What does one do on stage during instrumental songs?

What is the most appropriate and professional thing for the singer to do during instrumental pieces of music? Should one exit the stage? Hang out on stage and clap one's hands with the band? Just curious what works well for you. I always feel a little like I am abandoning the group if I leave, but awkward (nothing to do) if I stay.

Rock out?

Dance with the audience since they are probably going to be bored anyway. :poke:

I kid, but I'm also serious. A HUGE part of our jobs as front people is to engage the audience. Not having an guitar/bass/whatever should make this easier.

Perhaps you could refill all the other bandmates' beverages?

Why would you play an instrumental?

Keep a stool by the side of the stage, sit and listen to/watch the band play. The audience will think "hey, that's cool, he's into just sitting and listening like us."

OR

Grab a groupie and make some backstage fun-sexy-time explosion.

I have never performed with a band

In the times I have been in that situation, I always left the stage. Not only do I get a breather, but it makes it obvious to the audience that an instrumental is happening.

I figure if I stay on stage, the audience is going to be wondering, "So when do the vocals come in?"

say "awwwriiiiight! lets hear it for ___________" after everyone solos

If you insist on staying on stage instead of taking a break during an instrumental, then learn to play an instrument. Even if it's an acoustic in an open tuning that you just strum some parts.

I'd also suggest bongos... but that gets painfully close to tambourine players.

If you leave the stage, take a moment to notice the mix in the audience, but don't look like that's what you're doing. (Hate it when a group member looks like he's checking out the mix, even if that is exactly what he's doing.)

Ugh, I hate that. I've seen singers who stand right in front of the band, hands on hips, obviously doing an eval. of the mix. To me, it just comes across as self-important posing for the audience's benefit.

Then again, I guess "self-important posing" comes with the territory...

Have a sax player who doesn't play on the last song of one set. He gets up, heads for the bar and orders a drink. Pretty much works for us.

If you insist on staying on stage instead of taking a break during an instrumental, then learn to play an instrument. Even if it's an acoustic in an open tuning that you just strum some parts. I'd also suggest bongos... but that gets painfully close to tambourine players.

I think everyone should play an instrument, whether you sing or not. I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, but it bugs me when people sing professionally but don't play an instrument at all. Mind you, I'm cool with singers who don't play much/at all on stage for the sake of their performance, but I've met a lot of "singers" with natural voices who try to lump themselves in the same category as I'm in, when in reality, they've had to do very little work to get to that level. So I guess my philosphy is, if all you do is sing, you'd better be damn good at it.

Doesn't it bug you when a vocal only singer is good enough to be left alone with that? It only bugs me when they leave without helping pack up.

do handstands and juggling...j/k of course...singers I've worked with in the past just danced around on the stage and said, let's hear it for... or let's give it up for... who then goes into his solo...or you can just leave the stage for a sec to get a drink and catch a breather...just go with the flow...all the audience cares about is being entertained. With that in mind, always keep your instrumentals very limited on time as the audience would much rather hear a song with vocals. Instrumentals are really a waste of time unless you have really talented musicians that have years of experience soloing that make it interesting. A good example is Stranglehold by Ted Nugent...those guys made a song that was for the most part instrumental and just about every part is interesting IMHO

the "leaving without packing up" thing is infuriating.

the "leaving without packing up" thing is infuriating.

Take it to the "Pet Peaves" thread...

Leave the stage and take the tambourine and harmonica with you.

Well either get some percussion stuff and play along or just get some rest in the backstage, standing in front of the band is not really best idea because it does affect the on stage dynamics and after all takes some attention of the band ( usually instrumentals are in the setlist to show off a bit ).

The other vocalist I play with just goes and gets a beer when it's one of my songs

haha, get some toms and bass drums!

all the cool indie kids are doing it

The quick anwser...

Refill your beer and flaunt it

(used to work for me when I was only a vocalist.)

I agree. All the band members should contribute for a fuller sound. I play guitar on about 75% of our songs.

When I'm not playing or singing, and there's enough time, I hit the dance floor and start pulling bodies out of their chairs. If the need is there, I dash to the restroom. During long leadouts I fade to the back of the stage, change and/or tune my guitars. When the song ends, I am ready to start the next one with no dead air.

i see where you are coming from, and to a certain extent i agree.

but i could also argue that some people either aren't wired or haven't yet mastered playing two instruments at once (voice being one of them). in those cases, something is going to suffer, and you do not want it to be the vocals.

with more complex music, the proposition gets more difficult. i would not expect james labrie or russell allen to play an instrument in the context of dream theater or symphony-x, and i think any attempt to do so would cause the vocal performance would suffer. For them, singing that material is challenging enough on its own.

and then some people are mutants. i know a guy who is an amazing singer and guitar player who does a lot of complicated progressive material live, and sounds great doing it. but he is more of an exception than the rule, i think.

i am mostly a keyboard player/composer but i do sing enough to do solid backups. however i would never perform lead vocals, even on my own material, let alone try to play both the keyboards and sing at the same time. i get a real singer to do that, and if he or she plays an instrument, that is great, but overall vocal ability comes first. when i am looking for a singer (like now ), i will take an amazing singer who can't play an instrument over a mediocre singer who plays well.

i think of it as a sliding scale based on multi-tasking ability vs. the challenges of the performing material.

I'm usually spinning my hair like a propellerhead.

I agree with two points.. either exit stage and keep clear of the floor (it does take attention away from your players) or learn an instrument.. acoustic guitar is a good one, you can learn to play a bit and jam along .. doesnt even have to be plugged in or can be low in the mix, fans/friends will never know the difference. When you get good enough bring your parts up in the mix. It'll help with your home practice and help write music too.

I disagree. It's pretty easy to spot a faker, even if you don't play the instrument yourself. Accurately shaking a percussion instrument is better than faking a guitar.

Authenticity > image.

Agreed. Vocals are my primary job, guitar my secondary. We do songs where I play fill chords play during the verses, and pick up the rhythm part on the lead players' solo. Mostly it's a matter of learning the guitar part cold, so that it doesn't require conscious thought, and then adding the lyrics.

I am reading a book at the moment called "the Practical Mind", which is about various forms of intelligence but focusing on conscious thought. They use a musical analogy often to describe how the brain operates.

With enough practice, the cerebellum takes over and frees up the conscious mind for other activities. Like driving ... you don't consciously think "ease up on gas, adjust to left, tweak wheel", etc, until an event grabs your attention. Same for playing and singing.

It gave a great explanation for that scary blank moment. The conscious mind, feeling the pressure to perform, tries to take over the job the cerebellum is already doing. That split second of conflict between brain parts is enough to make you drop a chord, lose the next lyric, or forget where you are in the song. Practice until it's automatic, and trust your cerebellum.