Playing Live Lessons

On this page will be exploring many aspects of Performance. After all, that is what it's all about - standing up and playing in front of others, either on stage, or in your basement. Most of the columns published here explore the things that make performing easier and more enjoyable.

Build Your Own Band Buffet - (or What I Did on my Summer Vacation) By David Hodge I have become addicted to jams. Yeah, I know that between teaching and practice I play virtually every day. But there is something very special about playing with other people. My life can be divided into three phases: either I am playing in a jam, remembering and (over) analyzing the last jam or fully anticipating and/or planning the next one.

Your First Gig By Dan Lasley In honor of our Performance month, a frequent visitor to GuitarNoise decided to make that grand leap of faith and get a gig for his band. Of course, as most of us end up doing, this first gig is going to be right in his own backyard. I am going to use this gig as an example, but I'm going to modify the facts a little to fit my column.

Battle of the Bands By Dan Lasley Have you ever wondered how they run those multi-act Lallapalooza type shows? Well, first a large corporate sponsor is found, and they hire a bunch of experienced professionals. Let me give you a couple of ideas, because once you see how easy it can be, you can try it out for yourself.

Making Jam By Dan Lasley These articles discuss some of the mechanics of getting people together to make music and have fun. Dan has written one and David has another, plus there is a link to the Riverside Jam website.

Performance: The Concert for New York - Madison Square Garden, October 20, 2001 By Laura Lasley Musical artists have a long history of doing benefit concerts for causes that matter to them. This performance was amazing because of the numbers of accomplished artists participating as well as the historical context of the concert. It embodied many of the reasons that live music and performance are powerful forms of expression.

Melissa Etheridge: Alive and Alone By Laura Lasley I have followed Melissa Etheridge's career since her first self titled album. While I enjoy her albums, I really love seeing her in concert. I have seen her perform each time she has toured to promote a new album. She's been in large and small venues, and has performed solo sets interspersed with her band sets. She inspired me to pick up a guitar and learn to play it.

Stage Fright: Part 1 - What It Is and What It Isn't By Jamie Andreas For a performer the effects of stage fright are devastating. How ridiculous, how cruel, that you have spent perhaps hundreds of hours practicing, studying, working and sweating to learn these pieces and prepare this concert, and go out on stage and have a severe traumatic experience!

Stage Fright: Part 2 - How It Works, And Why It Works By Jamie Andreas Now that we have this stage fright thing more properly defined as what it really is, People Fright, we are in a position to get some where with it. Many people, including professional performers, never slay this dragon. They may learn to live with being in it's presence, and learn to perform even though they must do it while their knees are wobbling!

Stage Fright: Part 3 - It's a Concert, Not a Contest By Jamie Andreas So far we have talked about what Stage Fright is, and what it isn't. We have looked at how it is done, and why it is done. We have seen that it is not something that happens to you, it is something you actually do. Well, if Stage Fright is something we DO, I think we can all agree we would rather NOT do it. But how do we not do it? The answer may surprise you.

A Brief history of mine 3 - Gigs By Len Collins The first gig! The last gig! And the biggest gig! These are the things guitarists' lives are made of! Len Collins, creator of the Guitar Breakthrough software, continues his memoirs here at Guitar Noise with what we could call the Gigs chapter. Entertaining as always!

Talent Showcases and Open Mic Nites By Alan Horvath Many local clubs feature an open mic venue, where songwriters and musicians of all kinds can get their feet wet. It's a great way to find others to co-write with ... or others to form a band, duo, or trio with ... and perhaps most importantly, to perform for an audience and see what it takes to pull off a show of your own.

Getting Up On The Stage By John Carrahar In the U.K.a musician who plays for spare change in the streets or in the subway is known as a busker. Various bars in my area hold jamming sessions known locally as Busker's Nights. On these nights anyone can get up on stage, and sing a few songs. I've been asked to give tips to people who may be feeling nervous about poerforming for the first time.

Rules for the Road - Some Sound Advice for the Gigging Single Guitarist By Matt Purkey Matt Purkey has written some great advice concerning getting gigs and continuing to do so. A must-read for those of you who are contemplating taking those first steps to playing out in front of people.

Why Do We Perceive Playing or Performing As A Competition? By Graham Merry In the first of our series of discussions on this fascinating topic, Graham provides his thoughts on the ideas of positive and negative competitiveness. This is a thoughtful piece that I think will give everyone a few new insights into an old problem.

My First Gig By Stella Sims Imagine never having played a bass guitar and then having to do a live show within two months! I'm hoping this gives many of you the courage to go out and play in front of an audience, no matter how large or small, in the near future.

Performance and Gigs By Scott Thomas Guitarz Forever's Managing Editor Scott Thomas debuts at Guitar Noise with an article full of tips for those of you looking to start playing your music in public venues. You'll find a lot of good information here that might help you land your first gig!

Making Music - Part One - Tales of Playing Well With Others from our Guitar Noise Readers By David Hodge Sharing music is what Guitar Noise is all about and what better way to do so than to help give a little encouragement to someone? Here are a few stories and tips from Nick Torres and three other Guitar Noise readers from around the world.

Making Music - part two - Tales of Playing Well With Others from our Guitar Noise Readers By David Hodge Sharing music is what Guitar Noise is all about and what better way to do so than to help give a little encouragement to someone? Here are a few stories and tips from Tom Serb and two other Guitar Noise readers that will hopefully get you out and sharing your music with the world.

Rocking The Rest Home By Chad Andrews If you're looking for an appreciative audience or looking for a way to give back to the community or even just looking for a way to fine-tune your performance, chances are you can do all this very close to home. Here Chad Andrews tells of his experiences and advice concerning this easy way to make a lot of people happy!

Playing with Horns By Dan Lasley Playing with others doesn't limit you to working with guitar players. There are musicians of all sorts out there and you never know who you might meet. GN staffer Dan Lasley details his experiences playing (as well as arranging the logistics) with a full horn section.

Playing With Conviction By Chris Standring As instrumentalists we have to try that much harder to communicate with the listener because there is no vocalist to do that for us. We have to make sure our instrumental voice carries.

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