It’s Who You Are

You just moved into a new house. You want it to have your personality and style, right? It should be unique and express who you are.

It’s the same thing with your onstage performance. Although you need to have certain basic elements, it should also be different from everyone else’s.

I’m guessing you’re in agreement with me so far, right? And no doubt you realize you do have songs, playing styles, abilities, etc. that make you different. You have your own look, tone, and voice.

But here’s the problem: you need to pull all of these unique things out and present them during your live show in such a way that the audience can connect to those original distinctions.

Musically, physically, and visually, all great artists have developed a great style. Think of some of the great front men, vocalists, guitar players, or so on, who stand out. It isn’t always their technique, but rather their style that sets them apart. This is equally as important when it comes to putting a show together, and it’s a process. It takes time and effort to develop as an artist and to learn how to use these skills onstage.

It isn’t an instant transformation. Learning these skills is worked out in the “woodshedding” process as you learn the fundamentals, and applying them correctly happens during music rehearsals as you work on your live show. Doing this work and going through the process allows you to pour yourself into each song.

You need to arrange your songs for live so you’re in control and can connect with the audience. You’ll want to extract the moments within the songs that allow you to express yourself from stage. Ignore this and you are on your way to what many bands have become … jukeboxes. They play songs and hope something good will happen. What a mistake!

Again, there is no quick answer. If you want your house to have your own style on the inside, you can’t do one shopping blitz to buy all the furniture, curtains, paints, lighting, and flooring and expect it to be put together in one day. That’s unrealistic. To get the original look you want and are capable of having, it takes time and effort. It’s the same with your show!

Many artists I talk to know they are good, unique, talented, and all that, but they don’t know how to effectively communicate that uniqueness to their audience. They resist any onstage training.

But the artists who are hungry for success, to reach the next level, will lay aside their pride and ask, “OK, be honest – what can I do to improve?” That process is part of what I help artists do: flesh out their uniqueness and help them share the unique moments in their songs the audience wouldn’t normally be aware of.

Sitting inside of you is something special waiting to come out. With a bit of work, risk taking, and development, you could be awesome and have a great shot at a career in music!