Art, Advice and Stories

Article by Tayo Joyce

You and I both know that your audience loves what you do. In fact, they want YOU to connect with them in a way that’s meaningful and memorable. Sure we get nervous. We overthink things. But then there are those magical moments where we really connect and let our artistry shine. Studio recordings and music videos can be polished to perfection. But a live performance is real life. And we artists are here to help each other, right? BIG hugs to you for getting this far. Here’s our:

5 Tips for Getting Ready for an Extraordinary Performance

1. Connect to the Music
  Know what you want to communicate with the music and how it relates to you and your audience. Finding a time in your life when you went through something similar to the song helps set the right stage. If you haven’t gone through the exact thing, finding parallel situations and emotions can help connect you to the music as well. Imagining yourself in that scene or situation will put you in a space that is true to the music and will allow your performance to have greater depth.
2. Refine your Performance
  Practice while watching yourself performing your set in front of a mirror and/or on video, then review it. Are you coming across the way you want? If not, what adjustments would make your performance even more engaging, clear, and effective? What inspiring performers can you learn some new tricks from? Observe them and adopt what they do. Give those adjustments a try next time around. Keep going through this process until you’re happy with how you’re presenting yourself and can deliver consistently and well.
3. Visualize your Performance
  Visualize yourself performing confidently in front of the people in the venue that you will be performing in. Imagine how you will feel, see how you will interact with the other musicians, performers, and the crowd. And, if possible, rehearse your set at the venue that you will be performing in. This practice will make the venue feel more familiar and help you get more comfortable with your upcoming performance.
4. Master your material
  Practice until you’ve mastered the technical aspects of your set and have your material memorized. Knowing your material at this level will help you be more confident and free your mind to be fully in the moment when you perform. Also, if you like to think of and prepare for every scenario that could come up, it would be a good time to plan on how to best handle them. i.e. Practice the music slower, or faster, in different keys, etc.
5. Breathe and Poise Yourself
  Should any nervousness arise (which often happens), breathe in deeply and breathe out slowly to calm your nerves. Redirect any anxiety into excitement for your upcoming performance. Nerves are your body’s way of gearing up to do its best. You’ve prepared a lot for your performance and are ready. Now it’s time to have fun, give it all you got, connect with your audience and shine.