5 Things NOT to do on stage MUST KNOW live performance tips bands solo

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5 Things NOT to do on stage MUST KNOW live performance tips bands solo
#GuitarTips #PerformanceTips #StageTips #DontDoThis #Guitar #Lessons #GuitarLessons #NLG

[stephenlennartz]

I would add that 'You are there to entertain guests.' ... which means they will prob hang longer-- purchase food & drink. I experienced this first-hand a few weeks ago at a winery that was launching a new Friday night sunset dinner. This called for a very different vibe than the winery's Saturday crowd. So I asked myself what would I want to hear if I was having a relaxed dinner after a long week of work. Built the set list very carefully for my duo. Voila! Worked beautifully. I can honestly say that none of the 50 or so guests left. In fact... they made effort to get closer to the stage and interact with us. It felt like a super-comfy piano bar. The owner was ecstatic! Exactly what she had in mind. 😎👍🎸🎹

[dannyalvarezdrums]

For my band, A good way to know that everyone is ready before starting a song is that if all musicians are facing the people that means ok, if someone is facing the stage or the drums means wait. And that works for us without looking at each other or asking are you ready ?..! 👍

[HardwiredMusicMaker]

This isn't an "on stage" thing, but going along with the advice not to point out mistakes, I had a drummer who I found talking to a new fan who loved our music, but instead of thanking them for being there and enjoying it, perhaps getting them to follow us, the drummer only talked about how bad the supplied drumkit was and that it sucked as a gig. I talked to the drummer privately and explained why that was the wrong way to talk with a fan, but didn't work with that drummer for long anyways. Pity because he is a great drummer - just didn't have a good attitude.

[howlinwaters]

I always instruct the musicians I hire that if someone compliments the band during the night, even though we know things weren't going that well, NEVER say anything about the problems we may be having with sound or wrong notes, etc.

Just politely thank them for their compliment and move on. Pointing out to someone that their compliment is misplaced due to a band off-night insults their intelligence and causes them to not want to see the band again.

I learned that lesson the hard way long ago.

[havable]

Tuning: for a while I was lucky enough to play with this guy who has perfect pitch. One time while performing, I was playing the intro and he fixed a slight tuning error as I played. I'm sure it was fantastic to watch for those paying attn.

[manifestgtr]

Quick addendum for the “don’t attract attention to mistakes” thing. Under most circumstances, that’s true. If you clam a note or miss a change, just keep it rolling…no one cares. But a couple of the pro bands I play with will actually take it in the *complete opposite* direction sometimes. If someone has a mental block, starts a tune in the wrong key or misses a cue, it’ll become a THING. Everyone turns around and points, the singer goes into the microphone, the offender drops to his knees…stuff like that. If you do that once or twice over the course of a three hour gig, it kind of endears you to the audience, adds an additional level of entertainment, etc. It also has a way of robbing mistakes of their “gravitas”. They become part of the performance as opposed to something that’s disruptive or embarrassing. The worst I ever got it, myself, was when I completely jacked a melody line in front of a thousand people or so. I mean, got distracted by something shiny and missed *every* note…with Britney Spears’ MD watching from the audience. It was a COLOSSAL failure. But the band launched into a fit of scream laughter and it ended up being the funniest moment of the night. TLDR: ignore small mistakes but don’t be afraid to have fun with the obvious ones here and there.

[christopherheintz]

your tips are spot on - I'd only add "have fun". Good, fun energy is infectious - and sometimes needs to be forced. But even forced energy will transform into real exuberance after a while.

[jeffstewart]

I’m opening up for Styx in my hometown tonight and I appreciate your words⚡️✌🏼🤟🏼

[drvee]

Golden tips for performing.
Songlist is vital.
Even if you're playing solo.
Time your tunes and performance.
A little banter with the crowd is ok, but keep it short unless you're witty, or a comedian.
They are there to be entertained.
Tune silently and quickly. If you can talk to the crowd while you're tuning it? Even better. If someone in the band is tuning, someone should be talking to the crowd. Dead air time kills the vibe. If people are dancing, keep playing into the next tune. " The last chord...into next tune " is profesional.

Don't have new strings on the guitar that haven't been broken in.
Have an extra guitar in case you break a string ( although it's more to look after ) and have it tuned pre performance to save time.
Learn your equipment, sound, and have your knobs on amps or board pre-set, ESPECIALLY if you're solo.
Thank you for posting.
Have fun and smile!

[curtvogue]

First of all, as someone said in a previous comment David is indeed a fantastic teacher. He helped me break out of the pentatonic rut, got me playing in the modes and really opened up a whole new world of options for soloing. It was funny, I had the technique and could cop songs from videos but didn't know what to really do with it and how to apply it to improvising. David helped me learn how and why things work the way they do. Anyway, great stuff!

The points in this video are pure gold if you're in a band. I've been playing in bands for decades... and I've seen every one of these issues in bands I've played in. Everything from dead space between songs (uh... no, contrary to what an "experienced" bassist I played with said once, you can't take 2 minutes between songs!) to the dirty looks when mistakes are made. No, just don't do it! I've also seen an "established" tribute band here in town cussing out the sound man over the mic/PA. Poor form, made everyone uncomfortable and pretty much destroyed whatever enthusiasm the crowd had for that member of the band.

Keep up the great work David!

[ryantreen]

Timing your rehearsed set is also a must! Especially when playing small venues where you may not be the headliner and your stage time is pre-set to the minute.

[undercrackers]

If your band is just starting out then you probably WILL have significant gaps between songs. A good trick here is for band members to provide cover for any issue solving. Drums can be kicking out a modest beat (not too loud), with bass and whoever else (keyboards, or second guitar) providing some neutral support. Again, not too loud. Keep it like background music. In this way the audience will be more tolerant of issue solving between songs such as, finding the lyrics, fixing broken string or tuning.

[conniekeane]

Great points in this video. On a different note; something that might be helpful to bands starting out, or even more so, to musicians just starting to play and get together, would be a list of 10, 25, or even 50 or more songs that everyone should know. This would be a great time-saver for musicians getting together for the first time instead of spending a half hour asking each other "Do you know this one?"

[Gonzo]

#1 Play a wrong note once, it‘s a mistake. Play the same wrong note twice, it‘s Jazz.

#2 Never troubleshoot your gear during a gig. Never. Any interruption beyond, say, restarting the current song is guaranteed to kill any vibe in the audience dead. Bring a second guitar and a cheap, small modelling pedal as a backup rig, and hook the latter up to PA, then mute it. If the soundguy isn‘t fast asleep, you can switch to your „oh crap“ backup thingy, mute your normal rig and mix in the failsafe. Practice switching rigs mid song, and chances are you won‘t even have to restart the song. I use an ancient Digitech RP series pedal that sounds almost bearable, i.e. it’s just north of „horrible“. Small, cheap, does clean and dirt with a bit of delay and reverb okay. Saved my ass three times, cost 20 quid used off of eBay.

[Justice-dq]

Whatching this before my performance.. thank you it was helpful

[DAMSUGAREN_JOE]

thanks! im a guitarist in a rockband, im only 13 years old, but have played guitar for 6 years now. were going to be big!

[jebb]

Really enjoyed this have my first 2hr show today

[NonnyStrikes]

Sadly a lot of guys, especially younger fellas, won't blink at this.

However, for the people that killed their ego for the sake of progression...this hits home!

I've watched many "dead performers" and "stage freakouts". It boggles me brother. If you put all that time in outside of the "time to shine" and you waste it all in that 30-60 minute span... what are you even doing? Is it truly fun for you? Exciting? Ask yourself those things if you have these problems mentioned in the video!

I'm a freak live haha! And they love it. Because I LOVE IT and am having a BLAST with it. I'm not concerned about if they'll like the music, or me for that matter. I'm just having fun and letting those that made it possible know I'm grateful to advertise my hard work at their venue!

[yoseanantoniotorres]

I've been following you guys for nearly 10 years! The growth both the channel and the subs fans are notable. Thanks a lot NextLevelGuitar! Keep doing this amazing work and inspiring new musicians!

[DDViking]

I had a gig yesterday, where one of our guitarists couldn’t hear himself at all, so instead of asking the sound guy for more volume on his guitar in our sound check before the concert, he walks around the crowd while we were playing. Because he was trying to get in contact with the sound guy mid concert, ppl looked all confused. And i was so embarrassed that day.