LIVE PERFORMANCE SUPPORT

Breaking into live performance can be daunting to those unaccustomed to it. 

It's a hurdle that I have assisted students over by accompanying them in a live scenario at open mic nights, gigs etc. 

I've found it's useful to book a series of gigs within the space of the same week or two. The first night might be a bit nervy and correct because there's a lot to remember but by the third or fourth there's a tendancy to pitch up completely unconcerned because you know exactly what you're doing and you can have a lot more fun with it.

I'm regularly asked to act as a musical director (MD) for bands.

Many of my pupils join or form bands and it can be disconcerting to find that you are playing all the correct parts for your instrument but mysteriously the result for the band as a whole is not working.

This is often a result of the disparate levels of skill and experience of the various members of the band.

Arranging a tune to accomodate this factor can bring about tremendous results.

There are also effective rehearsal techniques that newly formed bands are often unaware of such as rehearsing sections, doing a quiet run, subtly arranging features to give the performance as a whole a dynamic growth, noting the salient rhythmic features at different points in a tune, working the changes between the songs, running the set, having a get out clause if someone breaks a string etc etc

The role of the Music Director is to take care of these issues and optimise the performance of the band. 

Another reason it can be very useful to have someone who is not in the band take an overview with this objective in mind is because musicians tend to be rather better disposed to take instruction from the MD than from each other.