First 'Gig' on Thursday

hendrix

hendrix

hendrix

Associate
Joined
4 Aug 2004
Posts
1,890
Location
Grenoble, France
After playing my acoustic at pretty much every oppurtunity this year, I've picked up a decent number of songs to play and started singing along with them too. I'm pretty confident with the songs now and have about an hours worth of material to bang out whenever needed.

Now I've finally grew a pair and sorted out a 20 minute acoustic set at Band Night @ the student union on Thursday. :D and :eek:! My guitar playing is sound, but my vocals lack, talent to be quite honest.

Any advice on a) how to sing :D b) pre-gig warm ups c) general advice. I'm getting pretty excited about it but still feel my singing is gonna let me down big time. Got quite a few mates turning up so don't fancy getting booed off-stage or anything. Depending on how this goes, I may have a look into a few pub gigs for after easter.

Thanks for any advice!
 
In regards to the "How To Sing" part, ive seen a lot of bands whos singers are terrible live so I wouldnt worry to much about that.

One bit of advice a friend of mine got given was that whilst he was singing, he shouldnt look at the crowd, but pick various spots around the room to look at. That way the crowd think youre looking at them (when youre not) and youre interacting abit more, instead of just staring down at your guitar all the time.

As its the Student Union everyone will probably be drunk anyway so theres a good chance they wont really notice!

^^ Take this advice with caution though as ive never personally sang live, just know quite afew people who do!
 
What are you singing through?

Please tell me you're using a decent mic, going through a mixer that's got effects. For pity's sake don't sing through a "dry" mic, as you'll sound a complete tool. You'll need a nice bit of reverb. Not too much, mind you, just enough to give it some presence.
 
Some dodgy songs by an american comedian :rolleyes:

It's a student-organised night and by the looks of it, doesn't look to be organised well as you'd expect really. With any luck the mics will be fed through a mixer and i'd expect there to be at least reverb to play with (one can hope). There is a few well-known local bands playing and from what i've heard the PA being used will be provided by them.

I'll be playing at 10pm should things keep on track, with 1 acoustic guy, and 1 band playing before me. Basically i'll be hopping straight on, plugging in my semi-acoustic (hopefully) and start playing. I'll probably get in touch with the organiser to iron these things out.
 
Only do the occasional bit of backing myself, but the best advice I can give from our singer is definately to warm up before - but not too hard. If we rush to a venue with no soundcheck, I can definately notice that for the first 2/3 songs, her voice isn't as good.

If you get a soundcheck, use it properly. Go through a couple of songs from start to finish and don't hold back much.

As it's your first gig, you're bound to be nervous before hand, and it's natural to doubt yourself, but use the adrenyln to your advantage. Remember that you are doing this for yourself, and while its great that the audience enjoy it, it is about you and not them.

Personally, I find playing gigs like playing pool. A couple of drinks (3 pints?) gets me in the mood and normally helps performance. Don't go overboard though, else you might be the only one thinking you sound great ;)

Good Luck!
 
I can't give much advice on the singing side, as i've only sung with my band once. However, make sure you can hear yourself through the monitors during soundcheck because if you can't, it's pretty hard to stay in key.

With regards to performing in general, it's your first go at gigging so just enjoy it! A bit of dutch courage might help with this. Try not to fret-watch, and a bit of banter between songs goes a long way to getting the audience interested.

Just remember, most people don't have the guts to get on stage and sing/play guitar, so take pride that you're up there doing both!
 
G'damn students :mad: The bands that were supposed to be playing have failed to make any effort into helping the organisers and so they've decided to cancel it. I've been well hyped up for this and now I have to wait it out until after Easter. May as well sort out a pub gig for after Easter, should have a decent amount to play by then :)

Some good advice to take with me anywho. :cool:
 
pre gig warmups, run up and down scales to warm your fingers up, dont do anything fast or else you'll lock up during the session (seriously, it really is a b***tard locking up when you actually need to play fast) and dont gig drunk
 
m0r94n said:
Go busking
Click to expand...
Not many places to busk in Aber. There's one guy who busks by the banks and that's about it really. Besides, I don't think my songs would go down very well in public amongst parents + children :eek:

Band Night is back on now apparently, they finally organised a PA through the SU and are sound-checking tomorrow afternoon. I've spent the whole evening playing guitar hero instead of practising :D Still, looking forward to it. Will let you know how I got on.
 
hendrix said:
Not many places to busk in Aber. There's one guy who busks by the banks and that's about it really. Besides, I don't think my songs would go down very well in public amongst parents + children :eek:

Band Night is back on now apparently, they finally organised a PA through the SU and are sound-checking tomorrow afternoon. I've spent the whole evening playing guitar hero instead of practising :D Still, looking forward to it. Will let you know how I got on.
Click to expand...

Good luck, and if all else fails busk the beach boys!
 
Words can't express how awful that went tonight. I had no monitor so I couldn't here my vocals. My guitar was too loud so I was soundchecking mid set. It was bloody awful to be brutally honest. It picked up towards the end with a few people recognising songs and singing along. Disgraceful organising to be fair. Got good feedback from my friends and some random folk like which was a bonus. Won't be doing union gigs for a while though :D

That was an experience and a half! :cool:
 
Sometimes it doesn't get any better.
My gig last night was in an old meat market that sounded like a goldfish bowl.
We set up our gear so we were a million miles from each other and when we kicked in with ACDCs Heatseeker we knew it was going to be hard to keep it in time all night.
The pub is like a train station where people are coming and going all the time and it was bloody hard work.
Two weeks ago we played to one man and his dog because the landlady buggered up and put us on a 'club night'.
Its all experience.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom