F
finalfury1
New member
Thanks guys a billion. I'd probably died on stage without some of the advice you guys gave... I just hope next time I will have more energy and sing a tad better...
JTC111
Active member
That really is the key to live performing. Mistakes are going to happen, the trick is to get through them and not let it screw you up for the rest of the song.
My brain is so fried that I have to tape cheat sheets to the side of my guitar to remember all the chord changes for my own songs....ugh! But it gets me through the night. For longer shows, I have to layer the cheat sheets and tear them off as the show goes along. LOL
G
ggunn
Crystal Flavolian
You gotta be careful with cheat sheets; they are a crutch that you will depend on as long as you have them. You get into the mindset that you can't play without them, which is a self fulfilling prophecy. You'll freak out the first time on stage that you lose one or if your pages get scrambled.
Been there, done that. Like Dumbo with the magic feather, I found that once I weaned myself away from that dependency, it wasn't that hard to do without them. My delivery got better because I didn't have to be constantly looking at my notes. Also, when I'm playing bass, I find that I can't really understand the flow of a song well enough to write decent lines until I'm off book. As long as I'm reading a chart, I'm playing mostly 1's and 5's.
YMMV of course.
Lt. Bob
Spread the Daf!
Lots of times people will have to have their cheatsheets but don't actually use them!
One guy in a Baton Rouge band I worked with had certain songs taped to his keyboard. After a year or two .... they were so torn up and with the dim light in bars, I KNOW he wasn't reading those words 'cause it would have been impossible.
Yet, he was convinced he had to have them and would stop everything while he looked for them .....
so don't get too attached to cheatsheets as the ggunn says.
guitar zero
c = b#
Most people I know love going to live shows, myself included. And I go to a lot. So from a spectator point of view, what are the ingredients of a good show? For me it can be any combination of the following.
1) Virtuosity, either instrumental or vocal.
2) Story telling, either by the song, or between songs, or both.
3) Crowd interaction, much more intimate in a small venue, and to me makes things even more enjoyable. (Not too much though, they came to hear you play)
4) Humor, again either in the song, or between songs.
5) History, either of a song or artist. Adds to intimacy learning about a song or more about an artist.
I'm sure there's more, but you get the idea. There's lots of ways to entertain
1) Virtuosity, either instrumental or vocal.
2) Story telling, either by the song, or between songs, or both.
3) Crowd interaction, much more intimate in a small venue, and to me makes things even more enjoyable. (Not too much though, they came to hear you play)
4) Humor, again either in the song, or between songs.
5) History, either of a song or artist. Adds to intimacy learning about a song or more about an artist.
I'm sure there's more, but you get the idea. There's lots of ways to entertain
J
Jouni
New member
I was in a band where the singer had the sheets in his hand day before the first gig.
remembered all the lyrics at the gig though.
plus 1 on the water!
I drink a pint of water before a gig at least, otherwise my hands cramp (bass), throat dries up, and I get dizzy. (metal, headbanging, sweat)
I got time to wee before the gig since our drummer is a lefty, takes minutes to mess with the drums.
Alcohol, relieves nervousness, but dries you up and hinders performance if overdone.
Be damn sure that you stand so that you can hear what you need from the band without monitors!.. (drums, for me)
Soundguys usually just fuck around and shrug their shoulders when you ask to hear something.
remembered all the lyrics at the gig though.
plus 1 on the water!
I drink a pint of water before a gig at least, otherwise my hands cramp (bass), throat dries up, and I get dizzy. (metal, headbanging, sweat)
I got time to wee before the gig since our drummer is a lefty, takes minutes to mess with the drums.
Alcohol, relieves nervousness, but dries you up and hinders performance if overdone.
Be damn sure that you stand so that you can hear what you need from the band without monitors!.. (drums, for me)
Soundguys usually just fuck around and shrug their shoulders when you ask to hear something.