PinkieGuy wrote:Tarby wrote:2. Do you have any questions, tips, or general discussion which revolves around or involves even remotely the topic of stagecraft?
I'd like to know about movement across the stage. I suck ass at it, and if you watch any footage of me, i suck at it.
Also, how does one improve performing an instrument and singing at the same time (other than raw practice)?
Movement's an awkward topic; as an actor, one of the things I've learned about being on stage was that, If you're gonna move, have a REASON for it; have it be to get from point a to point b. The audience will be much more forgiving if you spend 30 minutes at the microphone because you were glued to the spot due to either singing or messing with effects than if you kinda just wander aimlessly and without purpose around the stage; the latter gives the audience the impression that you have no idea what you're doing, or are at least unsure about what your doing (The same goes for
almost moving somewhere, then deciding it's a bad idea and stopping almost mid-step; the audience sees that, especially at smaller venues, and if that becomes a regular thing, the audience will again get the impression you have no idea what you're doing).
One good rule of thumb is this: from the microphone to about 4-5 feet back and 3-4 feet wide, is "Home Base." That's where you should plan on spending most of your time on stage. Thrashing around on stage is fine (to an extent, personally i think it just looks silly after a while, especially if that's the extent of what you do xD), as long as you try to keep it to this area. As the lead singer of two bands, guitarist in one, I tend to have the home base go from the mic to the front of the drums, but depending on the venue, that might be too deep of a space, so that's something you need to judge for yourself.
If you leave home base, have a reason for it, and be confident in your movements. If you go to stage left, have a reason for going to stage left, even if it's just to heckle the audience a bit; don't go for no reason - you have much better things you could be doing, and a lot of things you should be doing that you're not if you're wandering. And if you don't have much, if anything, to do (Like, it's time for the singer to do his acoustic ballad, or it's a solo, or you just don't play for some reason for a verse or chorus or something), DON'T DRAW ATTENTION TO YOURSELF. This goes for people of any genre or performance: one of the most impressive clips i've seen of a show was the stage setup of the artist Amon Tobin (god i hope i spelled that right...), where he literally just sat in a box surrounded by a shitton of other boxes while stunning images were projected at all angles upon his little fortress of solitude. It looked fucking EPIC, and took a lot of time and effort to design, but, if he got up and started dancing and fucking around during a song, that would take away from the visual effects and break the suspension of disbelief - a term i'll explain in a moment. So, the BEST THING for A.T. to do is to sit down and let his music play. And from one extreme to another: Don't feel you constantly need to be doing something. It's not a sin to not move around too much, as long as you're not doing your best imitation of a tree growing. Act in accordance with the music you're performing. With some music, it's okay to be silly, but walking out in a chicken costume during a song about a young girl overdosing on drugs is...well, it's inappropriate xD (This is from experience, too. I've seen a band do this, and the guy in the chicken suit during a sombre piano ballad was...well, i couldn't take the band seriously).
My three biggest tips are as follows for any form of stage production, be it a band, solo act, stage show, musical, play, even stand up comedy act:
1. Every movement should have a purpose. Even if you're winging it, don't go somewhere or do something unless there's an end to the means. Which brings me to...
2. Try to get a good idea of what you're going to do during your performance. This includes making a set list and deciding on song placement (Which is also very important), but also covers deciding what'll be done where. A lot of bands i've come across refuse to plan out their stage show even slightly, because they feel it "takes away from the show" or that the "audience will know they're scripted" or some bullshit like that. Well, a) putting in that extra effort might mean the difference between a good show and a bad, especially if you're really active. and b) THE AUDIENCE DOESN'T KNOW IT'S NOT IMPROVED. Everything is acting, and unless you're a long-time veteran actor/performer or someone inately good at improvization, it might not be in your best interest to try (no offence). The Occasional on-a-whim act is fine, but in all honesty you're much better off with at least a skeleton of what you're gonna do. It also doesn't need to be "third measure of 2nd chorus, to this, then this, then this, then 30 seconds later do this, then do this" etc etc. Just, like, "kick stand during breakdown" or "antagonize audience" is fine, if even that.
3. Realize that, despite how much you might want to connect with the audience, there is and always will be an invisible barrier between you and them. The 4th Wall is a very real thing, and goes hand in hand with an idea taught to me by my old director called "Suspension Of Disbelief". Essentially, when a person goes to see a show, be it live music, theater, standup comedian, or even a movie, all their attention is focused on you. When you're performing, they don't notice the things around them nearly as much - their attention is (or at least should be) on you, be it your band, your theater troupe, your movie, etc. This presents itself as a double edged sword:
a) It allows you to take a bit for granted: for one, the audience will always be at least mildly entertained. also, if you can role with the punches, blunders aren't an issue as long as they're not consistantly happening.
b) It means you have to gauge your audience to an extent. There is such thing as a dead audience, but a dead audience doesn't mean one that isn't entertained. If you're playing post rock or floyd prog, chances are the dudes in the audience aren't gonna be moshing. You have to gauge your audience by genre and also by show (since a lot of booking agents don't care for genre when booking new or small time acts), and decide what kinda performance is appropriate, and what's gonna bore them or scare them away. As a smaller band, you need to be somewhat flexible in your performance (not necessarily your music) - it's not "selling out", it's recognizing the market you've been put against and trying to make a proverbial sale with what you've already got.
My brain isn't working, and i've had this saved as a draft for a while, but I'm all over keeping this up. xD This is fun!
AS FOR PLAYING AND SINGING AT THE SAME TIME:
Regardless of the instrument, I'm not gonna lie: it takes practice upon practice upon and heaping plate of practice. The more complex something is, the more difficult it is to do. If you have an issue with singing while playing more complex stuff, opt to let a second guitarist (or even bassist) take over the riff or something so you can focus on singing for a bit. It helps at times, and allows for movement and interaction