icy hot

[thedrizzle]

hey everyone,

I thought I would share this with you. Whenever I perform in from of audiences my hands always go really cold from nerves which ruins my dexterity. Recently I tried rubbing icyhot on my hands about 20-30 minutes beforehand and it worked really well keeping my hands warm and limber throughout my performance. Maybe if I eat it it will take away the butterflies.

[brian richardson]

some rye bread and some tequila
will take care of those butterflies.

[rdubb]

I had a friend who would drink 1/3 to 1/2 a beer 30 min before performance. Enough to calm the nerves, but made only a minor dent in reaction time and accuracy (he felt the trade off was worth it).

For me, I'll stick to bananas. And slow consistent breathing.

I just performed tonight actually, to about 50 people in a benifit concert. My hands were pretty cold before going on. I'm used to it....but I'd like to try your whole icy hot things...sounds real promising

[Section_10]

I had a friend who would drink 1/3 to 1/2 a beer 30 min before performance. Enough to calm the nerves, but made only a minor dent in reaction time and accuracy (he felt the trade off was worth it).



WARNING! This is good advice for only those who don't drink much. This can also lead to a horrible habit as well, so do it responsibly.
Drunk Guitarists=vulgar sight.

[thraex]

Icyhot also works for me, like most of us, I need to be very warm in order for my sound to be good, and those creams do the trick nicely.
What I did in my recent concerts, though, was sleeping a lot, in the afternoon previous to the concert, then I run for 30minutes to release tension, and the concerts were like I was playing for myself, more or less, there were nerves and tension, but nothing like trembling fingers or other common problems I used to get.
A little alcohol, chocolate or bananas, even pasta works for most people, as well.

[GSI Fan]

...Recently I tried rubbing icyhot on my hands about 20-30 minutes beforehand...

Whatever you do, DO NOT reach inside your pants and scratch something private! Things could get a tad uncomfortable... :twisted:

[thedrizzle]

hahahaha....I'll try and keep my hands out of my pants but i'm not makin' any promises.

Also, i've heard of eating a banana but have never tried it. Does it really work that well and whats the reason? Always interested in ways of calming the nerves.

[Great Googly Moogly]

I'm the type of guy who likes to tackle things from more than one angle. All of these excellent suggestions are making me wanna stop by my local drug store for some Icy Hot and a nearby sports bar for a chocolate covered banana and a Bass Ale on my way to my next gig. (Which is tomorrow, might I add.)

[JoeAlders]

What advices give (gave) great examples ( for instance: Segovia, Bream, Williams, Yepes, Parkening...., to mention some),
to handle this problem when having to perform in front of an audience? They are (were) also
human beings with “nerves”. I cannot remember to have read their advices to calm those “nerves”……

Joe.

[Great Googly Moogly]

What advices give (gave) great examples ( for instance: Segovia, Bream, Williams, Yepes, Parkening...., to mention some),
to handle this problem when having to perform in front of an audience? They are (were) also
human beings with “nerves”. I cannot remember to have read their advices to calm those “nerves”……

Joe.I know I heard Segovia say once that he used to bring a thermos with warm water in it that he would use to warm his hands before a show and said that the performance was all the better for it. But I've never heard anything as far as what these guys do for nerves, ether.

[brian richardson]

i know segovia said( to this effect), 'before the concert,
i want to cancel, after the concert, i want to play another'

there's also been a surge in the use of beta blockers
among classical musicians 8)

[GSI Fan]

Anyone ever see the Nike commercial???...”Just Do It”!!!

Performance is performance regardless of the venue. Whether you’re performing solo on a musical instrument, singing, public speaking or at the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth; there’s going to be “butterflies”. Doing is the key to learning to coop with the excitement. The more you “do”, the better you are able to coop with and turn the butterflies into a positive.

Eating this or that; guzzling some witches brew; rubbing a magic potion on some part of your body or any other crutch you can conjure up will not substitute for “Just Doing It”. The more you rely on crutches the more reasons you have to fail (or bomb).

Suppose you develop a mental dependency on eating a banana before every performance. In a rush you neglect your banana. Now you need to perform and all that your mind will allow you to focus on, whether you want to believe it or not, is the fact you forgot to eat your banana and you’ve never done this before. BOOM!

Turning the adrenaline rush from an inhibitor to a contributor is the key to success. You only achieve that by DOING!

[cglover]

Eating this or that; guzzling some witches brew; rubbing a magic potion on some part of your body or any other crutch you can conjure up will not substitute for “Just Doing It”. The more you rely on crutches the more reasons you have to fail (or bomb).

Sure, you can say "Just Do It". However, if your going to "Just Do It" with cold hands, then there is an increased chance that you will not do it at 100%. Getting your hands warmed up before a performance is good common sense.

[GSI Fan]

Where in my previous post did I suggest that getting “warmed-up” is foolish? Unless you’re performing outdoors, in uncommonly cold temperatures, rubbing magic potions on your hands doesn’t strike me as beneficial. The cold, clammy effect of nerves is BEST dealt with by repetitious confrontation of your fear; not by rubbing something on yourself – that’s a crutch.

[Great Googly Moogly]

Anyone ever see the Nike commercial???...”Just Do It”!!!

Performance is performance regardless of the venue. Whether you’re performing solo on a musical instrument, singing, public speaking or at the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth; there’s going to be “butterflies”. Doing is the key to learning to coop with the excitement. The more you “do”, the better you are able to coop with and turn the butterflies into a positive.

Eating this or that; guzzling some witches brew; rubbing a magic potion on some part of your body or any other crutch you can conjure up will not substitute for “Just Doing It”. The more you rely on crutches the more reasons you have to fail (or bomb).

Suppose you develop a mental dependency on eating a banana before every performance. In a rush you neglect your banana. Now you need to perform and all that your mind will allow you to focus on, whether you want to believe it or not, is the fact you forgot to eat your banana and you’ve never done this before. BOOM!

Turning the adrenaline rush from an inhibitor to a contributor is the key to success. You only achieve that by DOING!That's a great post. I was gonna say something like that myself. Except for the part about warming up the hands (whether it be with warm water like Segovia did, or with something like "Icy Hot.") Sure, maybe a baseball pitcher should still be able to pitch well without his rosin bag or maybe a pool shark should still be able to run the table without his chalk. But the bottom line, I think, is that if there's something that improves your performance, use it.

Here's the Segovia quote about the thermos that I'd mentioned earlier:

"In the guitar picture taken in Segovia's studio in Madrid during a private lesson (further down), I was playing one of Bach Bourree in B minor. My hands were cold and moist. The maestro took his chance to give me a little advice..."before you start playing, try doing what I do before playing in concert. If your hands are cold, take your time to warm them....I once asked for a thermos with hot water before playing in a New York winter concert and warmed my hands with it for almost 10 minutes...the public had to wait ten minutes more for a much better performance..."" ~Renato Bellucci on his meeting with Segovia in Madrid in 1984


Renato Bellucci with Andres Segovia. Madrid 1984http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h196/Locust777/SegoviawithRenatoBellucci.gif


Here's the direct link to the site:

http://www.mangore.com/rb2.html

[Dinosaur SR]

On the subject warming up the hands-my guitarist GripMaster does
a wonderful job becuase you are "pumping iron" and blood into your
digits when you use it.It is sort of like lifting weights.
As for the nerves,being as I am the world's worst I would have
no comment other than to recommend you stay with pieces
you have down cold.
Dinosaur

[thedrizzle]

all debate aside, nerves are nerves. I was simply sharing my remedy for cold hands. of course icyhot won't make you a better player, it quite simply makes your hand warmer, no more no less and thats all I ever wanted. WARM HANDS!

[ClassicalGtrPlyr]

yeh i get that to, ill go buy a pack just in case.

mostly my hands get sweaty so i saw adam holzman once put babypowder on his hands before he played so i tried that to. just dont put to much . :)

[Jubilee Valence]

...Recently I tried rubbing icyhot on my hands about 20-30 minutes beforehand...

Whatever you do, DO NOT reach inside your pants and scratch something private! Things could get a tad uncomfortable... :twisted:
How's the coach these days, Jock-O?? :P
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B0002DMBH0.01-A5EKKVXU1T4N9._SS500_SCLZZZZZZZ_V59897697_.jpg

.....sick puppy! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
__________

I can't handle anything GREASY on my hands---(but I LOVE Finger-Ease!!) :shock: :?: :arrow: (weird, I know!)

What's Mark-O do? Does he wear those gloves with the "cut-out" fingers or something?? Man, that guy plays in the dead of cold...& nails it--everyday!!??

[GSI Fan]

How's the coach these days, Jock-O?? :P .....sick puppy! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

:twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
Jubes…

Anyone that played competitive sports, at a serious level, knows that old trick. It almost always occurs long about the time you enter freshman high school sports. At some point you pull a groin muscle (not to be confused with tug :twisted: ). To deal with the muscle pain someone, be it a coach or someone else says; “rub BenGay around the area, but try to avoid getting it on your “you know whats””. Ooooops…ya’ only need to make that mistake ONCE!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: