Knowing how to behave when you're singing for an audience is important if you're to sing at your best, so here are some practical tips to help you with your next live singing performance.
The Practice Run
Make sure you practice with the band. Before you go on stage, have a minimum of one dress rehearsal. When you do your final dress rehearsal, sing from memory.
Choosing your outfit
The outfit you select needs to be a good one, because it can make your show. When you choose an outfit, make sure that you wear it during rehearsals so that you get used to it. It is important to ensure that you are able to move comfortably in your outfit.
Walking out onto the stage
Practice walking to the place you'll stand on the stage. While one would think walking across a stage would be easy, it's actually fairly difficult. When you walk across the stage, you want to stop in place, but at the same time you need to have good posture when you do so. Walk to the spot and keep your posture.
Make sure the speaker faces away
Singing with a band can be really cool, but the first time can be a bit confusing. You're going to have some trouble hearing yourself if the speakers are turned away. For the first few times you could ask to have a speaker turned towards you. The sound from the speaker can be a distraction, especially if you consider how loudly the band can play. If there is an instrument that plays the melody line, make sure you learn to pick it out.
Smile
When you go on stage, smile at the audience. Even if you are nervous, a smile, will make you appear more confident. Even if you are nervous, you need to make the smile look authentic.
Acknowledge your audience
When you are singing, you might not know when it's time to pay attention to the audience. As a singer, you will perform in many different places, and not all of them will be small. To get a feel for whether to include the audience as part of your song, watch and learn from the seasoned pros.
Don't let distractions put you off
A concert can yield many different distractions for a performer. People might enter late, cough, get up and leave, or any number of other things. Most people are ignorant as to how this can distract a performer, and because you are the performer you are expected to be professional about it. So because you will naturally be distracted at a performance, you will need to stage a few distractions at home to get you ready for the big time. Get a friend to try and distract you while you practice ignoring them and concentrating on your performance.
What to do with your hands
Make sure you don't do anything strange with your hands while you are performing; keep them at your sides if you can. Though your sides might not seem like a great place, it is at least a safe place. If you gesture, then make a complete gesture, because anything incomplete or half done will make you look nervous. If you need another option, then you can clasp your hands to the front of you.
Great so now you've got a good idea of how to behave on the big night. Of course before you present yourself to the crowds, you'll need to do some work on your singing voice. I highly recommend the Singing Success vocal training program. Also if you're looking for guidance about the best techniques to promote you and your band, you'll definitely want to check out Social Bandmaker.
Tags: live performance, performance tips, performing live, singing live, singing performance