Tips to Help You Offer Your Audience a Flawless Live Music Performance
We all love attending or watching live performances. It’s an excellent chance for musicians to share their passion in front of a live audience, whether virtually or in real life. It’s a fantastic way for the performers and the audience to create fond memories. And when your performance is flawless, you create an unforgettable experience for you and the listeners.
If you want your performance to kick off and end without a hitch, you must ensure that you have done plenty of preparation. This blog explores things you must do, from choosing the right music, rehearsing, engaging with the audience, and choosing the right equipment and venue to guarantee a flawless live music performance.
Rehearse
Before any show, musicians must rehearse. This allows them to identify areas where they are lacking and improve. It also gives them a chance to spice up their performance.
Therefore, before embarking on a live show, you must practice all the songs with your teams, ensure you can play your equipment, be it a piano or guitar, and hit all the chords with your eyes closed. This enhances your confidence when performing and lowers or eliminates the risks of forgetting parts.
You are assured of sounding your best on the stage and wowing your audience by going through the songs several times.
Warm Up
Before going on stage, you must warm up. This is a crucial factor in all performers, whether athletes, singers, or dancers. Warming up helps ensure your voice is in good condition before singing.
As part of warming up, you must also ensure that your diet is favorable to your singing, as some foods are recommended for musicians before a performance. You can consult with your nutritionist to pick the right food.
Some warm-up exercises in your routine include vocal warm-ups, yawning, and sighing. You can also try humming, loosening your jaw, and tongue trills. These will ensure you don’t tire quickly and keep your voice flawless.
Dancing is one way to engage with your audience. So if you are planning on bursting some moves, you must stretch your body and jump around to get your blood pumping.
You must also warm up your fingers if you are playing guitar, piano, or any other equipment that requires you to use your fingers.
Don’t Drink too Much
Having one beer before heading out may help calm your nerves and build anticipation. However, drinking too much alcohol can ruin certain aspects of a live show. It may cause you to have slow movements and sloppy playing/singing. It may also impair judgment while onstage, resulting in potential embarrassment later, causing your audience to view you unfavorably.
If you must drink, postpone it till after your performance. While on stage, you can drink water to stay hydrated.
Use Quality Equipment
You might be a great musician, but if you don’t have quality sound equipment, then your audience will not have a fantastic experience. Therefore, ensure you have quality audio gear and musical instruments. This includes speakers, amplifiers, guitars, drums, microphones, and mixers.
If you have a large audience, you must ensure you have the best autotune plugins, which ensure the sound comes out perfectly when streaming or holding a live music performance.
Ensure Your Music Instruments are Working Properly
Before heading out onto any stage, ensure all the musical equipment works correctly. So, have your team conduct test runs in the mics, sound pieces of equipment, guitars, and all the other equipment. This helps you avoid disappointing your audience and ensures your show runs smoothly.
Conduct Sound Check
A sound check is an essential step before any show. It allows you to ensure that everything is running smoothly and the sound coming from your equipment will be heard clearly in front of a live audience.
Ensure that you are familiar with all the settings on your mixing board, effects, and pedals so that adjustments can be made quickly during the performance if needed. Also, ensure your microphones are at the proper height for optimal sound quality.
Note that when performing, you are not supposed to stand close to the mic as it affects the quality of your voice.
Engage With Your Audience
You want to ensure that your fans come in large numbers for your show. And for this to happen, you must engage with your audience on social channels. Chatting with them will help you decide which songs to perform.
And when they see that you take their input, you’ll be assured of a huge turnout.
Connect With Your Audience
Music performances don’t just have to be about playing songs; it’s also a way of bonding with your fans. Therefore, don’t just sing; ensure that you take your audience along the journey by having them sing along. You can also encourage clapping or talk about the next step or the idea behind the song. This makes them feel connected.
In some music performances, the band distributes wristbands that light up in the dark, making the venue spectacular. This gives them a special feeling knowing they were part of the performance.
Choose the Right Music
Not all songs have what it takes to work in a live performance. So when picking your playlist from your music library, ensure that the tunes of the music can excite the crowd into moving, clapping, or singing along. These songs are bound to create conversations or open dialogue between family, friends, or strangers.
Connect With Your Fellow Performers on Stage
If you are performing as a group, you must create a fun and friendly atmosphere where you help each other. Creating a healthy connection within a band is crucial when performing live, as it allows you to have fun and make jokes, strengthening your bond. The fun atmosphere also spreads to the audience.
Dance Around
Don’t just stand in one spot when singing. You must show your audience that you are also having fun by moving your body around. You can dance, jump around, move your hips, or any other natural movement.
If you are not good at dancing, you can hire a team of dancers, and you are assured of a lively and flawless performance. Your audience won’t notice that your dancing needs to improve as they’ll also be busy dancing.
Be Yourself
You may panic or try to imitate other musicians while on stage. Don’t let your audience see through your feelings; show them who you are by presenting yourself through your music. Be confident, smile, and enjoy the moment.
Be proud of your work; the pressure will decrease, allowing you to sing your lungs out.
Being Confident and Loosening Up
Standing in front of hundreds or thousands of people may seem intimidating. But, it would be best if you reminded yourself of the reason you chose singing as a career. To have fun, deliver messages in a fun way, and earn an income.
That said, do not be all uptight, be confident in your craft and passion, and get rid of your inhibitions. This will allow you to interact with your audience playfully; you can also pick people from the crowd and invite them to dance or sing a duet on stage.
Don’t Take Breaks Midshow
When playing live music, it’s important to keep the energy going. So unless you have an arrangement with your bandmates or audience, avoid taking breaks mid-show. This will help create a better flow and overall experience for those attending. However, if you need to take a quick breather, grab a cup and sip cola to stimulate your senses and energize you.
Be Prepared for Disruptions
No matter how you’ve rehearsed or planned the show, know that you are always at risk of facing disruptions. It may be due to power grid issues, equipment problems, or someone in the crowd who becomes violent.
For that reason, you must always have a backup plan. For instance, if the power goes off, have a generator to pick up the lighting task promptly. Always conduct tests to ensure all the equipment is working smoothly. And finally, don’t hold a live show without bodyguards; they help maintain the peace.
Choose the Right Venue
Not all venues provide good acoustics, optimal sound systems, ideal lighting setups, or correctly-sized stages suitable for larger crowds. Besides, certain venues don’t match the musical themes, genres, or atmospheres you want to create.
Therefore, read reviews and research the venues extensively to ensure your final choice meets your needs and preferences and offers a comfortable environment for the attendees.
Before selecting the venue, you must also ensure you adhere to the locals and regulations. You must choose your streaming channel, Youtube, Spotify, or Amazon Music.
Final Thoughts
A live music performance is something many of us wish to experience at least once in our lifetime. It’s also an excellent way for musicians to share their passion and talent in front of a live audience, creating unforgettable moments for themselves and their listeners.
However, to host a flawless live performance, you must practice, prepare and pay keen attention to every minute detail. Discussed above are tips you can utilize, including rehearsing, using quality equipment, and using the best songs, to ensure your live music performance starts and ends without a hitch.