In the ideal case, band members would all have the same dreams, goals, commitment and mutual respect. In reality, this is seldom the case.
When bands are first starting out, band members are usually enthused about creating music together. Once the initial efforts start to gel, however, there are many areas where different approaches and different assumptions about the band can lead to conflicts, major and minor.
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The best way is to spell out the questions and answers to potential problems before they happen. That’s where a band agreement come in.Continue reading Do You Need A Band Agreement?
By Terrence Harper
1. Prepare and rehearse. Know everybody else’s lyrics, so that you can fill in and define parts of the song to get or keep the crowd hyped. Rehearsal is important in order to show that your a professional or on the brink of becoming a pro, you’d got to know where the other person should be onstage.
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2. The lead vocalist should almost always take center stage, then move from right to left interacting with the crowd. Always, go center stage when your verse starts this brings the attention to you, especially if you have multiple people on stage.Continue reading How to Have Stage Presence For Groups
If you want to be center stage and lead act of the show, you cannot sing backup. You must sing behind the lead act, not overpower them. You must be able to play a supporting position to the idol and not feel left out if you want to sing backup.
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To sing backup is much harder than it looks. Backup singing requires a great amount of listening and being very sensitive to the main singer, much as an instrumental accompanist would. You must learn to breathe and begin and end your phrase as the main singer does. You must, in effect be the singers shadow.
Hopefully you have some input or control over where you sit or stand on stage. See to it that you can see the singer at all times. The job of backup singing is much harder if you can’t see the singers face. Watch the singer to learn where they are going. The singer will change course or make a mistake and only if you are aware can you react. Watch the singer intently and always. Be on the lookout for a simple nod of the head or gesture that may indicate a repeat or change of course.Continue reading Be a Star By Serving The Music, Sing Backup
Many small club bands or duos don’t have the luxury of having a sound engineer to mix their sound during performances. Most of the time, one of the band members mixes the sound while on stage, while performing.
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This can be difficult for several reasons:
While many bands, particularly the larger ones, have a sound engineer, there are performance aspects to the mix that only the band members control.
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If you think that you can just play in whatever manner you feel like playing, and the sound engineer’s job is to make everyone sound good in the mix, you’ll fall short of your optimal sound. The mix can’t fix busy keyboards or guitar fills that walk all over the vocals.
While thinking about these things may seem distracting at first, but it becomes second nature after a while. Once you can do this unconsciously, you’ll get into your own part naturally.Continue reading Mixing Your Stage Sound As You Play By Adjusting Your Playing