The first time I went “on stage” was when I was seven-years-old. It wasn’t even a performance, but a piano concert rehearsal. I was told to go on stage and play my song “Fur Elise” in front of all my teacher’s other students and their parents. I was so nervous that I forgot the whole song except for the catch two-measure phrase. The teacher looked shocked. Realizing I couldn’t finish the song, she asked me to take a bow. I proceeded to walk to the front of the stage and almost faint. She had to run up to me incase I fell off the five foot edge of the stage. It was embarrassing and traumatic. Of course I had great parents who told me I had the “big C” (courage) and bought me a little Native American beaded doll to carry with me to the concert for good luck. I forgot about the doll when I went up to stage to perform the concert, but I told my parents that I still had the big “C.” I’ve struggled with stage fright my entire life, so it became a sort of challenge for me to become the best performer I could possibly become. I made it my personal goal in life to rise up against the little evil thoughts in my brain and be the best performer I knew. It took a lot of work. Private lessons, singing and dancing in front of mirrors, going to open mic nights, karaoke, and jam sessions, and of course performing my own concerts. I also spent a ton of time studying my favorite performers. Here are the tips I learned along the way to become a better vocal performer.
Fake it Till You Make It
I learned a lot from watching videos of ladies like Tina Turner and Shana Twain perform. They had very memorable stances when they sang. I practiced their songs, mimicking how they stood and realized that even if I was nervous, if I changed my body language to take up more space, people thought I wasn’t nervous. There are certain ways we stand and use our arms when we are nervous and certain ways a confident person will use their arms and stand. Think of your performing space as a huge circle around you. Sometimes just by putting a little space between your body and your arms and spreading your legs slightly apart will make a big difference.
Your Mic is a Prop
Watching performers like Steven Tyler, Michael Jackson, Prince, and James Brown use their mic and mic stand as a prop is really eye opening for the things you can do with your mic and mic stand to convey emotion and entertain. This part of entertaining should be practiced. I plan ahead of time when the mic will be in the stand and at what exact point I take the mic off the stand. Everything is intentional and everything is part of the show.
Know Your Material
If you want to cut down on the nerves, know your music. When you walk on stage, the better you know the song and the craft of singing the more you can lose yourself in the emotion of the performance and also connect with the crowd. If something goes wrong, and it will always go wrong, you are less likely to get completely thrown off, because you know your song backwards and forwards. You can do it with the band or without the band.
Never Apologize for a Bad Performance
You don’t know if there is someone in the audience who knows every note of the song you are singing and has perfect pitch or if they are tone deaf. Or maybe they talked all the way through your song or were thinking about their breakup and weren’t even listening to the words. I learned this lesson when I was singing with a house band at a casino in Arizona. They saw some talent in me and let me come and sing about 4-6 songs every weekend with them. The lead singer took me under his wing and taught me how to perform. It was an amazing experience. But the most memorable lesson I learned is when I brought them a lead sheet of a song they didn’t know one evening. It was “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac, one of my favorite songs. I walked up to the stage, handed them the song, and we started performing on the spot. I sang the song with them behind me and it was as if they were playing a completely different song! It sounded terrible. My favorite song was ruined. I didn’t let it show in my face that it was awful. The song finished, people applauded, I smiled, and walked off the stage. The next weekend, someone walked up to me and complimented me on that song! I learned a very important lesson. Don’t say “sorry,” don’t tell the audience your mistakes, don’t even show it in your face. You don’t know if they know or not. They may be enjoying the music and you could take that experience away from them if you start apologizing. Because it really isn’t about you when you are performing anyways. It’s about the audience. You are giving them a gift.
Plan Your Transitions
Don’t forget to plan out how you will go from song to song. Will you speak and what will you say? Will you connect several songs together? You can get creative with this, depending on what kind of performer you are. I saw a great solo performer who told stories in between each song. I listened to his CD later, and he said the same thing on the CD, so it was memorized. The more you practice your transitions, the less open space will be in the show. Keep people entertained even when the music isn’t playing.
Be Yourself
The best advice I can give you is after you’ve finished learning from all your favorite singers, reading all the articles about performing, and really practicing your set. Just go out there and be yourself. There is only one of you. You are unique and people want to see and connect with you as an individual. You have a unique message to share with the world. Be genuine on stage and it will go a long way.