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Performing Live Newbie Information Request!


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Hi all

 

Im Charlie and im a newbieholic :p

 

I have just started getting into playing live seriously but can't seem to let loose on stage. I, am majorly into dynamical songs and for my voice in particular, become stimulated by songs that push my limits.......im sure you guitarists can hear me...:D

 

I think as a band our sound is enegetic and as long as its rockin out im feeling awesome but i don't know what to do with myself especially as soon as i don't have a guitar in front of me. I feel like im trying to connect with the crowd but everyone tells me im not!

 

I struggle to talk with people clearly over the microphone and although i have done choreography plan outs in performance when i was younger, its just not the same type of stage presence as to partying up and giving it all for the crowd that is wanting to get into what you do (keepin' it real as you say)

 

All you senior "been there done thats" i'd really appreciate some help

 

Are there any sites out there i can take a look at that give really good information about 'how to's' on performing live. there seem to be alot on choirs performing and orchestra's.....but what about bands gigging???

 

I've already had it motioned to me by my guitarist that my stage presence sucks i think its just that he likes what i do musicianship wise that keeps me in a job lol..... so this is my last resort before i reduce myself to drama classes and a tutu........... (oh dear lord noooooooooo)......:confused:

 

it sucks really cause i want to eventually be known as being a reasonably good musician in our local town, but feel that the only way to be noticed isn't necessarily to be noticed as a musician first, but to grab people's attention without playing music which is the one thing im not good at and in fact shun away from.

 

I guess this all comes into 'selling yourself'......is this healthy lol

 

HELP~!!!!!!!

 

Thanks :cool:

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Step #1: Relax. The more you worry about how good you are the more you're going to psyche yourself out. If you concentrate on "don't suck don't suck" you probably will.

 

Step #2: Be yourself. It can't be said enough. There is nothing more irrating than watching a performer who goes through the motions just to have moves. If you don't feel like moving around, don't. Make a lot of eye contact. That can go miles in the eyes of a crowd. Make sure you are dong material that you feel passionately about. I know that may seem basic but if you don't like what you're doing you aren't going to able to fool the crowd.

 

Step #3: Study! Watch other bands, videos, DVD's, anything where you can watch people doing it live. Pick up pointers. If you see something someone does that works try it.

 

Step #4 Video yourself at rehearsals, gigs, anywhere. You don't realize the habits and body language you have until you see them yourselves. I worked with a female vocalist who had the worst stage fright imaginable. She wasn't the thinnest girl around. Anyway, while she was onstage she wouldn't make eye contact and would nervously flip her hair. The problem being that unless you knew her and knew she was scared she looked like a primadona. It looked like she was diva bitch from hell. After we showed her the tape she was able to correct it.

 

Take some pressure off yourself and enjoy what you're doing. You'll feel more comfortable and be looser.

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thanks for that, these thoughts i have already taken into consideration. I know what your saying about your vocalist cause im that exact person, i come across as abit of a stuck up tart when in fact im really unsure of how people are going to take what i do.

 

always the way ha

 

keep the thoughts coming cause it will certainly help :)

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Yo Chuck.............you're trying to hard. It's never gonna happen if you're trying to push it like that. Laugh at your mistakes and play what people want to hear. Transition songs so that there are no breaks. One song into the next......BooM, BooM. Don't give a crowd room to breathe. The hokyer the stuff that you play, the more the crowd will love you. Rick Springfield (Jessy's Girl), Footloose, I'm a believer, Sweet Home Alabama..........all of those stupid songs will set the place on fire but the trick is to get 3 hours of that kinda stuff and keep the girls dancin. Not only that but the catch is to make the other guys in the band realize that this is what works and to drop the cool guy, rock star attitude in order to satisfy the babes. Trust me, you play those kinda tunes, chicks will be tellin their friends to come and see you because you keep them dancin. Not only that, when you transition songs like that, there's no room to talk to the crowd. That will take the talking part of out of the mix. You'll feel more comfortable because you'll be doing one less thing that makes you feel uncomfortable. This is a great equasion. Do what you do well. Don't do what you don't do well. It's that simple.

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Interestingly, I used to make a ton of eye contact from the stage (I'm a bass player, by the way), and move around quite a bit. I noticed at a recent show that if I don't acknowledge the crowd directly too often, I tend to play better and move around quite a bit more. Exaggerated motions on an instrument are also eye-catching (instead of just strumming the chord, swing at it!), but if you don't play an instrument, that's a moot point.

 

Anyway, for a lead vocalist, crowd interaction is the key to a good show. For a lead guitarist I guess it would be as well. You want to do things that make the audience follow you around. If you notice people not paying a lot of attention, you know it's time to get them into it! Play a song they may be familiar with, and reach the mic out during lines of the chorus. Little stuff like that gets the band remembered, and makes sure people are having a good time.

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Yeah. Loosen up a bit. Buy a wireless mic. Jump up on the bar a few times. Just watch getting off of it. LOL (I'm talking from experience and a few good falls.) I remember that I had a 5 ft clearence between me and the stage. The riser was about 3 ft high. I look a little running start. It was dark and my foot only grazed the edge of the stage. I fell over top of a monitor, smashed my knee on the corner of it, and damned near fell through the drum kit. Very embarrassing (not to mention painful). I bruised my knee and cut it up a bit. I got up, finished the song and at the end said "Well that was graceful, huh? I just defied gravity. I've fallen off a few stages in my day but never up on to one. You guys just witnessed a first in Rock & Roll history and a marvel of physics." Everyone laughed. From there on out, I had em. That connected me to them, somehow. Just be yourself. Don't be afraid to be flashy but the music is key. You have to do upbeat, dancable, party tunes or they will just stand there and look at you. If you don't create a party with the music that you do, you'll be just another band. When people are into the music, you tend to be looser and more confident. Remember, not everyone is looking at you. You'd be suprised how many people in the bar don't even know that you are in the band when you are on your break. It gets easier as you go, too. For me, the more I did it.........the easier it became. Now, it's like walking into a supermarket. No big deal.

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Thanks guys

 

Anyway, for a lead vocalist, crowd interaction is the key to a good show

 

I completely agree X.........And i always make eye contact but its obviously not enough

 

i like to get that rock out feeling when i have the guitar on me,

 

We do stuff like No Secrets - Poison from kiss - I was made for lovin you from cheap trick + stuff like No doubt, weezer, Hole and hopefully soon some Audioslave stuff rock rock rock

 

we also do Rock n roll ya know the 'you maybe rights' 'Keep your hands to yourself' type stuff

 

so i know the music is up and fun.........

 

 

Loosen up a bit. Buy a wireless mic.

 

I will look into it tommy im going to be looking at some mics very soon and now starting to think that if the crowd can't come to me then perhaps i should go to the crowd,,,,,i already feel nervous lol

 

Promise i will try not to fall off the stage or onto the stage as the case maybe :cool:

 

I also agree im sure the more i am out there, the easier its going to be for me to get that gift of the gab attitude, i just don't want it to come across ponsy like.

 

And when i do try to tal over the mic people say they can't hear me yet my diction is crystal clear when im singing

 

I don't know hopefully time will tell....and i will definetly keep you guys informed on my progress to let you know how things are going!!!

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If people can't hear what you're saying over the mic, either you are too close, too far away, or your PA is not set up properly. My guess is that the mic is too close. As you move closer to a mic, low frequencies are exaggerated - this is known as proximity effect. It is useful to know this, because you can use it to your advantage when singing and avoid it while talking.

 

It is also possible that your PA is poorly set up. People might tell you they can hear you when you're singing, but remember, they probably know the words to the songs already. They may only THINK they can hear you!

 

All the advice so far has been excellent, especially the first response. I would add that it is important to remember that the crowd WANTS you to succeed. They WANT to have a good time or else they would not be there. Don't worry about what you are doing during a solo, chances are the crowd will be focused on the soloist, those that are watching at all.

 

Between song banter is only effective if you are naturally talkative. Nothing is worse than watching somebody try to be entertaining and having it look forced. My advice is, if you are not comfortable, don't force it. Avoid breaks between songs - the crowd didn't come to hear you talk.

 

From personal experience, the more time you have in front of an audience, the more you will relax and be yourself. The banter and the moves will eventually come naturally, or they won't come at all.

 

Cheers

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I was watching Megadeth's Rude Awakening live DVD the other night and realized how {censored}ty their stage performance actually is. I mean.. basically, all 3 of them in front stand there and bang their mops around, not really moving around the stage. Every now and then they raise their fist during a chord (or more notably, when Petrelli raises 1 fist up while finishing a solo with just the fretting, which I admit was f**king awesome) or take a few steps.

 

They DO always keep eye contact with the crowd though. And, of course, their music rocks :)

 

My band is finding a singer right now, and we have a couple who want to basically audition for us. We have a big need for a singer with a lot of stage presence. We did a small gig just for some friends and videotaped it. Afterwards, we realized that we all stood still and generally looked stupid. So, in addition to getting wireless guitar setups so me and the other guitarist can move about and stuff, we really want a lead singer with some good stage performance.

 

It's really not as big a deal to us as his voice, but we might take a 7/10 singer with 10/10 stage performance over a 10/10 singer with say 5/10 performance.

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Thought I might get my 2 cents in. I am the lead vocalist for 2 Cent Tip. And we are very new. I had the same reaction of fearing the crowd. I did a lot of watching of some of my other friends bands that have been doing this for a while. 1 of them is very good at running the crowd while others are not. I'm kinda in the middle I like to make eye contact while I sing so they don't think i'm pulling a hollier then them attitude. What I found out what has helped me, is we have got there early and did all are setting up and sound checked. Then walked around talking with people saying hi and just being there like I would at any concert just to see. By the time I got on stage made it through the first song I was comformtable and ready to go. I have only had 1 bad experience so far and I learned for it, but they didn't seem to care that much. Don't play rock music to a bunch of Country folks, ha ha, set that gig up wrong but :eek: . I don't move around much yet but am working on it, I just feel the music like I would in practice. Putting the mic on the stand if my hands shake to much and try to just breathe and realize I LOVE DOING THIS. I have worked to get here for a reason and this is a dream so go for it.

 

Another thing that has helped me is talk to the band tell them to help talk to the crowd too and they have. Splitting it up getting coversations going (small ones between songs and tunnings). Life is short live it up.

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I've been doing this for a while, and here's what I've found...

 

1. The folks in the audience don't give a damn if you play like Eddie Van Halen or Eddie Munster. In most cases, they're just jazzed by the fact that you're onstage and they aren't.

 

2. The audience doesn't care if you screw up the song as long as they can keep dancing to it (don't stop playing, just recover). Fact is, they're more interested in the chick or guy they're dancing with to even know what song it is, most of the time.

 

3. If you involve the audience, no matter how cheesily you do it, you WILL be a hit. Audience participation works!!! Think "Louie, Louie", "Tube Snake Boogie", "Boom Boom, Out Go The Lights", that kind of vibe.

 

4. If the band is comfortable with the music and having a good time, the audience will be comfortable with the music and have a good time. Confidence is infectious.

 

5. Musical virtuosity doesn't get you return gigs as much as big bar sales. Dancing and rowdy audiences buy lots of booze. "Music critic" audiences don't. Play to the drunks by the pool table, not the two or three guitarists that may be there.

 

6. People go to clubs mainly to either get drunk, get laid, or both. The fact that a band is there might get them into the door, but the real reason they're there is one of those. A hoppin' crowd will get them to stay much more often than a musically talented band.

 

7. Knowing all of the above, the only person you are really trying to impress is yourself. You are your own worst enemy. Give yourself a break and try and have a good time. It'll pay off big in the long run.

 

This works for any member of the band, not just the frontman. Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying that you don't have to do your best. I'm only saying that in the grand scheme of things, being a technically flawless band doesn't exactly make you a "good" band, in the eyes of the audience.

 

Food for thought...

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