Occasionally, I'll see musicians make statements like, "One gig is worth X number of practice hours." This sucks, because I practice as much as I can but have no plans to ever gig; apart from my girlfriend, no-one around here knows what surf is, and nobody in their right mind wants to hear me play anyway. What exactly is it about playing live that makes you a better musician? After all, it's the same guitar, music, and player.

It is true that there are things you learn from the on stage experience that you don't necessarily get in practice - sometimes you can feed off of the other musicians in a different way on stage, you learn how to keep going no matter how badly you mess up, you learn how to deal with a string breaking right in the middle of a song when simply stopping isn't a good option...I think it helps push you into a certain zone that most of us probably don't get into during practice that often. Being on stage is a great experience to have.

Practicing, however, is invaluable.

There are a lot of musicians who can play well without ever having been on stage. There are many who have never practiced who then get up on stage and do something I'd want to listen to for very long.

Ralph
The Storm Surfers

Be at one with the universe. If you can't do that, at least be at one with your guitar.

I'd say one gig is worth 2-3 practice hours.

At practice; bands can get in a rut and that isn't necessarily helpful. It is just running through the paces. If you practice 2-3 times a week, then there are going to be bad practices with very lower energy levels.

At gigs you tend to go all out. That is a rare occurrence at practices. It can happen, but not as often. But I do feel you can glean things from a live performance that are not there at practice.

Interesting insights -- thanks, everyone. If there's a common thread emerging here, it seems to be that intangibles like audience response, little accidents (good or bad), and band members' energy levels push a player to something beyond mere technical proficiency. I can see an analogy now with my former boxing days: exercises and repetition are great, but it's not the same as being 'put on the spot', as Psychonaut said. There seems to be a strong emotional element that somehow fuses ability and creativity. Maybe that's how musicians 'mature' as performers?

I was taught "Dont Practice Till You Get It Right. Practice Till You Cant Get It Wrong". Thats why my warm up is always Walk Dont Run, and Hawaii Five-0.

Gigs give me a special rush.... when I see a group of OG's sitting in the back, arms crossed, watching your every move. Then giving you a smile and a thumbs up when the song ends, you know you did it right.

mom_surfing

MorningGlass
"Dont Practice Till You Get It Right. Practice Till You Cant Get It Wrong".

this is why i'm not submitting my tune for the 2009 compilation

It's to have fun with Mom..submit that song!

www.northofmalibu.com

Carol- for the record, your version of Squad Car was one of my favorite songs on the comp last year... I had never actually heard the song before then (really! I'm that much of a newb!), and I learned the song because if it.

Mike
http://www.youtube.com/morphballio

MissingLink
Occasionally, I'll see musicians make statements like, "One gig is worth X number of practice hours." This sucks, because I practice as much as I can but have no plans to ever gig; apart from my girlfriend, no-one around here knows what surf is, and nobody in their right mind wants to hear me play anyway. What exactly is it about playing live that makes you a better musician? After all, it's the same guitar, music, and player.

Don't know about the "one gig worth X-practice hours" but the two environments to me are worlds apart.

Playing live you have gear to move, unless you have roadies, setup, trouble shoot, working out any problems with even a simple stage setup. Then the sound check to ensure that the band is not going to suck because any number of reasons (tap tap tap is this thing on?)...Then you sit back and wait. If you can. Energy levels run high and by the time you hit the stage, you're wired and probably slightly nervous. About 30 seconds in the first song that's all gone (for me anyway) and it's just a "go"....

You're standing on stage. Not sitting. And your going to be standing for a while. Hopefully the stage is one that isn't covered with chicken wire to protect you from the glass projectiles (I've played those), you're working harder than any practice because you want it to be perfect, trying not to play your guitar shoe-gaze style (crowds don't want to look at the top of your head all night; make eye contact; smile), paying close attention to what everyone else in the band is doing and adrenalin is merrily keeping you pumped.

Long before the end of the first set, you're probably more than a little damp with sweat (especially if the stage has lights to help cook you), and when the set ends, you hope the crowd liked it. If not, won't be long before you know...:D

If they liked you, the next sets are easier to play but you'll still really get into it. If they don't like you, well, you either play something they want to hear (after all you are there to please the crowd), or you stick to what your set list says and tough it out.

At the end of the long night, you usually feel like a marathoner, and now you get to tear down the gear, pack it to the van, and try to get paid for the night (unless you got paid in advance). Then it's off to home, unpack, drag it all in the house, and finally at some point drop off to sleep, exhausted....

I did five years worth of 3 night gigs in the 60's in my teens. And forgot just how much work was involved, all I could remember was the fun. Last year I did one live gig. Now I remember that work that went hand in hand with that fun. Personally I have zero urge to do that again. But the bassist, drummer (when he makes it) and I get together every couple of weeks for a day of recording. We got something to listen to in our cars..:D Just a fun day because all the big gear stays at my place, just show up and play.

Playing live is an experience you'll never get any other way. Practice to me has always been the path to play live if that's what you want to do. I practice because I love to record.

Mel

Mel

"when I see a group of OG's sitting in the back, arms crossed, watching your every move. Then giving you a smile and a thumbs up when the song ends, you know you did it right."

What is an "OG"?

Other Guitarist. They just better not be smiling.

www.myspace.com/thethunderheads