LA Music Review | Art, stories and advice
by Carley Varley
Performing live is one of the most electric feelings ever but it also very nerve wracking!
When you get on the stage it can be easy to feel so nervous that you almost forget everything you know. It can also be difficult to know the things to avoid when performing if you are quite new to it, or not use to audiences. Today I’m going to be giving my tips of things to avoid when performing live.
The first thing to avoid when you are performing live is not interacting with your audience. Getting the crowd going and giving an energetic performance is vital, so ignoring the crowd and acting like you want to be anywhere else will not reflect well on you.
It’s also good to avoid making demands of the crowd too, always focus on your performance and if the audience seems happy and dancing along, then add a ‘throw your hands up’ or start clapping and the audience usually follows along. It’s so important to encourage your audience and have fun on stage, so avoid looking stiff on stage and not looking at your audience or limiting interaction.
Your stage presence is important and so try to avoid freezing up on stage or feeling too embarrassed to really go for it. Crowd interaction is important but it’s also vital for an artist to look like they love what they do. If you are nervous, it can be seen very easily by the audience and so it’s always best to go for it, have fun and really perform.
One of my favourite bands Paramore, have so much energy when they perform, not only Hayley Williams, but all of the band members are dancing whilst playing their instruments, they are having fun and you can’t help but dance along! If Hayley went out and stood still, didn’t interact with the crowd and looked miserable, you would instantly think something was off or wrong. Commanding a stage is a privilege, so treating it like one will make for the best live performance.
My final tip today is to avoid bringing attention to something that’s gone wrong. Technical hitches happen, its all a part of live performances, if something happens it’s best to carry on and act as if nothing has happened. The crowd don’t need to know if something has gone wrong, so focus on the issue and try not to draw attention.
A really good example of this is Taylor Swift, at her Era’s tour during one of her shows, her earpiece stops working, rather than drawing attention to this, she follows the guitarist as she knows the chords and starts the next verse whilst her team get her a new earpiece. If she had stopped the song, it would have taken everyone out of the song and caused a scene. By carrying on, she not only showed professionalism, but also avoided the awkwardness of stopping a song midway through.
I hope these tips help you with performing live, they are tips that I practice every weekend as a musician. Remember to engage with the crowd, have fun and prepare for your live performance as much as you can.
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