Lay It Out So You Can Play It Out
pt. 3 Read the Crowd so you'll Please the Crowd
pt. 3 Read the Crowd so you'll Please the Crowd
So by now you've undoubtedly followed the advice in my first two Play It Out segments and not only overcome the mental obstacles blocking your path to a new music career (and new life), but booked your very first gig, as well. 12 days into the New Year and you're practically a new man!
I'd like to spend this post talking about reading the crowd who has shown up to see you execute your meticulously practiced performance. You might say to yourself, why haven't I talked about your meticulous rehearsal, or how I promoted so well to get all these people here?!? I'm assuming that if you want to play gigs you probably practice a lot anyway, and most promoting is done initially by word of mouth that will occur between you and your friends naturally. That said, the next segment will be about both practice and advertising (and all the other musician-type stuff you'll do in your ample spare time during the day).
I want to start with reading the crowd because it is an art which takes the longest to perfect (I certainly haven't) out of the many skills that playing in public requires. After all, once you've practiced concentrating on keeping time and playing that bridge section just right, selecting which drumsticks to use for which song and which songs to play at all, peering out from behind the cymbals just to watch people dance might seem futile or pointless at best.
At first, it will be. After many shows of practice however, musicians can learn to remove the visual/auditory barrier which can, at first, hinder playing. If this barrier is removed, music can then flow out of you in a manner that is fueled by the audience and in turn, fuels their energy to keep dancing or listening.
While all of this can be accomplished by watching people's feet or hips, it's also important to observe the overall mood of the entire room. If your audience looks tired from the 20-minute jazz-funk-metal odyssey the band just embarked on, they are! Play something slow and simple next. Refresh their ears. Most importantly, put yourself in their shoes on the listening side of the equation. If you think things are getting boring and monotonous, you're probably right.
We'll get to the rehearsing and marketing stuff soon. Just watch those hips for now and in the words of the Isley Brothers:
"It's your thing, do what you wanna do. I can't tell you, who to sock it to."
I'd like to spend this post talking about reading the crowd who has shown up to see you execute your meticulously practiced performance. You might say to yourself, why haven't I talked about your meticulous rehearsal, or how I promoted so well to get all these people here?!? I'm assuming that if you want to play gigs you probably practice a lot anyway, and most promoting is done initially by word of mouth that will occur between you and your friends naturally. That said, the next segment will be about both practice and advertising (and all the other musician-type stuff you'll do in your ample spare time during the day).
I want to start with reading the crowd because it is an art which takes the longest to perfect (I certainly haven't) out of the many skills that playing in public requires. After all, once you've practiced concentrating on keeping time and playing that bridge section just right, selecting which drumsticks to use for which song and which songs to play at all, peering out from behind the cymbals just to watch people dance might seem futile or pointless at best.
At first, it will be. After many shows of practice however, musicians can learn to remove the visual/auditory barrier which can, at first, hinder playing. If this barrier is removed, music can then flow out of you in a manner that is fueled by the audience and in turn, fuels their energy to keep dancing or listening.
While all of this can be accomplished by watching people's feet or hips, it's also important to observe the overall mood of the entire room. If your audience looks tired from the 20-minute jazz-funk-metal odyssey the band just embarked on, they are! Play something slow and simple next. Refresh their ears. Most importantly, put yourself in their shoes on the listening side of the equation. If you think things are getting boring and monotonous, you're probably right.
We'll get to the rehearsing and marketing stuff soon. Just watch those hips for now and in the words of the Isley Brothers:
"It's your thing, do what you wanna do. I can't tell you, who to sock it to."
No comments:
Post a Comment