Developing your Performance Skills pt1
November 4, 2009
There are many things that are neccesary for an emerging artist, previously I have pointed out that to have a concept is essential and a USP (Unique selling point) helps no end. Now if you have good management or people behind you then you are very fortunate so work hard, but if you are doing this journey by your self it is hard to know what you should be doing and whether what you are already doing is correct, well after attending a few events an important area I feel I should highlight is performance.
IT IS A SKILL THAT CAN BE LEARNT
if you an aspiring performer it can be difficult to know what to do on stage, very rarely do you find honest people who will tell you what you are doing wrong usually you get the “You were really great” even if you were terrible. So what do you do? Some people employ a choreographer to put together a stage show that works for them. Well this can work for some but what happens if you don’t dance or you sit behind a keyboard or guitar? First things first what is performing?
The dictionary definition of performance is simply:
“A musical, dramatic, or other entertainment presented before an audience.”
So I guess the first thing to do is make sure what ever you are presenting you can present it well. One of the most frustrating things are people who spend lots of time trying to choreograph and make a performance great, but forget about what it is they are performing. It is imperitave that you know the song you are performing to the best of your ability and that is already half the battle won.
I have spent time going to performances and listened to great performances where that artist as done little else but sing the song. So when going on a journey you start at the beginning.
1. Learn your material!
Now this may sound obvious but in my time working with up and coming artists many things take priority above learning their material properly, thing such as outfits, attendees, photos for the flyers, dance routines everything down to making sure they arrive in style!
WORDS! I have been to countless performances where people have forgotten the lyrics to the song the were performing (I also have been found guilty of this offence) and the reason is always the same. Now I understand some people will get nervous and forget lines of a song, but if you rehearse your material enough you will not suffer this fate as one of the keys to a good performance is being as natural as possible andm you cannot do this if you are thinking about the next line.
Now as well as learning the lyrics of the song vocalists need to be aware of the best places to breathe, this can be as important as the lyrics because if you haven’t got sufficient breath to support your notes, well you get my point. So learn you breathing points in the song as well as the lyrics, and rehearse them until you don’t have to think about it.
2. Be Yourself!
A large percentage of performers today have confused the word influence with the word COPY!
Now we all have musical heroes who have given us the inspiration to enter into this thing called the music industry but there is a point where you must inject yourown personality into what you are doing.
If I want to see Beyonce perform I will get a ticket to one of her concerts, not look for the nearest person who sounds like Beyonce! People are always on the look for something new and original and the only way to be truly original is to be yourself, you are one of the few unique things in this world. Now a lot of people are lacking in confidence so they avoid injecting themselves into their performance but this is the exact opposite of what you should do. If you are moody make your performance moody, if you are humourous then make parts of your performance humourous. Some people may say they don’t want to be XXXX but the fact is if that is your personality that is who you are and who you should project, no one is better than you at being yourself!
Stay tuned for more on performance skills!
