The key to putting on a successful live performance is to engage your audience. You need to play each song like there’s no tomorrow, but it’s also important to keep things lively in between songs and throughout your time on stage.

In this article, I will address the art of speaking to your audience during the periods when you’re not playing music. This aspect of live performance seems be very natural for some but very difficult for others. I will attempt to address some of the reasons for this and provide some tips for how to effectively engage your audience when you’re on the mic.

For many great songwriters out there today and throughout history, the ability to let their personality flow out to a large crowd comes natural. They crave the spotlight (in a good way) and bring a confident command to their stage presence. They have can speak meaningfully into the microphone and engage in an intimate conversation with their audience.

For many other great songwriters, talking it up between songs can be a real challenge. Writing songs, performing, and singing require a high level of emotional flow. You need to totally let yourself go and soak up the moment. Expressing your emotions to a large audience through music requires a great deal of vulnerability. When you’re wrapped up in this moment, it can be extremely difficult to transition to a personable speaking role.

I have often found that when I am performing and singing a song, I have a very different self awareness than when I’m socializing with friends. When I’m performing a song, I’m totally lost in the feeling and emotion of the music and lyrics. Socializing with friends I tend to have a much more laid back and humorous approach. While I try and work my social personality into my songwriting, it doesn’t always blend seamlessly. Flipping between song mode and personality mode is a unique and difficult skill, but one that can be mastered with practice.

Here are some tips and ideas to consider:

Nothing can be mastered without lots and lots of practice.  The only way to practice speaking to a large audience is to do just that.  Throw yourself onto the stage often and regularly.  Participate in open mics. Book a steady gig schedule. With each performance, you will become more comfortable handling the microphone and your speaking voice.

Realize that your on-stage personality might be different in some way than your normal social personality.  When you’re on stage, every statement will be more pronounced and definitive.  Again, through practice and steady gigging, you will gradually develop your stage personality.  Start with very short statements and work your way up to longer and more frequent crowd interaction (but be careful not to talk your audience’s ears off.  They came to hear your music!)

Try sticking to a few pre-planned statements during your set.  For example, you might always use the same sentence to introduce your band, or use a simple “hows everyone feeling tonight!”  Try setting up a unique / funny / witty / bold statement to use as your go-to crowd interaction.  Repeat it at all your performances.  Of course, there are drawbacks to this idea.  Returning audience members will hear the same stage chatter at all the shows.  However, when you’re on tour and you’re just starting out, the majority of your audience will be newcomers, so you can deliver your trusty statements with confidence.

That said, I do think variety is very important.  As you grow into your role as a front-man (or solo performer), you want to mix it up as much as possible.  Comment on the venue you’re at, the mood of the audience, a recent development, anything to keep things fresh.

It all comes down to creating an intimacy with your audience.  As much as you want your listeners to love your music, you want to sell them on you and your personality as well.  This may sound strange at first, but it’s true.  Audiences connect with you on a personal level, even if they haven’t met you face to face.  Make them feel comfortable, excited, and entertained.

Over to you…

How do you interact with your live audience?

The rise of the home recording studio has had a huge impact on the way we produce music. These days songwriters have become do-it-yourself recordists with an affordable DAW, a few mics and a pair of monitor speakers. Say what you will about the sound quality, but the trend is certainly here to stay.

Today I’d like to share a simple tip for getting the most out of your performance on a recording when you’re playing the roles of artist, engineer, producer and studio assistant all at the same time.

It’s important have a solid understanding of engineering and microphone techniques to produce a recording. Any experienced producer knows the importance of spending hours and sometimes days just placing mics and getting sounds– by that I mean doing solidifying the tones, room acoustics, and overall “sound” for your project.

All of that setup time can be grueling, especially if you’re bouncing between chairs or rooms to hit record and then play your instrument. Once you have finally dialed in the settings your going for, you hardly have any energy left to perform the song!

The key is to step away for a while before you start laying down real takes. Go out to lunch. Have some down time. Get some sleep and start fresh the next day. Do something to get you away from the studio for a while so you can come back refreshed and ready to give all you can to your performance.

Before you step away, be sure to keep everything in place so that when you come back, all you need to do is sit down, pick up your instrument and hit record. Leave the mic stands set tightly, the chair set exactly right, the amp and effects knobs dialed in, the computer on and the session loaded up. It might be a good idea to leave a sign on the door, marking your fragile set up off limits to nosy roommates, toddlers, or pets.

In the end, your songs will benefit from an energized performance. Starting fresh for a new recording is crucial to maximizing your creative and emotional output. Give all you can to your music, and don’t let the mechanics of a recording session hamper your creativity.