Do’s & Don’ts When Performing Your Own Songs
A Guest Post by Songwriting Scene
Whether
you are a touring singer-songwriter, play out fairly regularly or
primarily write songs for your own enjoyment, chances are you’ve found
yourself in front of an audience to perform your own original tunes.
But
while you’ve taken so much care to craft your songs, how much thought
have you given in terms of how your present them on stage? I asked folks
on the Songwriting Scene Facebook Page about
their biggest pet peeves when watching other songwriters perform. There
was some disagreement and back and forth, but a few clear thoughts came
through:
1. Don’t apologize.
It’s
easy to feel insecure when you’re performing a song that you wrote, that
came right from your core. Obviously it’s a vulnerable place. Still,
your song will come across far better if you act confident. For example,
folks who “preface” before singing their song, such as “This is
brand-new, I don’t know how to play this yet,” is a big pet peeve of
mine. Or, northern California-based Erin Friedman says her pet peeve is when people say “I hope you like it.” This screams insecurity!
And Christine Stay, of the Greenville, SC-duo Friction Farm,
says “ If you play covers and originals and do not intro the covers
then please don’t say ‘this is an original’ as if it is an apology.”
Keep in mind, your audience may be thrilled to hear something besides
cover songs they’ve heard a million times. “Original” doesn’t mean
“Less-than.”
2. Don’t explain what every song is about.
If
you’ve got a great background story about one of your tunes, terrific.
If you tell that story well, even better. But there’s no need to start
every one of your original songs with “This song is about…”
According to Brooklyn-based Scene-ster Mark Allen Berube:
“Unless it’s a really really interesting story I do not care
when/where/how/why you wrote the song. I just want to hear the song.
I’ll judge it based on that alone.”
3. On the other hand, don’t just be completely silent between every song.
“Silence
between songs is also not great,” says Berube. “You do need to
communicate with the audience.” If you’re not a great ad libber? If
you’re shy and introverted and just want to stare at the guitar strings?
Practice your banter. Come on, anyone can come up with a line or two
and look directly at the audience once in a while. They’ll appreciate
it, I promise.
4. Do commit to performing the song full-on.
The emotion you put into performing can draw the audience in, says Jersey City-based singer-songwriter Scott Wolfson.
“So really perform the song — even if people don’t know the song, your
emotion can be infectious,” he explains. “If you enjoy what you’re
doing, chances are others will as well.”
5. Do make sure your instrument is in order for the song you’re playing.
“Make
sure your capo is on the correct fret!” says Songwriting Scene reader
Olivia Schwartz. That’s a great tip — and don’t forget to make sure your
guitar is tuned; that you have a lyric sheet if your song isn’t
completely memorized; and that your guitar is plugged in if it’s an
amplified venue.
6. Do enjoy yourself!
There’s
no doubt that performing your own original songs is challenging, maybe
more so than singing your favorite Beatles tune. But do it for the joy
of it…that’s 99.9% the whole point, right? Songwriting Scene reader
Debra Elliott agrees: “Just do it, and enjoy yourself, it should bring
you joy, ..if it doesn’t, why are you doing it ?”
Songwriting Scene is a blog founded by New Jersey-based singer-songwriter Sharon Goldman, written for songwriters about songwriting -- including tips, interviews, inspiration and thoughts about the creative process.
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