Ask the old guy.

Hey guys. I try to do this topic once or twice a year so I hope you find it helpful.

I have been playing music 30 years and play guitar, bass, keyboards, sax and just about anything I can get my hand on. I have played in bands, have been a worship leader for a decade, have my own home recording studio, have recorded and produced a CD etc. In other words, I think I have a lot of experience to share with you guys if you want to take advantage of it. So, I open up this topic to you guys. What have you always wanted to know about music but been afraid to ask? What do you not understand about music theory, recording, playing in a live situation etc? Any question is a good question so ask away.

I hope to hear from you guys.

Mike

Music humor is allowed.   

If it makes you feel better, there are times that I still get nervous. Although today I tend to get more nervous about music that I am not 100% comfortable with as opposed to playing in front of people. However, there are times that I get nervous.

The more you play, the easier it gets. I find that two things help with keeping me calm.

1.) Give yourself plenty of time to get warmed up, tuned up and your gear situated. I HATE feeling rushed.

2.) Know your music inside out. There is enough problems or distractions while playing live so the last thing you want is to be worrying about not knowing your music.

Unfortunately I can't sing but having worked with my worship teams I can share a few things with you.

1.) Make sure you are well hydrated at least 24 hours in advance. Your mouth will go dry due to nerves so you don't want to be dehydrated on top of it.

2.) Related to number 1, keep a bottle of water onstage. No coffee, pop or energy drinks the day of your performance.

3.) Know your music inside out.

4.) Warm up your voice up properly.

5.) Remember, you are among friends. If you make a mistake, relax. They will still love you!!

flyfis4fun wrote: Music humor is allowed.    If it makes you feel better, there are times that I still get nervous. Although today I tend to get more nervous about music that I am not 100% comfortable with as opposed to playing in front of people. However, there are times that I get nervous. The more you play, the easier it gets. I find that two things help with keeping me calm. 1.) Give yourself plenty of time to get warmed up, tuned up and your gear situated. I HATE feeling rushed. 2.) Know your music inside out. There is enough problems or distractions while playing live so the last thing you want is to be worrying about not knowing your music.

    thanks! In a little bit, I'm thinking about going to a hot topic and performing some stuff!

if i do, i'll be sure to get someone to record some videos so y'all can see them on my myspace!

flyfis4fun wrote: Singing scales is what all my worship team vocalist, some who are professionally trained, like to do. If you don't know scales and don't have a piano player to help you out then sing a few songs that don't have a big range to start with and then as your voice gets warmed up, sing louder and higher.

    

Okay thanks soo much. I really don't know much about singing so I guess that adds to my nervousness. But I will will try that.

No I don't play an instrument... So that would be helpful. Thanks

This seems to be a common theme so far in this thread. Lots of us with some form of stage fright.

Since this was asked in various ways before, I will try to consolidate all this into one answer and then add to it.

1.) First of all, know your music WELL!! If you can memorize it, that is even better. Your goal is to get to the point that you don't have to think about singing or playing the song because you know it so well.

2.) Give yourself plenty of time to get warmed up and tuned up. The more rushed you are, the more nervous you will be.

3.) Pray before you get on stage. That may seem obvious but it has helped me numerous times when things aren't going so hot.

4.) Keep it simple. Keep your arrangements simple, keep your endings simple, keep your gear simple. You get the idea. The more things you have going on, the more stress it causes or the greater likelihood of equipment failure. On my guitars, I run my electric straight into an my amp where I only run 3 channels. One clean, one slightly distorted and one distorted. This gives me everything I need and is a very simple set up.

5.) Get on stage as much as you can. The more you are up there, the less nervous you will be.   Playing or singing in front of small groups can sometimes be more difficult then large groups so if you are having a hard time in front of a small group of people, try playing for a bigger group and see what happens.

Hopefully I gave you all a few ideas to help out.

One thing I have learn to do is make myself be confident. Use that adrenaline rush to my advantage instead of letting it shake me up. It takes some practice, and the more stage time you have the better it gets. It just takes time and practice.

My church has a really good worship band that plays on Sunday mornings, they play a lot of good stuff. When the offering is taken people sing specials and stuff all the time. My band is really kind of emocore, and my pastor won't let us play during that time...our lyrics are spiritual and all of the members are Christians...what do I do? Because I really want to play in front of our church...

UnderOathFreak wrote: ...what do I do? Because I really want to play in front of our church...

You respect your pastor who has been called by the Lord to lead his flock.

Sorry - it's probably not what you want to hear.

    

iLikeToWrite wrote: No I don't play an instrument... So that would be helpful. Thanks

    It's up now. Purevolume.com/TheSecondMusic

My band is now called The Second. WHY ARE THE GOOD BAND NAMES I COME UP WITH TAKEN?! First it was Ashemont, then I found out about CCM group Ashmont Hill. Then it was Oh! Ashes! Yeah, there is a band called Oh The Ashes.....
    

Meh, I tried.
    
If I only had a brain, err, Protools. the brain might help too.

Wow he is really saying alot of good things
as a musician myself and preforming shows
listen to this dude
he knows his stuff
haha

The thing i struggle with most is stage presence
im working on that
but i tend to just stand there looking dumb

I can relate to the stage presence issue. I have never been one to jump around or move a lot on stage. Add in the fact that I am now a 41 year old with bad knees who doesn't want to look silly and I tend to resemble a coat rack more then a guitar player.

In general, instrumentalists can hide in the background more then vocalist. Look at the guitarist in Third Day, the Newsboys,Casting Crowns etc. They tend to not draw a lot of attention to themselves. The vocalists on the other hand are the mouth piece of the band. They have to want to interact. Whether it's leading worship or just playing a club, the vocalist has to lead the crowd and give it direction.

The best thing I can tell you is to watch other vocalists and guitarist that you think have good stage presence and write down what you like about their style. Next, challenge yourself a bit when you play and see if you can develop your stage presence better. If you find yourself standing in a corner then move to another spot on stage. If you are the vocalist, try to interact with or lead the crowd better. Like I said, I tend to be pretty mellow and prefer to just play so I'm not the best one to give advice on this topic.
    
    

You might be able to, but usually the songwriters are the musicians in the band.

So maybe so, maybe not. I would lean towards no, but who knows....

What about poetry and just lyrics?
is there any way you can make money for writing those?

become a lyricist... that's one future career i'm looking into.....

Can you give me some advice of writing a Rider for my band? I have an outline of prices and gear we need with and without our sound system. Is there anything you would suggest to put on there that is often forgotten? I can post the outline if you like.

Just for random shows. I wish we were going on tour lol. But it would be so much easier to just email somebody a sheet telling prices/what we need instead of going through all those questions each time we get a call about us playing.

Clockwork, there is no formula to getting signed. Back when I was your age, bands would get shows at the local level and then branch out into a multi city level, then tour the state and then eventually tour a region. As their popularity built and they established a following, record labels would send people to their shows. If they liked what they heard, they would try and sign the band to a record deal.

The age of the instant pop star changed all that. Now, record labels identify the next big thing and go out and find the band or singer that fits the image and they "make" a pop star. Bands still get signed, don't get me wrong, but there are a lot more that get made up. For insight into this go to youtube and enter in, "Making of a pretty pop star." It's a great expose on how image is driving the music biz. If you look good enough, no talent is necessary.

If I were trying to get signed today, here is what I would do.

1.) First of all, make a high quality demo of your music. Don't skimp on this. If it doesn't sound good, 10 seconds in, it will end up in the garbage can. Put your strongest song as your lead off track.

2.) Record multiple songs and then ask the people around you to tell you what their favorite songs were. Master those to a final demo.

3.) Research various record labels and send in your CD. If you go to local concerts a lot, find out who the regional promoters are and network. They know who to contact in the industry.

4.) Develop your ability to play live. Do not get caught up in technology. Leave the auto tune at home, forget the heavily sequenced synth parts. Get good at singing your songs with a guitar/piano and your voice. If a song doesn't sound good on an acoustic guitar, it's probably not a very strong song.

Truth be known, sometimes getting discovered is just dumb luck. For every musician with a record deal, there are hundreds who are just as good or better without one. Put this before God and ask His direction for your gifts and be willing to go where He leads you.

Be blessed.

Mike

Hey I've formed a band and I want to know, How does the whole selling the cd process work? Do you pay money for the store to put your cd in the store and then basically people buy it from you and the store gives you the money? Or does the store buy the cd from you and people buy it from the store?
    

Thanks, I had no idea that that was how they do it.


    I've got another question. How are you supposed know which stores their going send the cd to?

Yes.