You’re on stage, the band is vibing & the music is just flowing through you.  The singer is doing band intros, looks at you & calls you for a solo…you freeze.  This has happened to me, & others, plenty of times.

(Personal side note, I hate bass solos…MOST bass solo’s are met w/ a very “meh” crowd response)

This doesn’t have to be a solo section.  Sometimes, you just FEEL those notes coming out your fingertips & then as soon as you acknowledge it…it’s gone.

I think one of the keys for success here is simply not worrying.  To ALLOW yourself to be yourself & get out of your own way.  Too often, we obsess. We get in our own way w/ self doubt & worry:

   – “Do I sound good?”

   – “Aw man, I messed up.”

   – “Am I good enough?”

   – “Man, that was weird.”

We let all these little intrusive thoughts get in the way & keep us from The Zone.  You have to live in that moment.  To remember, the present is the the only true moment & live in that nowness.  Not to bog ourselves by the past mistakes or the next song section.  Those moments are immaterial in the Zone.  It’s slippery in that way.  As soon as you think/worry about those moments, you’ve left The Zone.  It’s a very Zen like state to live in.

– CKEdwardsBass