Performance lessons

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!)

my favorite strings

Let's talk about strings.

Q: How important are good strings?

A: Very, since your guitar merely amplifies the sound of the strings you put on them.

Q: What characteristics do good strings have?

A: Good strings are worth it because...

1. They sound good. The sound is balanced from the lowest to the highest string. The sound is rich and pure, with no dissonant overtones (the kind you might have with old, frayed bass strings). And they are, simply, pleasing to the ear.
   
   
2. They sound loud. Especially when you've just put them on. Inferior strings don't give your guitar much of a challenge.
   
   
   I've had to accompany singers for church services several times--without a mic! And I'm talking about not just chapels but cathedrals. I could have never done that without quality strings on my guitar.
   
   

   

   
   
   
   
3. They have good sustain. I once tested a new set of quality strings versus some old strings that were on a second-hand guitar I bought. The new strings had at least 2 seconds more sustain than the old, low-quality ones. Two seconds! That's a lot of time if you want clear and ringing notes from your guitar.
   
   
4. They last long. With regular weekly gigs, my strings last me a year—without having to replace a single one! The sound gets duller through time, but good strings dull together and maintain an even sound. I sometimes think that my strings sound the best midway through their lifetime, when the basses have mellowed and the trebles get to sound a bit more pronounced.

Q: Which strings do you use?

A: My favorite strings are D'Addario Pro Arte Classical Guitar Normal Tension with clear nylon trebles and bronze-wound basses. They have all the qualities I outlined above. But are still relatively cheap.

Q: Why normal tension?

A: One hot afternoon, I left my first guitar on the top bunk bed near the ceiling. When I wanted to play and got it again, it was hot. I checked how even the fretboard was and noticed some bowing for the first time. And I felt that the strings were a bit harder to press. Ever since then I've always insisted on normal tension.

Q: How much tension is normal tension?

A: If I look at my strings' packaging, the tension of each string is listed on the back.

String#1=15.3 lbs

String#2=11.6 lbs

String#3=12.1 lbs

String#4=15.4 lbs

String#5=14.1 lbs

String#6=13.3 lbs

If you add it all up you get a total of 81.8 lbs!

That's how much stress you put on your guitar's wood and joints if you're on standard pitch.

But hey. if hard tension works for you, go ahead! Just know that you risk bowing your guitar' neck and giving the glue a bit more reason to loosen up. Especially since classical guitars seldom have truss rods installed for support and adjustment.

Q: Why classical guitar strings instead of steel acoustic guitar strings?

A: Same reason. Tension.

I've seen some people replace one of their strings with a steel string probably because loose steel strings are cheaper. But this is dangerous for the reasons already mentioned.

Use the strings your guitar was designed to hold.

Q: Why clear trebles?

A: They sound better to me. D'Addario black nylon trebles sound too soft and mellow for me.

La Bella black nylons, on the other hand, have a slight metallic sound to them. And maybe a bit more tension. (These were the strings I had on when I noticed the bowed neck. Maybe just coincidence. But I have'nt used them since.)

Q: Why bronze-wound basses?

A: Rust is more obvious on white-colored basses. So if you don't want to replace your strings too often, having bronze-wound basses keeps them looking good despite their age.

Q: How long before a gig (live performance or recording) should I change my strings?

A: I once observed a guy who put in a new set of steel strings on his acoustic guitar right before the event we were playing at. Worked for him I guess, though I noticed he was tuning a bit too often.

That's the only drawback I know of if you change your strings too soon before a gig. You might have to tune your guitar mid-set. And maybe more than once.

In my experience, giving the strings 1 or 2 weeks lead time is best. It gives your strings a chance to stretch and stabilize. And maybe even mellows out and balances the tone a bit without sacrificing the macho and assertive tone you get from newly-installed bass strings.

Q: When should I change my strings?

A: As soon as they sound bad to you. If the tone is too far from your ideal. Or if the sound is too weak.

I've read some articles that recommend changing your strings once every couple of months. But that's impractical for cheapskates like me.

Plus it's a hassle to keep changing strings. I would rather just play than spend my precious time doing an early tune-up.

Plus you'll always be having to break-in your strings. By the time you have stable intonation and a mellower tone, you would be changing strings and repeating the process.

Q: If a string breaks, should I change just that one or the whole set?

A: If you can afford it, change the whole set.

You could just change one string. But usually the cheap strings you can buy tingi (one piece at a time) are just that—cheap. They don't sound that good, have low sustain, and break easily. I once broke a replacement string before it even reached standard pitch! Others break again within a few weeks.

What I usually do in a pinch is use my old strings, since I usually replace the set after about a year even if nothing is frayed or broken. I keep the old set in my guitar case.

For example, you can replace a broken D string (#4) with an old D string. OR with an old G string (#3) tuned to D. It won't sound as good as a D string but it can tide you through the gig or until you have the money or time to buy a whole set.

NEVER replace a broken D string with an old A string (#2). This will result in too much tension if tuned to standard pitch. Use the same logic for other strings—replace a broken string with an old string of the same or lower tension.

Q. Where should I buy strings in the Philippines?

A: You can try looking for a good deal in Sta. Mesa. But check out JB Music first. There are times of the year that the same brand of strings is cheaper in the malls than in the specialty hole-in-the-wall shops along Aurora Boulevard.

Mozart's Matchstick Method

http://www.classicalguitarbuilder.com/guitar_tip.html