Musical+Concerns

This page is about setting up, preparing for, and playing shows. = =

It was nothing big, just the open mike night at the High School, but the story behind it makes me smile when I hear it, that and I cringe. When I signed us up, it was originally going to be my band Crown Deville playing with me, I had already signed us up, and with only a week left before the show, Will, the guitarist informs me that he is unable to make it. At that point I was freaking out, I had no clue of what I was going to do, I thought maybe I could do a solo drum piece, but decided to get a few people to jam with me. I found two guitarist, and with only a few days before the show we decided on a song, 'Seven Nation Army,' learned it, and played it at the show. We have decided to stay together as a band. I was really happy, and quite frankly, surprised with how well that situation turned out, especially because it took me a year to get Crown Deville together, and it took only two days to get this one together, and we've already played our first show! Crown Deville still has yet to do that! It was pretty annoying but worth it in the end. Below I am going to put the video from this show, it is about planning, setting up, and playing a show and the interview with a friend of mine, Steve Marchena.

here is a video from this show with my band Generation Y. This video demonstrates setting up and playing a show:

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Promotion:
-Promotion is almost as important as the show itself -stick around for the next band, they might then go to your shows.

Problem Prevention:
-Always try to book smaller shows on the way to the main show to fix any problems that may appear with your equipment, setting up, etc. -bring a set list so you don't forget what you are playing. -Bring a flashlight in case you can't see what you are doing. -Bring a rug for the drums so they don't slide around while you are playing. -Leave half an hour early in case there is bad traffic. -Try to keep a backup for all your equipment, for example, an extra drum key, amplifiers, bass drum pedal, etc. -Instrument cases are important.

Tips:
-You will always want someone in the crowd to tell you if a certain instrument is too loud or too quiet. -Don't completely fill the time slot with songs, leave room for a break to talk to audience or grab something to drink -Leave one extra song handy in case the next band needs more time to set up. -Get off the stage as fast as possible when you finish to let the other band set up. -Don't talk about what to play on stage. -Bring a cart to help transport heavy instruments.

Facts:
-You will learn more during a show than you ever will while practicing. -First time is always really hard -Shows are extremely fun.

Article one:
I have written several posts about my band Crown Deville, and now I finally get to break the news that we are going to play for the first time live at the open mike night next Tuesday. I have been waiting a long time to play live with a band, and now I actually get to do it, and I can not be happier. My guitarist Will is not sure if he can make it or not, so there may be either a fill in guitarist, or I will be playing solo. Luckily the show we are playing is only enough time for two short songs, so all we really need to do is make sure we're good and ready to go out there and rock the house! This show may seem too small to get excited about, but to me, this is Crown Deville's first time revealing itself beyond the realm of the internet, its as if that is our corenation, when we actually become a band. I will do a post every time we announce a show date, so stay tuned. If you are interested, the show is in the band room at the high school at 7:00 PM on Tuesday November 23, I hope to see some of you there. If you are interested in hearing our songs before you go, we can be found on Face book and Myspace. Sorry I hate to sound like an advertisement, I'm just very excited.

Article two:
Last Wednesday I announced my involvement in this months open mic night, and because of new events and helpful comments I have decided to write a sequel to my first post. The guitarist Will Soja is in fact not going to make it to the open mic night for reasons unknown to me. At first I was a bit worried about it because I had signed 'Crown Deville' up to play not 'Tyler Campbell.' I was able to find a replacement however, a guitarist by the name of Nick, and perhaps a bassist and/or another guitarist. Now I am more confident than ever, we have decided to cover songs rather than teaching them the songs we created and adding additional parts for the addition of two other instrumentalists. So we have decided to cover 'Seven Nation Army' by 'The White Stripes,' and 'Blitzkreig Bop' by the Ramones. Also a comment asked me the specific addresses for the band websites, they are [|www.myspace.com/crowndeville], and [|www.reverbnation.com/crown_deville]. Also you can check out our profile and page on facebook, just search crown deville in the search bar, one will have a picture of me and Will, thats our profile, the other, a picture of my history notes, thats the band page. Hope to see you on open mic night!

These articles can be found at [|www.musicalconcerns.blogspot.com]

I also did some resarch for tips on practicing for a show, this article can be found at [] :
I'm very tense, even when I'm practicing alone. When I'm in my lesson, or on stage, I get even more tense, excited and nervous. My tension causes lots of shifting and intonation problems. I can get it in the practice room, and then on stage its like I'm back at square one because of my nerves.

Our reply:
It's very encouraging to see that you recognise you are tense. I would be more concerned if you were like the many other musicians who do not recognise the tension in their bodies. Let's deal with the practice situation first. I would encourage you to check a few basics. When focused on the technical difficulties contained in a piece of music we can often forget the more fundamental elements such as posture and breathing. Spend some time, perhaps a few days making sure that your breathing is regular and relaxed before everything you play. There's no special method needed here, just take the time to notice it. In terms of posture I would encourage you to stand or sit in an upright and comfortable position. Notice how your body feels in that position. Where are your arms? How are you holding your hands? How does your neck feel? Take time to notice each part of the body. If you feel tense in any part spend some time to notice the tension. Most times simply bringing attention will help you relax. Once you are completely relaxed begin to sllowly move into your playing position. Again notice every movement of the body. If a movement causes tension then spend a while to notice it. You should eventually bring yourself to a relaxed and comfortable playing position. Spend a few days focusing on the breathing and relaxation a lot, before everything you play. Even if you did them well before it is still a very useful exercise and in the practice room should help to relieve most of your tension. Having done this the trick is to take that relaxed state into lessons. Your teacher should be aware that you are working on being more relaxed and will therefore understand if you take a little more time in lessons to settle in to playing the sections of music required. One reason why you might be tense in practice and lessons is the fear of making mistakes - don't be! Mistakes are great. Mistakes are useful. Without mistakes we wouldn't know how to get better. Actively look for mistakes. The more you find the better your playing will become. Giving yourself permission to make mistakes can be a great relief. View each as a learning opportunity. Notice it, analyse it and incorporate it into your practice. Having done this the trick is to take that relaxed state into lessons. Your teacher should be aware that you are working on being more relaxed and will therefore understand if you take a little more time in lessons to settle in to playing the sections of music required. One reason why you might be tense in practice and lessons is the fear of making mistakes - don't be! Mistakes are great. Mistakes are useful. Without mistakes we wouldn't know how to get better. Actively look for mistakes. The more you find the better your playing will become. Giving yourself permission to make mistakes can be a great relief. View each as a learning opportunity. Notice it, analyse it and incorporate it into your practice.

This article was mainly meant for guitarists, but the advice that was given often applies to all instrumentalists, things I have myself noticed at times. It can be found at []

If your gig is close and you have learnt your pieces, what else should you keep in mind before jumping on stage? Of course, you can worry and be nervous but there are a few things to be done. Here is what I always do and what I think is important to take to the concert: First of all, the program has to be fully mastered so whatever incident would not distract your attention. For example, you may discover that the lights are pointed right to your eyes, chair is too low/high, people are noisy, pants are too slippery, guitar doesn’t keep tuning, shirt’s buttons are buzzing against the guitar, some battery is dead etc. Things can happen and some of them do, you can be sure about that. So I use to go through my program with the full equipment and clothes at home. I always use covered buttons on my suits. Recently I have started to bring my own seat. Radio transmitter gets a fresh battery every night. I change my basses a day before and leave the solo strings alone. What else? Polish my nails, sandpapers to every pocket, nailcare emergency set to my bag. Also I take spare strings, batteries, lines, extension cable, radio transmitter and receiver, amp, stage suit, CD-s for sale, guitar support (Ergoplay or Gitano), sometimes a stand for the other guitar, music stand (if needed), sheet music, my Mac (there are all the notes if something happens) and of course, guitar or two. What I definately do is to prepare a playlist and stick it behind my guitar. If I am going out with the electric then I have to take a couple of more things but my dance project takes just the things I just named. Playing with a dancer takes good nerves and 100% confident tempo. And if it happens that dancer is still louder than the guitar, well, that’s why I mentioned good nerves