing!
There are so many young kids that post their incredible playing on youtube. It's amazing and very inspiring to see them play so well at such a young age. However, I notice that every single one of them is sitting on the bed- which is why I call 'em "bed shredders".
I hope for their sake that they actually get out into the real world to share their talent… and they'll also probably find that playing live gets them WAY out of that comfort zone of sitting on the bed.
I predict a new fad for guitar stars of the future- that's right, instead of standing up onstage, they'll bring a bed onstage and sit on it to play their amazing licks :)
By Mooseboy on
1/3/2012 8:32 AM
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Re: Oz Noy: Practicing vs. Playing Live
Great article! I have been playing guitar for 47 years. I have been practicing "I Know A Little" intro in my room for months. I finally got it up to 200bpm. I did it perfectly in my private space. when it came time to play it with my band- I blew it! Total embarassment and humiliation. My bandmates consoled me, to no avail. I agonized over that riff, and I visualized myself screwing up. Sure enough!
By Bruce on
1/5/2012 1:44 PM
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Re: Oz Noy: Practicing vs. Playing Live
Another thing - there is a difference between "practicing" and "rehearsing." Practicing is the work you put in honing your craft. The key is precision, so you can't tolerate slop. When you rehearse for a live performance, on the other hand, you should do a run through of everything with no stops, warts and all. Do it in the same clothes you will wear on stage. Do it standing up, with all of the poses and facial expressions you will use on stage. Do it in real time. If you crash, keep going anyway, just like you will have to during a gig. Videotape the entire rehearsal, or at least make an audio recording - both to add a little pressure, and to provide a record for you to objectively assess your performance. Then do the same thing with your band. Bring in a few spectators if you can for a "mini" live show. It's not the same as an actual gig performance, but it's as close as you can come, and should help develop the warrior mindset you'll need when you step into the lights.
By virginiapicker on
1/5/2012 1:44 PM
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Re: Oz Noy: Practicing vs. Playing Live
I have to agree with Brian from his assessment back on 12/26/2011. What a complete waste of time this was, reading this dribble...useless information that will get me nowhere. I didn't learn one thing that common sense didn't already tell me. Wow, playing "Live" is different than "practicing at home." Really now..."alert the press," this is some top secret stuff that only musicians in the loop must know. What a bonehead for writing this junk (I'll keep it clean) and an even bigger boner for printing it. GP must have needed some filler desperately.
By George (NJ) on
3/1/2012 1:42 PM
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