Top Ten Tips For Playing On Stage
August 5, 2009 | vintage bass guitar, vintage electric guitar, vintage fender guitar, vintage gibson guitar, vintage gretsch guitar, vintage guild guitar
Standing in front of an audience as a performer can be a very scary and intimidating experience. Standing in front of a few friends and family and playing the guitar seems incredibly easy compared to standing at the front of a room full of strangers waiting to be entertained.
In this article we will show you some of the tips and techniques to make sure that you perform at the very best of your ability every time you go on stage. These tips have been taken from the experts – those who get up and perform with stability and amazing talent every week. It doesn’t matter if you are completely new to performing on stage or you are a seasoned performer, there are a number of things you can do to make the very best of your performance.
1) Ignore the self-doubt. Every musician at one point or another has heard the little voice in the back of his mind that proclaims that getting out on stage is madness! Always remember how hard you’ve worked to get here – have faith in your music and your talent – know exactly what you are going to play and share it with others.
2) Know your repertoire. Choose songs that you know and play well. Get a repertoire of around ten or twelve songs that you really enjoy playing, and then memorize them.
3) Mix it up a bit. When you have the ten or twelve songs that you have chosen, take a look at them and make sure that they are crowd pleasers! Make sure there is s a good mix of rhythms and tempos – a variation in music is much more valid to an audience than a selection of songs based around the same chord. Make sure that the songs you have chosen vary in difficulty as well – if it’s your first time on stage then playing something technically difficult may be a stretch – but you should also push yourself a little at the same time. By challenging yourself your skills will develop quicker.
4) Distract yourself. Playing in front of an audience means there are going to be distractions. I remember an outdoor concert I attended where a famous band had to put up with the next band in line warming up directly behind them – these things happen when you go on stage. The best thing that you can do is to be ready for it – when you practice at home leave the TV or the radio on – turn the volume up and practice with the distraction.
5) Play easy to start. When you have your mix of songs that vary in rhythm and tempo, make sure you play them in the order that puts the easiest to play first. This way, when it comes to the more difficult songs, your fingers will be nicely warmed up. Many seasoned performers like to begin with a strong upbeat song with a medium tempo – this will get the audience on your side as well as warming you up for the more technically difficult songs later.
6) Sleep! Whenever possible, make sure you get a good night’s sleep before any important gig. Sleep naturally lowers your levels of anxiety and increases your concentration, eliminating mistakes.
7) No Alcohol! Alcohol works by slowing down your reaction time, and your awareness of what is going on around you. Caffeine does the opposite – it heightens your awareness which leads you to become even more anxious and make more mistakes. Alcohol and caffeine are the destructors of many a good concert. Therefore, you might think you are playing superbly, when really the audience switched off quite some time ago.
8) Be prepared! As much as you can, make sure that all your clothes and equipment are ready the night before the gig, thus cutting down on any extra anxiety on the day. Make sure you have the directions to the gig as well – the last thing you want to be doing is having an argument about where the venue is half hour before you go on stage!
9) Be equipped. Leave nothing to chance and there is less likelihood of something going wrong that can’t be fixed. Make sure you have extra strings and plectrums in your gig bag, as well as extra batteries and leads.
10) Relax. Enjoy it. Remember, playing in front of an audience is all part of the creative process. The more you do it, the better at it you will get. What’s the worst that can happen? Whatever it is, always tell yourself that you will never play your last gig.
Copyright 2009 Liam Gibson (Stage Guitarist)
One Response to “Top Ten Tips For Playing On Stage”
As a guitarist getting the latest guitar tips is an important thing to do, this can help you learn the latest tricks and tips on how to play the guitar better.
By guitar tips on Nov 5, 2009