Preparing To Play Live

This article results from a discussion I recently had with my friend Diana de Cabarrus from songwritinglessonsonline.com. We spoke about how to prepare to play live. Diana asked what I typically do to prepare, so I offered my opinions and insights. Then, she, too, offered her own insights on how she prepares to play live. 

Diana said that one factor to consider is how people can bridge the gap between working on songs/rhythm at home and then being able to do this consistently well in a live performance. When home, we may generally have a controlled environment. We might play things repeatedly without distraction and can hear quite clearly. When playing live, the sound differs from how it is in your house. There tends to be lots more going on in terms of stimulus. You likely have more jobs to do when playing live because you're trying to communicate with the audience, remember what's coming next, play that song, and get all the words and chords right. Then, too, you are distracted by what's happening all around, where people are talking, some people are waving, or something else could be happening, resulting in lots more stimulus. The challenge is bridging the gap between home playing and performance playing. Diana noticed that she tends to play faster when live and has opted to use a metronome on her phone and put metronome markings on her setlist. It gives her a quick beat reminder before starting a song to combat the speedup. 

At home, I prepare for all distractions during a live performance because I make things as difficult for myself as possible while at home. One way to do that is by trying to play without looking at my hands. Sometimes, it's impossible not to look, but I see how far I can go without even looking at the instrument. By doing so, I no longer use my eyes but rather my sense of touch to execute it correctly. 

When preparing to play a new song, I will play along to that artist's song after I learn it. I will then practice by playing along to the song and have the original recording be louder than my guitar. Then, I'll do the opposite. I'll turn my guitar up louder than the music so I hear my guitar primarily and very little of the music. Another option is to practice in a location that is very dimly lit. You never know the type of environment you will be playing in. Alternatively, you could just stand in front of a bright white light and be blinded. Stage Lighting can be very distracting. I try to simulate all the possible obstacles you may encounter during a live performance at home in addition to just executing the song so it won't be the very first time you run into it during a live situation. You never know what obstacles or environments you could face for a live performance, so anything you can dream up is probably good preparation.

I asked Diana about performing another artist’s song and whether she ever practices songs without her guitar. She said that she does. For example, if on the bus, she listens to the song and then visualizes where she is in that part of the song. She explained that it takes a certain amount of concentration but helps with depth of knowledge. Depth of knowledge is a super helpful concept when evaluating how to think about your skills in guitar playing. Depth of knowledge might have several layers to it. One layer may be further down, and you wonder if you can do it with your eyes shut. Maybe another level will have you asking yourself if you can visualize your hands moving. When you think in terms of layers, your brain is working as though you are actually playing the song. Your brain doesn't know the difference.

Remember to always have fun with your guitar and I’ll see you next time…

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About Mark Turko: Mark Turko is a professional guitar player and instructor with over 30 years of experience and teaches guitar lessons online.