Sunday, January 3, 2016

8 Music Concepts You Should Apply To Your Live Show

For those bands and musicians who are looking to up the level of crowd engagement at their next gig, here are eight useful tips that can help your time on stage stand out and remain memorable to your audience after the show has ended.



1. Remember that audiences aren't there to hear songs, they want to experience moments

They want to have their lives changed. They want to make a connection with the artist. If they just wanted to hear the songs and sing along, they could've stayed home and opened up Spotify.





2. You must direct the focus of the audience
There's a lot going on: loud music, bright lights, bouncing bodies, the drinks in our hands, the phones in our pockets...we need you to SHOW us where to look. Take command of the stage, move back and forth and direct our attention.

The less work we have to do as an audience deciphering what's visually important, the more we can get lost in the moment.

3. Your adrenaline and ego color your perception of what's happening
You're excited and nervous and really invested in this show-- so your experience is heightened as well. You thin you just did a rock leap 5 feet off the ground. What the audience saw was a tentative  bunny hop. You think the audience is held captive by your intensely intimate vocals. When actually the crowd was being polite, waiting for the slow song to end so they can check their phones and talk to their neighbor without being rude.

So, remember this when you're crafting your performance!


4. Not everyone in the room is a musician
Don't expect the crowd to be wowed (only) by your crazy syncopated rhythms or harmonic minor guitar solo. Your stage banter, your clothes, your movements, your attitude, your hair, your props- they can all be just as important as the music to your audience's overall experience.


5. Each of your songs should look and feel different
You don't want your show to be homogeneous. A concert is a story, not a quart of milk. Peaks and valleys, sadness and humor, depth and levity, fast and slow. Bring the contrast- modulate the energy in the room and really take the audience on a visual sonic and emotional journey.

6. You have to practice your performance, not just your songs
If you're "winging it" on stage, the best you can hope for is a GOOD show. So don't leave things up to chance. When you're truly prepared, then you can have the freedom to be truly spontaneous.

Craft the performance and then practice, practice, practice-- just like you practice your songs. (But be sure to practice it as if you're on stage facing an audience, not standing around in a circle like you might be when practicing your songs.)


7. Don't be loyal to the studio arrangements of your songs
A concert is a different experience than an album, so feel free to explore those differences in your song arrangements.

Should there be a longer intro to allow for some breathing room in the set? Should you extend the solos, or let a few of the players trade solos to increase the energy? Should you vamp on that section after the bridge so you can talk to your fans for a bit? Should you strip the arrangement down, or have the players enter one at a time to heighten the anticipation?

Those are just *some* of the things you can try throughout your concert to add variety and to control the energy of the crowd.

8. Use the space you're given on stage
As I already said above, using movement is a way of focusing attention and building visual energy. If you have room to move, figure out how and when to use the space the best effect.

If you don't have room to move (let's say you play the keyboard and are stuck in the corner of a crowded restaurant), think of some gestures or movements you can employ from where you sit.


[via hypebot]

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