A few notes to myself and for my students. Lessons learned from good and not-so-good gigs.
1. Trust your rituals.
Rituals help to put you in a state of mind that produces good performance. It's different for each person.
Some of mine are:
○ Avoid chocolate, sweets, alcohol, and acidic drinks a few days before a gig.
○ As much as possible get enough rest and drink enough water starting a few days before.
○ Never perform on a full stomach. If you can, be a bit hungry before you start a gig.
○ Make sure you are perfectly in tune.
○ Vocalize.
○ Spend a quiet moment before the gig to compose myself and pray.
2. Be overprepared.
○ Bring extra strings or a backup guitar.
○ File your nails so they slide smoothly over the strings. Get small things out of the way.
○ Bring a condenser mic with an extra battery. Bringing your own mic sometimes spells the difference between sounding like an amateur or a pro.
○ Bring a music stand.
○ Make hard copies of lyrics and chords or charge your tablet. Even pros forget their lyrics and chord sometimes.
3. Practice until you can't get it wrong.
○ Sir Ruben Reyes: You have to be able to do a song without making a mistake from start to finish. If you make a mistake in the middle of a song, start over, from the top.
○ Junji Lerma: If you can't play a song standing up, sitting down, or dr***, don't bother playing it.
○ Relying on improv powers is a mistake. You might suddenly think of things that are too far beyond your comfort zone. I should be able to do a difficult passage in awkward positions, in different volumes and speeds, with eyes closed, and half asleep.
4. Prepare your spiels.
○ The first spiel is the most important, like the attention step of a good lesson or speech. It should draw in the crowd and put them on your side. I find I perform best when I've already connected to the crowd by talking to them.
5. Wear what you feel like wearing.
○ Be comfortable.
○ Wear clothes that show who you are and that you can forget about once you start.
○ Of course, take into account the gig's dress code and audience.
6. Moments before a performance...
○ Decide to make it an awesome one.
○ Offer it for someone or something.
7. During the performance...
○ Do a good soundcheck. It's worth it for both you and the audience. I once watched Urbandub spend what felt like 15 mins just getting their volumes and tones right, without anything else happening. But the first chord alone was enough to explain why they did it.
○ Connect with your instrument. Listen to how it sounds and feels. Let your feelings flow into it, you must.
○ Todo bigay! (Give everything!) It's emotional truth that grips and affects people, says actor and director Ron Capinding.
8. Learn.
After the show, or even while it's still going on, learn. If you made a mistake, you can always treat the next song like a different gig.
9. The show must go on.
You'll be amazed at the conditions you can surpass. Your string 1 breaks? Tuloy! (Go on!) Your voice is a bit hoarse? Tuloy! You didn't follow your rituals or practice as much as you would have wanted? Tuloy lang!
In the end a peformance is about saying something to your audience. So make it a good one. At huwag kang papayag na hindi makakarating sa kanila! (And do everything you can to make sure it reaches them!)
1. Trust your rituals.
Rituals help to put you in a state of mind that produces good performance. It's different for each person.
Some of mine are:
○ Avoid chocolate, sweets, alcohol, and acidic drinks a few days before a gig.
○ As much as possible get enough rest and drink enough water starting a few days before.
○ Never perform on a full stomach. If you can, be a bit hungry before you start a gig.
○ Make sure you are perfectly in tune.
○ Vocalize.
○ Spend a quiet moment before the gig to compose myself and pray.
2. Be overprepared.
○ Bring extra strings or a backup guitar.
○ File your nails so they slide smoothly over the strings. Get small things out of the way.
○ Bring a condenser mic with an extra battery. Bringing your own mic sometimes spells the difference between sounding like an amateur or a pro.
○ Bring a music stand.
○ Make hard copies of lyrics and chords or charge your tablet. Even pros forget their lyrics and chord sometimes.
3. Practice until you can't get it wrong.
○ Sir Ruben Reyes: You have to be able to do a song without making a mistake from start to finish. If you make a mistake in the middle of a song, start over, from the top.
○ Junji Lerma: If you can't play a song standing up, sitting down, or dr***, don't bother playing it.
○ Relying on improv powers is a mistake. You might suddenly think of things that are too far beyond your comfort zone. I should be able to do a difficult passage in awkward positions, in different volumes and speeds, with eyes closed, and half asleep.
4. Prepare your spiels.
○ The first spiel is the most important, like the attention step of a good lesson or speech. It should draw in the crowd and put them on your side. I find I perform best when I've already connected to the crowd by talking to them.
5. Wear what you feel like wearing.
○ Be comfortable.
○ Wear clothes that show who you are and that you can forget about once you start.
○ Of course, take into account the gig's dress code and audience.
6. Moments before a performance...
○ Decide to make it an awesome one.
○ Offer it for someone or something.
7. During the performance...
○ Do a good soundcheck. It's worth it for both you and the audience. I once watched Urbandub spend what felt like 15 mins just getting their volumes and tones right, without anything else happening. But the first chord alone was enough to explain why they did it.
○ Connect with your instrument. Listen to how it sounds and feels. Let your feelings flow into it, you must.
○ Todo bigay! (Give everything!) It's emotional truth that grips and affects people, says actor and director Ron Capinding.
8. Learn.
After the show, or even while it's still going on, learn. If you made a mistake, you can always treat the next song like a different gig.
9. The show must go on.
You'll be amazed at the conditions you can surpass. Your string 1 breaks? Tuloy! (Go on!) Your voice is a bit hoarse? Tuloy! You didn't follow your rituals or practice as much as you would have wanted? Tuloy lang!
In the end a peformance is about saying something to your audience. So make it a good one. At huwag kang papayag na hindi makakarating sa kanila! (And do everything you can to make sure it reaches them!)
