How To Entertain An Audience

I find most singers are too busy staring at the lyrics on their iPad to bother paying attention to the audience. I'm so old, I remember when we used to learn the songs.

*We used to stop at the thrift bakery and pick up imperfect cakes (lopsided). We also had plastic cutlery, napkins, & a sparkler for the cake. We celebrated anybody’s birthday and they loved it! The birthday boy/girl was also invited up on stage to shake the tambourine while we sang (The Beatles) Birthday! All the above only cost just a few dollars; a pittance, compared to what we were making (plus it often generated tips). It was fun for us and fun for them… That’s what it’s all about! ✌🏻😎🎹🌴🌞

Certainly the most important thing about music is how the artist appears visually to an audience. Who cares about notes or tone….it about how you dance and dress and look at audience members. Remember that and we’ll have the pop music scene we have now with 3 artists doing the exact same things yay!

i appreciate the help. learning to be a front man at the age of 56. people that make it look it easy are usually standing on years of practice and training.

The entire band should look like they’re enjoying the music, not like they’re practicing.

In my youth I was a pro cellist. In classical performance none of this was needed or expected. It was just about how you played. So now I have some important skills I need to develop on top of my technical work. Thank you.

These are good points, to which I would add: 1) learn your parts, whether it's guitar chords or lyrics, so you don't have to read them during the performance. It's ok to sneak a peek at your notes now and then, but a singer who's reading the lyrics from their phone just comes across as lazy, and is definitely not entertaining; 2) the most entertaining and engaging singers are those who convey the story in a song, rather than just reciting the words. To do this, they are like method actors, "becoming" the person telling the story, and making it believable.

I once was in a jazz forum by this guitarist. Online educational thing. I'd seen some videos he did and joined the forum. It was fine until I started seeing things that were off. He was teaching that a TRUE musician plays NOT looking at their instrument, looking straight on, and NOT MOVING. Literally NOT MOVING. It was uncouth for a musician to move around on stage, he said. Tapping your foot is fine, everything else showed that you didn't care. (I'm sure Louis Armstrong agreed ... NOT!). I caught on to this when a guitarist posted a video of him playing, and was all apologetic. He said he was uncomfortable in his pose, thus moved, and thus lost his confidence and in the video stopped and had to start over again. Outside of this he sat playing with nothing moving but his hands, a blank look staring forward. .... I commented that I felt so sorry for him, as there's no musician in the world who doesn't move, that was b.s. Musicians get into the music and audiences want to see someone enjoying the music.

Preach it brother! Never be accused of loitering on stage. ;)

The introduction is a really good point!

This is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you so much!

Such great advice!!! Thanks man!!!

I've been singing and playing in front of audience's for over 30 year's. I'm glad to know that over the year's I actually do all of this naturally now.

Always great advise!

Terrance always great to review with you. Grateful. Great points you male

his beard is fire

Making a entrance is important I like rockstar’s Pro forming and smashing guitars and head nodding is all crucial and kissing the beat ❤

Solid advice

as a music artist.. you preaching........................

I used to play in a band with a guitarist who lived in a bubble. In rehearsals he'd get lost in his own world and a solo would go on and on. I remember once our 3 minute song was still going on 20 minutes as he was soloing with his eyes closed. The guitarist and I (on bass) just kept looking at each other to see how long the song was going to last. He was like this on stage too. He was oblivious to anyone in the room. The problem was, while he would solo for 20 minutes in rehearsals, he would miss solos live cause he was lost in thought. So, essentially: be in the moment!