How To Play Guitar On Stage

Playing the guitar in front of people may seem easy when its just a few friends or family, but when its a crowded room full of strangers waiting to be entertained its a different story. Standing in front of a large and live audience can be a scary experience, especially if you are a performer.

In this article we will show you some of the tips and techniques to make sure that you perform at the very best of your ability every time you go on stage. These tips have been taken from the experts those who get up and perform with stability and amazing talent every week. It doesnt matter if you are completely new to performing on stage or you are a seasoned performer, there are a number of things you can do to make the very best of your performance.

1) Ignore the self-doubt. Every musician at one point or another has heard the little voice in the back of his mind that proclaims that getting out on stage is madness! Always remember how hard youve worked to get here have faith in your music and your talent know exactly what you are going to play and share it with others.
2) Know your repertoire. Once you have a repertoire of songs that you play well and enjoy playing memorize them. It only has to be ten or twelve songs.
3) Mix it up a bit. Of the ten or twelve songs that you have chosen, make sure that they will please the audience. By this I mean make sure there is a good mix of rhythms and tempos an audience is more likely to want to listen to a variation of music than a number of songs based around the same chord. Also, the songs that you choose should vary in difficulty as well. This doesnt mean that if its your first time on stage you should play Flight of The Wounded Bumblebee at full pace. You know what you are capable of, and try and push yourself a little bit. By challenging yourself you will develop you stage skills quicker and more effectively.

4) Distract yourself. Playing in front of an audience means there are going to be distractions. I remember an outdoor concert I attended where a famous band had to put up with the next band in line warming up directly behind them these things happen when you go on stage. The best thing that you can do is to be ready for it when you practice at home leave the TV or the radio on turn the volume up and practice with the distraction.

5) Play easy to start. Put the songs that you have selected in order so that the easiest to play come first. By doing this, when you get to the more difficult songs your fingers should be nicely warmed up. Seasoned performers often start with a strong upbeat song with a medium tempo not only does this warm you up nicely, but it also warms the audience up as well. Then, when the more technically difficult songs come later both you and the audience are prepared.

6) Sleep! Make sure you get a good nights sleep before any important gig, as sleep will naturally lower your anxiety levels as well as increase your concentration and eliminating mistakes.

7) No Alcohol! Alcohol works by slowing down your reaction time, and your awareness of what is going on around you. Caffeine does the opposite it heightens your awareness which leads you to become even more anxious and make more mistakes. Alcohol and caffeine are the destructors of many a good concert. Therefore, you might think you are playing superbly, when really the audience switched off quite some time ago.

8) Be prepared! As much as you can, make sure that all your clothes and equipment are ready the night before the gig, thus cutting down on any extra anxiety on the day. Make sure you have the directions to the gig as well the last thing you want to be doing is having an argument about where the venue is half hour before you go on stage!

9) Be equipped. Stock your gig bag with extra strings and plectrums in your gig bag, as well as extra batteries and leads. If you leave nothing to chance, then you diminish the possibility of anything going wrong that cant be fixed.

10) Relax. Whats the worst that can happen? Whatever it is, always tell yourself that you will never play your last gig. Enjoy it. Remember, playing in front of an audience is all part of the creative process. The more you do it, the better at it you will get.