I need some advice and was hoping someone out there could share some knowledge.
I’ve been the lead vocalist for my band for a little over a year now. We’ve done some gigs which have turned out very well but I don’t seem to be getting as comfortable as I would like to on stage.
It’s like there is this “last step” that is holding me back and I know I can jump over it, it’s just that I don’t know how exactly. At home I’m completely loose and can dance and groove and sing in the mirror and be completely content. When I get on stage, even though I’m not nervous and I sing just as good as when I’m at home, I can’t seem to get my body to move! It’s crazy because I want it too! I know how to dance, I have rhythm, there is just some mental block that I can’t figure out how to get through.
Does anyone know what I can do or know how to break through this mental block?
Peach and {b]Joe K** are right, but I’ll also add that when I’m about to go on stage I always try and get a bit worked up and active - just a little extra hyperactive so that I carry that energy out on stage with me. Y’know, bounce about, warm up a bit.
Getting focused and/or loose and/or energized is very important.
I think what helps me out the most, whether I am performing or sitting in the audience for a show I directed, is taking pleasure in the audience’s reaction. For someone who fronts a band, I think this is probably key.
Create a relationship with the audience. When you see them dancing, bopping, singing along, you will be able to feed off their energy. There is nothing that kills a band’s performance more for me, than musicians and singers who do not, and cannot relate to the audience. Take your cues from them.
I will definately think over these suggestions. Thank You. I don’t know if it’s something you learn or if you just have to “have it” but relating to the audience isn’t really something I think about too much. If I see someone out there singing along it makes me smile and helps me to enjoy singing the song that much more. I’m not really very good at talking to the audience. I say a few things but it’s not like I have stories to tell like I’ve seen other artists do. I just want to be “me” and not be afraid of what that is. I know people will like to see “me” up there so it’s really pretty stupid that I can’t get over this.
I agree. For me I can never sense the difference or tell when it’s about to happen, but all of a sudden it “drops in” and I’m in my living room again.
If you’re looking for something to take you out of your head, find something else to focus on. Decide on an emotion, or a character, for each of your songs. Concentrate about being honest in that emotion or character. Let the performance come.
If you’re striving for some kind of Steven Tyler/David Lee Roth stage presence and that’s not your personal style, then you’ll never get there. The best thing about music is that it’s DIFFERENT. Think of Cobain vs. Jagger vs. Cooper vs. Busta vs. Amos vs. Stefani. Are any of those people remotely alike? No. Are they themselves? I think so. That’s cool.
You’re a singer, concentrate on that singing and forget about performing, and the performance will come. The Meisner method for vocalists, if you will.