When music takes center stage at a festival, weโre all looking forward to something exciting. Itโs not just the music itself: itโs the performance. Whether it’s lights, pyrotechnics, special effects, or just the sight of musicians grooving with their instruments, weโre looking for action, interest, and something that makes us dance and shout out our support. Here are a few stage secrets that make it all possible. Are you ready for the big time? Maybe these music performance secrets will help you on your road to live performance acclaim.
1. Have the Hardware
At first glance, youโre thinking of a lot of expensive goodies. Rammstein lashes out half a million Euros on a single performance in special effects. You canโt afford that? No problem! Stick to the basics – it doesnโt have to be expensive to give a good show.
Look at simple things that will help to free you up when performing on stage. For example, instrument straps need to do so much more than just support guitars, saxophones, and the like during musical performances. They need to give you the freedom to move around in ways you wouldnโt ordinarily try during regular practice sessions. And you need to break free at times – especially when youโre trying out your most daring virtuoso stunts.
Trigger snaps on musical instrument straps are part of the deal and they donโt cost much either. You just need one hand for one second, and you can engage the supporting strap or release it as needed. Plus, the swivel mechanism allows you to twirl your instrument or do quick swops between one and another without getting tangled up. A lot of pro musicians go for custom instrument straps – and it’s not just the strapping itself that matters. Details like the fasteners included in their design allow musicians to perform stunts that leave the audience screaming for more.
Now, let the lights, the sound, and the ambiance do the rest. A few low cost props or a lightning-fast change of appearance are just cherries on the top. Save the costly effects for when sponsorship covers them – you CAN put on a great performance without them.
2. Take Some Lessons in Performance Art
When your audience is listening to a recording, it doesnโt matter what you were doing when that recording happened. You could be sitting hunched over with your eyes pinched shut, and nobody is going to get bored. But when visual performance comes into the equation, you need to do much more than that.
Top performers agree that your audience needs to feel an emotive response, and that means projecting your performance through voice, body-language, and movement, so that the people sitting right at the back of the crowd get the same feeling of engagement that those in the front row do.
Being โlivelyโ isnโt enough. You need to be larger than life – a secret youโll see in action when watching performances from top artists across the spectrum of genres. Even if you think youโre able to do this, a few acting lessons wonโt go amiss – or get a professional performing arts coach to watch your dress rehearsal to see what tips he or she can offer.
3. Keep the Energy Flowing
You donโt need a lot of special effects to get the energy going and keep it flowing. From the moment you make your entrance, project energy and charisma. Makes you feel dorky? Donโt stress! The dumber you feel, the better it looks as long as you can do it like you believe in it.
Take up space. Move around. Be unrelenting. Forget the details and go big. Whatever you do, donโt give that energy time to fizzle out. Need to replace a guitar string? Have your drummer ready to give them a solo that canโt be beat. Whatever you do, donโt leave any dead space in your performance.
Give the people what they want. Dance with them. Shout out encouragement. Involve them so that they feel part of it all. Thatโs the magic of a great performance, and no pyrotechnic display can match it for sheer effect.
4. Dress-Rehearse Your Live Performances
Cobble together an audience of friends and try a dress rehearsal of your live performance. If possible, choose a space where your stage can be marked out to match the space youโll have at your festival gig. Just practicing your music is second nature to you – but a performance is far more than โjustโ your music.
If you want to play it like a pro, practice the performance as much as possible so that you can walk out there with confidence and rule the stage. Not sure how to do it? Watch your favorite artists in recordings of live performances to see how they bridge the gap between making music and turning it into a show that excites the audience and leaves them screaming for more.