| Getting the most from your performance- advice for new performers from Ian the soundman |
These were originally going to happen on alternate Tuesdays, but due to popular demand and the difficulty some people had with remembering the right week, they are now a weekly event. But it's still alternate in the sense that there is a slightly different crew putting it together on either week and this is reflected in the music: one night more bluesy and the other perhaps a bit softer and more laid back. Of course, you can never really tell as it all depends on who turns up on the night. On the last two Tuesdays we've been blessed with torrential rain, but it hasn't kept people away and it's given the pub a cosy club-like feeling. This week (18th October) there was quite a crowd in despite severe flooding in the road outside. So many people wanted to play that the slots had to be shortened to ten minutes instead of fifteen. That was a pity, especially as we had Tony Adams, accordian player extraordinaire over from Ireland. As well as rousing Irish tunes, he also purveys a nice line in French cafe-type music. Some of you may remember him from a music evening we had in the Lego church a few years back, where he stole the show. He says he's returning to Bristol soon, so we may get another chance to see him. The other acts were varied - some old, some new. It's amazing how many talented performers live in the area - and we had a few people coming from farther afield as word about the Greenbank spreads. The Performers Nights are a good, supportive place for people to try out new material, or dip their toes into the waters of performance for the first time. Even if you don't play, it's turning into a great local meeting place to catch up with friends over a jar or two. Come on down!
November 1st
These three guys played some rollicking, melodic Irish music. They've been booked for a Greenbank gig - details coming soon.
Tuesday 1st November. Review by Ian (soundman)
Well, these Performers' nights are really taking off now. Acts are pre-booking and others coming on the night - we need to put a system in place to clearly show the allocation of time slots.
This week, we had a packed night of performances, largely from new faces at the Greenbank - this is really encouraging. There's always the tension between, on the one hand, wanting people to become "regular" - to keep coming and trying out new material, and on the other, attracting new musicians. Too many open mic nights seem to be largely the same people doing similar songs every week, and whilst this is loyal and keeps the nights going, it doesn't necessarily enabling of creativity.
So, to this week. Alex opened with a wonderfully incongruous country version of Motorhead's "The Ace of Spades", after this we had a competent covers set from a Greenbank newcomer, who, himself runs an open mic night. Catherine (with friends) introduced us to her own quirky songs with their interesting lyrics, melodies and vocal. A trio (guitar, mando-cello/vocal and fiddle) played a short, full-sounding, experienced traditional set of Irish tunes and songs - watch out for them on a Friday night soon for a full gig.
Richard, the only non-guitar act this week, played the piano and sang his own bluesy songs. First time down for Suzi, A singer/songwriter with an energy in her playing and singing, gave a striking performance, we hope she comes again. Furlined, a guitar/vocal and cello duo, gave a clearly experienced and confident performance of Neil Crossley's own songs, look out for them on a Friday night gig soon.
Jethro ably ended the evening for us with 3 of his songs, well sung and played.
Over the weeks, doing the sound at the Greenbank performance nights, I've really noticed that there are considerable differences in the quality of the sound that I get from different performers. Whilst some of this is about my own competence, I've noticed that much of it is about the experience and confidence of performers - the more experienced and confident performers pretty much always get the best sound. This is not because they get favoured, but because they have reasonable instruments, check them before playing, know how to set the controls, project their voices and know how to use microphones.
One of the purposes of performance nights is to help build up confidence and performance skills, so I thought that it might be helpful to write down some notes for performers that might demystify some of this stuff. These aren't hard and fast rules, so please let me know if they are helpful or if there's anything that could be added or written differently.
You and the audience
Everybody who performs in public has written or rehearsed their material at
home or somewhere away from other people, it is quite a leap of confidence to
take your songs into this new public environment. It's not just the audience,
which is bad enough, but it is the whole thing of playing through a PA and in
a much larger space than you're used to. Once you've done it a bit, you might
well get off on the excitement and adrenalin rush of it, but this takes a while.
When you sing through a microphone and in front of an audience, the temptation can be to sing even quieter than you are used to, thinking that, if you project your voice too much, you will be too loud. You need to give the engineer working the PA as much as you can to work with; it is only then, that they will have the chance of getting you a good sound. If you're a singer/guitarist, it's also worth remembering to change the dynamics of your playing to suit those of your singing - if you choose a quiet vocal section to play raunchy guitar, the audience is likely to hear very little, or the engineer will try to compensate and might hit feedback.
Instruments
Many people at performance nights are guitarists, although not exclusively so.
There are a few things worth remembering.
For guitarists.
· Make sure that you have reasonably new strings and that they are played
in.
· Make sure that you tune up before you go on, not once your slot starts.
· If you have an electro/acoustic guitar, make sure your battery is working.
· Know how to set the controls on your guitar to get the sound that you
want - even write the settings down.
· If your guitar doesn't plug in, remember to keep still in front of
the microphone, the sound will change dramatically even with a couple of inches
change of position.
Other instruments.
· For electronic instruments, make sure that you know your equipment,
and that you can set it up quickly. Make sure that you have the necessary leads.
· For instruments with clip-on or internal microphones, learn about how
they work best, what might cause feedback, if there are controls, how to set
them for the sound that you want.
· For acoustic instruments without their own mics, spend a bit of time,
finding out where is the best place to stand/sit in relation to the microphone
and don't move from it.
Microphones
The type of microphones that are used for live performance in PA systems, are
directional and relatively insensitive. For the singer, this means that you
need to be singing right into them and quite close in.
Experienced singers will "work the microphone" this means for an intimate sound in quieter passages/songs, coming in very close (within an inch) to the microphone, and when you sing louder, pulling back, (to maybe 4 inches). This makes best use of the mic and means that the audience can hear your voice most clearly all of the time.
If you hold the microphone, it's important to grasp it by its body rather than by the mesh ball, holding the mic by the mesh at the top will result in feedback.
Do's and Don'ts
Do:
· Adjust the mic stand (or ask for it to be adjusted) so it is in the
most comfortable position for you to sing into.
· Ask for more or less of your voice or the other instruments in the
monitor on the floor.
· Remember to project your voice.
· Sing close-up to the microphone (between 1 and 5 inches).
· Get in closer to the mic when you are singing quiet passages or songs,
then pull off it a little when you sing louder.
· Remember that you are performing your song to an audience and that
you need to project your voice more than you would at home.
·
Don't:
· Think that however quietly you sing, and from whatever distance, the
mic will always pick you up well.
· Think that the person doing the sound will be able to make you sound
great however you sing or however you use the microphone.
· Sing into the side of the microphone, or at an angle to it.
· Hold the mic by the mesh ball at the top.
· Think that you can't adjust the mic position to best suit you.
· Sing quietly whilst playing loud guitar.
Monitors
Monitors are the wedge shaped loudspeakers on the floor at the front of the
stage. The speakers are often called "wedges" and monitoring is often
called "foldback"
The thing to know is that you can have (within reason) absolutely what you want in the monitors and it is completely different from the mix that the audience hears. So the audience can hear a well balanced mix of guitar and vocal, whilst, if you want it, in the monitor you might want to hear very little vocal (so that you project your voice well) and lots of guitar so that you can hear the intricacies of your playing.
You can ask for what you want in the monitors. Whilst a performers' night is not like a whole gig, and you don't get a soundcheck, you can ask at the end of the first song - "bit more vocal in the monitors please" for example. You don't need to suffer with something that is putting you off.
Ian Popperwell
6th November 2005