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Thursday, January 25, 2007

PERFECT 'STAGE' PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT 'STAGE' PRACTICE

There are two types of 'rehearsals' to consider: 'live rehearsal' for the stage and your 'technical ability rehearsal'. Both types of rehearsals are necessary but rehearsing only your technical skills will not set you up well for performing on stage 'live' to an audience.

When you rehearse with your band or practise on your own you are only honing your technical ability and playing skills. This is necessary of course for you to be able to learn to play the parts you need to play but the the problem is that the stage environment is different to the rehearsal room environment.

When you get up in front of an audience there's leads and equipment to avoid, space limitations, sometimes there's no fold back speakers and you can't hear yourself properly, there's often people talking throughout your performance and lighting or special effects can make things more difficult to see etc. Performing live is a different environment from playing your songs at home or at the rehearsal room. Even small things like what clothes you wear on stage can inhibit comfort or maneuverability and it can get very hot under stage lighting.

If you're under rehearsed in 'live' performance you may find yourself stressed or even too relaxed in an environment that is going to be very different to your 'rehearsals' where you're practising your technical skills. This anxiety can throw off even the best of players who 'know' they can play the songs then stumble or don't perform to the best of their ability when they get on stage.

Anxiety is just adrenaline, it's normal and it's very common among performing musicians and public speakers. With experience you can learn to work with it and even use its energy to the advantage of your performance. Here are some things you can do to minimize the effects of anxiety so you don't end up ruining your well rehearsed live performance.

Try rehearsing your 'stage performance' as well as your general band practise and at home practise. Both of these practices serve different purposes but many bands forget to practise their 'stage performance' and just practise their 'material' or technical ability to play.

One thing you can do is to rehearse under 'stage' like conditions. Maybe invite some friends (or strangers) or family members along to a rehearsal for an 'audience'. If you can't do this and you use practise rooms where there are also other bands rehearsing, maybe you can invite them to be your 'audience' and in return, you can sit in as their audience.

Wear what you would wear on stage, clothes that look good but are to practical for performance or are uncomfortable will not help you give your best performance.

Set up some lighting to give you a 'stage' like atmosphere. Direct a light on each band member.

Next, you must treat this 'rehearsal' as if you were playing a gig in front of an audience. That means: walk on to the stage from the side of the room then pick up your instrument, do not stop midway through a song even if you have made a mistake, talk to the audience - introduce yourself and your band and perform your entire set as you would if you were doing a 'real' gig.

Try performing with a 'not so good' sound mix. Try performing with no fold back speakers.

Change the stage set up around the next time you practise and make the performing area smaller or larger or in a corner. Even find a different location to perform your live performance rehearsals.

If you're keen to have an even more 'realistic' stage practise, try doing some physical activity to get your heart rate up. This will produce similar side effects to that of anxiety so you'll become more 'comfortable' with the feeling.

Rehearsing under all these conditions will get you as used to as possible to the feelings and environmental factors that you will face on stage in front of an audience.

The more you practice rehearsing your 'performance' using different stage set ups the more comfortable you will be when you do it for real with an audience of strangers and a stage you've never stepped on.

Of course the more you practise both types of 'rehearsals' the better you'll get and getting better means better shows which means more enjoyment for you and your audience.

IDOL VOCAL COACH

Ever wondered what a vocal coach could help you learn. Sometimes what you need to 'unlearn' can be just as important according to Canadian Idol vocal coach, Debra Byrd who gives a 'Byrd's Eye View' interview here.