Playing Live

I'm out of touch when it comes to playing live. I've not done it for a few years, other than university assessments and a recent open mic. I'm trying to get back into it as a lone singer-songwriter, and I'm looking for tips, suggestions and ideas.

I have done this quite a bit before, so I don't personally need tips on practice and booking gigs. My biggest concerns right now are hearing myself on stage, and controlling the nerves. That said, feel free to post anything you can think of - and if people post enough, this could be a good Q&A thread.

A big thing for controlling nerves is try not to take yourself too seriously. Tell a joke or a little anecdote inbetween songs. one time I was playing and I got to a difficult chord and I couldn't get it to sound properly so I just said "Don't worry, I'll get it." The thing with lone singer-songwriters is that they aren't really exciting to watch, so you can try doing a little entertainment, talk to the audience. try to have fun, and remember YOU have the mic, so you can say whatever the heck you want.

I guess the biggest issue I actually have is that I'm not much of a people person. I'm not the type to make jokes or anecdotes, so I think I'd come across as fake. I also only play serious music, so I find it hard to detach myself from the 'serious' mindset.

then be a sexy loner

I'd love to, but I think that works best when you're with a band. A quiet guitarist fading into the background or lurking at the side of the stage... but if it's just me... I'm not sure, ha. Plus, it'd help if I was sexy.

For hearing yourself you need monitors,super small stages wont have monitors.

Nerves is something you create,you believe you have nerves,you want to feel nervous,because DAMN EVERYONE IS WATCHING ME,WHAT IF I FAIL!? most of the time ppl wont care if you fail in a chord or miss a word (if you suck,like,really suck,they will notice and kick you out of the stage) just remember that,you are not big stuff,if you mess up you wont be in the next morning first page,just practice enough to be confident,have fun playing your serious songs,have some nice clothes on and smell nice.

Yeah I also play serious music, but its good to lighten the mood a little bit

In the end, you have to have fun. No one else. As long as you're having fun, hopefully everyone else will come along for the ride.

Don't get me wrong, I love to play my songs. I just haven't got good delivery when it comes to making jokes and banter. Here's the kind of tip I was thinking along the lines of;

I guess you could use earplugs if you're on a stage that's not using monitors, so then you can hear your vocal in your head more.

You said you wanted stuff to control your nerves. Having fun will control your nerves :)

^^^ Few drinks wouldnt hurt either....

\M/(*-+)
gs2112

you should try cocaine and xtasis/MDMA it helps a lot

!^^^ Or that,maybe some.beta blockers.give you steady nerves kimosabe.

\M/(*-+)
gs2112

Watch out for AlexB's advice there :P
Only thing that helps is playing more live gigs. . .
I was nervous as hell when i started out but now im more comfortable on stage than off. . .

Well Doz I always had my monitors dry, and what the sound man did after that was his discretion, I always figured if it sounded really good dry then it would sound great with some reverb and such. I am not a people person either so I just had a couple beers before I played and that seemed to work out..Look at neil from Rush, he just plain said i dont like to talk to people and he didnt.... the music said it all...but anyway good luck!