3 Reasons Why you Should Perform Music

Learning Music just as a hobby? Not keen to perform? Got Stage fright? Well, those should not be excuses should not stop you from performing music. Believe it or not, but it gives you more joy when you are singing or performing with or for someone else. The feeling is rewarding and no one plays music just for themselves. It is a form of expression and the best way to express it is to perform in front of others. Now, if you are just beginning to learn and feel like you are not ready to perform, then it’s okay to take some time to build you confidence but you must eventually perform. Performance should be the goal that drives you to play your instrument longer and commit more time to practice.

1. Music is The Best Teacher

Yes, your performances can be teacher you need. No one can teach you more than performances in terms of building musicianship. Musicianship is about training the student not just to be a player of an instrument, but to be a Musician. This is the only platform where you can be a self-critic, you yourself will be able to see/hear the shortcomings and areas that you want to improve on. It will teach you to be comfortable around other people and open up new ideas and ways to make your instrument sound better. Also, when you play things right, it boosts your confidence and your ability to play the instrument automatically upgrades.

2. Know your Instrument Inside Out

There are more to your instrument than its looks. It be a guitar, keyboard, drums or even your voice - it is not something that makes any sound, it is an object that if used right, can paint a story to the audience. There are so many dynamics and so many different possibilities of using your instrument to sound different and contribute to the song in the right way. Playing your instrument is not just about playing your notes right, it is about giving definition to a melody you play. All these things, although taught through technique but the real understanding only comes through experience and for that, you have to perform as much as you can, and learn from each experience.

3. Helps Build relationships

Performance is not just about you, it is about understanding those who stand with you on the stage - Complementing and supporting each other in a band. The idea of coming together and playing a song is a rewarding feeling. You understand the importance of each and every instrument, and learn from each other. Only if you prepare for performances, will you be able to discuss music with your peers and come up with ideas that will make the songs sound better. You also understand different influences and open up to the exploring different genres and styles of music and that makes you a better musician. As a musician you should always want to keep growing and learning new things. Also, you get a chance to interact with the audience which, will give you more encouragement to continue what you are passionate about.

BlueTimbre is a unique Music Company that provides Music Education and  Recording Studio services. BlueTimbre also works with schools to provide end-to-end Music Education solutions for schools. 

The BlueTimbre team comes with decades of cumulative experience in running Structured Businesses, Music Curriculum Development, Music Education and Performance.

4 Things to Do Behind the scenes before a Performance

Now, if you have come back from a show and absolutely blown away by the performance that you have witnessed, let us share a secret with you – it is harder than it looks. The flawless and almost natural stage presence is the consequence of rehearsals and practice. Here are few things that happen before a memorable show.

1. Practice till you drop!

The only way you feel comfortable and feel natural when playing your part is by putting time to practice relentlessly until you can play your part almost unconsciously. No matter how long it takes, musicians put their time until they can hit every note without even thinking about it. They practice their part separately and master their individual parts. They go through each and every part in detail, play them over and over till they get it to sound they want. They work on their tone, sound dynamic, practicing when to play loud and when to play softly - to give the song more depth.

2. Jam Sessions

Once each member of the team is ready with their part, it is now important that everyone plays as a part of the band and not for themselves. Being ‘tight’ as a band is an important aspect of performance. Being able to participate, contribute and coordinate with each one of them in a band is what makes the song alive on stage. So the key is to do regular jams and able to hear each part of music from different instrument and able to complement it with just the right amount of participation through their instrument. Band dynamic plays a very important role in making a show stand out.

3. Rehearsing antics on stage

To be able to attract a crowd in front of you, it is important to interact with them and work on stage presence. From crazy antics to small gestures to be able to introduce a sing along, everything that you see a band doing on stage are, in fact, practiced off-stage and are rehearsed in the jam room and on the stage before the show they are about to perform. Take any band you know and if you ask them, they will agree that they do practice. Although it feels impromptu, it is not. It is rehearsed so that when they do it on stage, it doesn't feel unnatural to them. Having said that, yes, there are some things that they tend to do according to the environment there but majority of it is rehearsed and that is how it feels so natural to look at them and be mesmerised.

4. Investing in the right Instruments

Nothing would sound the way they do if the instrument they are playing is not up to the standard. Every professional musician does their research and invest in the right instrument to boost the sound of the whole show. They also keep information and tabs of the speakers, P.A. and monitors that will be available in the show. Most of them even check out the place one day before the show and do a sound check to understand the capability of the equipment available on the stage. The band then sets the sound to what they like best. Thus, everything you hear and see on a professional show are planned. So it is important for any of us playing in a band to cultivate these habits before playing live and prepare the best way possible for any show.

BlueTimbre is a unique Music Company that provides Music Education and  Recording Studio services. BlueTimbre also works with schools to provide end-to-end Music Education solutions for schools. 

The BlueTimbre team comes with decades of cumulative experience in running Structured Businesses, Music Curriculum Development, Music Education and Performance.

5 Things you Learn from Performing Music

Everyone wants to play music to perform. Performance plays an important part in learning your instrument and can teach you a lot of things that you need to do to become a better musician. Here are a few things you can expect to learn from your performances.

1. Band dynamics

The best part about performance is that you play with your peers or fellow musicians. Performing is a team sport and everyone has to be on the same wavelength to be able to put up a solid performance. Everyone should understand each other’s roles and what they bring to the performance. That is why practice is such an important part of performance. Song dynamics, sound level and tightness are the things that you work on during the jam sessions. Understand your role in each of your performances and executing them along with your bandmates will lead to a satisfying performance.

2. Use of techniques

You have been practicing your technique and now it is time to showcase them. It is during these performances that you understand how it actually sounds with everyone and adjust it according to what the song needs. It should not be too overpowering and neither should it be lost in all the noise. Finding the right settings, tone and volume beforehand is important to get the best of your instrument or voice. The techniques used should be able to enhance and complement the song and other instrument that is being played and not the other way around.

3. Stage Presence

Performance is not just about showing your skills. It is also about engaging the crowd. If you are too focused on playing/singing, the audience will never be able to connect with your performance. Learn few tricks to engage the crowd. Make eye contact. If you can engage them you feel their energy and it gives a different dynamic to your performance. It is important that you make your presence felt, not just with your playing but with communication and showmanship.

4. Feedback

Learn to take honest feedback from your bandmates or the audience. After the show, listen to how they felt about your performance. In fact, make sure you record your show and play it back. Be an honest critique of yourself and see where do you need to improve and what could you have done better. Learn from each performance and strive to do a better performance next time. Performance is all about getting your audience back again and if you can work on what they have to say, they will surely return to hear your improvements.

5. Confidence

Everyone gets nervous when they get on stage, especially the first few times. So, by figuring out the things that made you nervous and correcting your mistakes, you will become more confident each time. Everyone has a few tricks that calms them down and everyone deals with it differently. So, you have to find your mantra and exercise them before you get on the stage. Being confident is a key factor to showcase your skills efficiently. Nervousness can kill your performance and the audience can feel it. Always show your skills with authority, even if your performance is not entirely perfect.

BlueTimbre is a unique Music Company that provides Music Education and  Recording Studio services. BlueTimbre also works with schools to provide end-to-end Music Education solutions for schools. 

The BlueTimbre team comes with decades of cumulative experience in running Structured Businesses, Music Curriculum Development, Music Education and Performance.