10 musicians weigh in on what makes for a great performance | Think Like A Musician
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DownloadWhat makes for a great live performance is when you walk away,
and that air hits you in the parking lot,
and you’re kind of wondering, what just happened?
Hey, you. Yes, you! Is there music inside of you?
We’ve recruited working musicians from throughout the industry
to help you hear it, hold it, and share it with this wild and wonderful world.
A great live performer is someone who is at one with their sound,
and there's no separation between themselves and the sound they're making.
I like to just feel really present, really in my body,
in this state of bliss that lifts up people around me
and makes them want to tune in.
For me, what makes for a compelling performance is when you are comfortable.
If people are coming to see me perform,
in essence they’re coming to see me do something they could never imagine doing.
They want to watch me be comfortable
because the thought makes them uncomfortable.
Part of my exercise is being myself and being comfortable
because that's the beginning of performing in a genuine way.
Me having a great show is not always going to be me having my best vocal night,
but it's going to be whether or not I was able to move the people in the crowd.
The stage is a magnifying glass.
We can tell if you're not telling the truth.
The audience’s experience watching you is going to be a reflection
of your experience on stage.
If you're having a good time on stage,
they're going to have a good time watching you.
I like to treat the audience as a couple of my friends in my living room.
My friend off to the right, my friend down the middle, and my friend on the left.
I always tried to make sure everybody is engaged on every side.
And more importantly, it’s like,
don't do anything except the way you would do it
for your best friends in your living room.
And one of the things about being a professional musician
is you have to play well, no matter if the audience is
giving you a bunch of energy or not.
Sometimes you have a great audience,
sometimes maybe it’s a Sunday night and people are a little sleepy
and you don’t have a great audience.
But that shouldn’t matter to the professional musician— you have to play.
We’re in an era of rampant price gouging—
people are really spending a lot of money on tickets to go and see people play—
so you want to make sure they get their money’s worth
because it’s not really fair to go out there and phone it in.
I really think music is where you really connect to people,
but it's okay that it's also show business and you are going to be performing.
You’re going to be on stage and you want to create something visual
that people want to look at while they’re listening to you.
They will listen better
if there’s something in your energy that feels good.
You have to have a visual component and a musical component
to make a good show, I feel like.
Sometimes it’s an exploration in identity that is just as important
as exploration of technique.
When you look at performers,
like Billie Eilish’s colored hair and her baggy clothes,
makes people feel an identity.
How I connect with fans in a live setting is the music first.
The trust that the music is going to be to be where it’s supposed to be
on a nightly basis, second.
And the rest is left to beautiful chance.
So, let’s get really clear.
Six grown men aren’t meant to be traveling on a bus together for a month.
For it to work, that in and of itself is going to be a bond.
Chemistry on stage is incredibly important.
The audience feels it if you guys are all on the same page.
And I think that also extends to the front of house engineer
and the person who's mixing your ears.
That person is incredibly important.
If I can't hear myself and if I can't hear my band,
that has everything to do with the chemistry and the level of show
that I’m going to be able to put on.
Trusting each other on stage,
runs across many different kinds of ways of performing,
you have to trust what everyone else is doing.
and have the utmost confidence that they’re doing their utmost
to perform their role to a high standard.
The people that I’ve surrounded myself with who are in my band
we’re also connected musically.
And everyone kind of comes from a different musical background,
which is cool because all of these different ideas can come together
in such a perfect way.
So if you have a great sense of rhythm and a strong pocket,
I love you, that makes all the difference to me.
How do you get to the pocket? How do you be in the pocket?
Wow, that's a great question.
Essentially, pocket is groove or feel.
If someone says, “oh, they’re in the pocket”
it means that they’re in time with each other,
they’re in sync with one another.
The pocket is between a bass player and a drummer.
When the groove feels very effortless,
and there is, it’s breathing in a way,
you can say about a musician they have great pocket, right?
People that just naturally lay down,
they play and you’re like, oh, I have to move when they play.
You can’t get there without listening to what other people are doing.
You need to be listening to the drums, bass,
anyone else who is on stage with you—
you need to be listening to them
and figuring out how you can make your sound fit in with their sound.
We're not robots, right?
And that's where the pocket comes in, because it's not about perfect time.
It’s about the feel, right?
And so that comes with time.
Comes with time and just experience and playing with the right guys
that have the pocket.
And then at one particular moment, I remember when it happened to me,
I finally found the pocket and I was like, thank the Lord!
I’ve been looking for this moment all my life.
You need to be willing to make mistakes.
A lot of people say you need to dare to suck.
You have to find your way through the clunkiness to get to a point
of where, “oh, this feels right!”
Each person has to find their own survival system.
What works for you? What works for you?
What works for your voice? What works for your family?
What works for your heart? What do you need?
Because I think that life also is important.
It's important to live life, to be able to have something to sing about.
Key Vocabulary (50)
toward
"Go to school."
belonging
"Cup of tea."
also
"You and me."
inside
"In the house."
specific
"That book."
A third-person singular pronoun used to refer to an object, animal, or situation that has already been mentioned or is clear from context. It is also frequently used as a dummy subject to talk about time, weather, or distance.
Used to show who is intended to have or use something, or to explain the purpose or reason for an action. It is also frequently used to indicate a specific duration of time.
A function word used to express negation or denial. It is primarily used to make a sentence or phrase negative, often following an auxiliary verb or the verb 'to be'.
A preposition used to indicate that something is in a position above and supported by a surface. It is also used to indicate a specific day or date, or to show that a device is functioning.
A preposition used to indicate that people or things are together, in the same place, or performing an action together. It can also describe the instrument used to perform an action or a characteristic that someone or something has.
Used to refer to the person or people that the speaker is addressing. It is the second-person pronoun used for both singular and plural subjects and objects.
A third-person plural pronoun used to refer to two or more people, animals, or things previously mentioned. It is also commonly used as a singular pronoun to refer to a person whose gender is unknown or to someone who identifies as non-binary.
A possessive determiner used to show that something belongs to or is associated with the person speaking. It is always placed immediately before a noun to indicate ownership, relationship, or authorship.
Used to point to a specific position or location away from the speaker. It is often used to show where something is or to introduce a topic by stating its existence.
A possessive determiner used to show that something belongs to or is associated with two or more people or things previously mentioned. It is also commonly used as a singular possessive when a person's gender is unknown or to be gender-neutral.
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Description
Professional musicians share the key components of being a great performer and what it means to have stage presence. -- "Think Like A Musician" connects you with working musicians who want...
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