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“How to strengthen your stage presence: 7 tips” plus 2 more |
How to strengthen your stage presence: 7 tips Posted: 07 Oct 2021 09:00 AM PDT For many musicians, performing on stage taps into both their deepest desires and their darkest insecurities. That’s why fighting stage fright and achieving a confident stage presence can feel so personal and be so frustrating. While developing your dream stage presence is a challenge, it is possible! See the seven tips below for concrete ways to build a stronger stage presence. 1. Define What You’re FeelingAre you interested in building incredible stage presence or eliminating stage fright? While the two things are connected, they are not the same. Stage presence is the ability to command attention and interest from your audience. It’s the way we feel after resurfacing from a good book or film. Your audience should feel connected to the experience you’re creating. Stage fright is a common and often debilitating human response to large amounts of attention. When one thousand (or even one hundred) people are looking at you, it’s easy to freeze up and want to run away. Stage fright can strike even if you love what you do and you love your audience. 2. Journal It OutIf you’ve never tried journaling, start setting aside ten to fifteen minutes a day to write out your thoughts about performing. Ask yourself questions like these: What is bothering you? What do you think you’re doing well? Why? How do those things change day-to-day? What connections can you see between them and other areas of your life? Writing down your experiences will give you a solid foundation for understanding where you are and what you need to do to move forward. 3. Talk to a TherapistGoing to therapy doesn’t mean you’re “messed up” as a person. It’s wise to ask for help interpreting the events of your life – you are too emotionally involved to see them clearly. Take your concerns and journaled thoughts to a trained counselor or therapist, and see what they have to say. Commit to at least three sessions, and don’t be afraid to switch counselors or programs if the first one you try doesn’t fit you well. Performing is profoundly connected to our beliefs about ourselves and where we fit in with others. Challenging and stretching those thoughts will only help you grow as a person and as a musician. 4. Take Care of Your BodyChecking in with your mind is only one piece of the puzzle. If you’re not taking care of your body, you’ll experience negative mental and physical side effects that will impact your ability to perform. This is true for both vocalists and instrumentalists. See if you recognize any of these symptoms in your life: Brain fog Poor memory Reduced ability to handle stress Chronic exhaustion Lack of energy or motivation Many of these symptoms can improve with simple changes, such as getting enough sleep each night, working out on a regular basis, drinking plenty of water, and eating healthy, clean foods. As an adult, you can get so focused on work that you forget to care for yourself. Prioritize self-care, and you’ll soon be in top shape for your career on stage. 5. Think About AppearanceYour posture is an integral part of how you communicate, on or off the stage. The way you stand and move tells others what you are thinking and how you relate to the world. Sometimes, just changing your posture can change your mindset and put you in a better place for engaging authentically with others from the stage. Many performers adopt a signature look that gives them additional confidence when going onstage. Opera singers may choose brightly colored shoes or large jewelry, and country singers often wear cowboy hats. Whatever your musical style, pick an item that gives you a strong sense of individuality and confidence. 6. Listen to ExpertsYou’re not the only musician who’s ever wanted to improve their stage presence. You can go it alone, or you can build on the experiences of others. Below are a few ways you can join the ongoing conversation between other musicians: Read books by prominent musicians Talk to mentors in your field Ask fellow musicians what they’re doing Spend time with people you want to emulate Find podcasts about confidence and self-growth Learning takes time, but it doesn’t take nearly as much trial and error if you do it with others. Be open to helpful ideas from others, ask questions, and engage honestly with yourself. 7. PracticeAs a musician, you already know this one! You can learn to improve your stage performance like any other skill. Practice being nervous. Go through your pre-performance ritual, and sit in the discomfort of those feelings. They’re there, but they don’t have to define your performance. The way you practice handling your nerves is what you’ll default to when it’s time to go on stage. Also, be mindful of the dialogue you’re having with yourself. If what you hear in your head is, “I’m not ready, and no one will like this,” you’re not going to walk onto the stage with much confidence. Instead, practice affirming yourself and thinking about how much people will enjoy your performance. They came for a reason, after all! You’ve Got ThisYou have high goals for yourself as a performer, and that’s a good thing. Don’t let that stop you from starting to develop a more engaging stage presence right where you are. Follow the tips above to increase your confidence, grow your self-awareness, and equip yourself for success. You’ll be engaging more authentically with your audience before you know it!
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Posted: 05 Oct 2021 12:35 PM PDT Hit Songs Deconstructed kicked off its “Decoding the Hits” masterclass series on Saturday and has made a one-hour segment from the first masterclass available for viewing. The segment is called The S.A.M. Principle: Serving the Song, the Artist and the Marketplace and focuses on priming every aspect of your song – from melody and hooks, to lyrics and rhymes, to arrangement and production – to serve the song, the artist, and the marketplace to maximize a songs potential chart-topping success. There is also a free downloadable checklist that will help keep you on track when priming your song for success. To watch the video and download the free checklist, visit https://bit.ly/3lf3WxW The 2021 fall masterclass schedule includes: • Melody and Hooks: October 16th We hope you enjoy it! This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
How music theory can get you more listeners Posted: 25 Sep 2021 01:43 PM PDT Everyone knows that the key to getting your music radio-ready is a strong, professional mix and master. If the production quality isn’t great, your track just won’t be able to compete sonically with all the tons of songs out there. It won’t be as loud, full, wide, and clear as all the other tracks on iTunes, YouTube, and Spotify. But here is a shocking secret that you may not have realized before… The average person listening to your music, if they aren’t a producer, probably won’t be thinking about your mix. They may not even know what mixing and mastering are. WHAT?? It’s shocking, I know! But before you shed a tear of frustration, I’ll tell you what they will think about… They’ll think about: - How relatable the lyrics are - How catchy the melody and the beat are - How epic the buildups, breakdowns, and choruses/drops feel - How the sounds and lyrics make them feel - The experiences they had while listening to it - The people they listened to it with You see, most people listen to music because of how it makes them feel. It’s the emotion, the story, the people, the experience of the music that matters. And no matter how well your track is produced, no matter how clean the mix is… if people can’t feel something for it, they won’t remember it. And they definitely won’t remember the artist/band who made it, either. So the key to getting more followers is to make sure that every time you release a track, that the listener will feel something that makes them connect with the music and with you. The hard truth is that making music can be really difficult if you don’t understand its basic building blocks. If you don’t have a strong musical foundation, it’s really hard to make songs that people can remember and connect with. So what can you do about it? If there’s one thing I’ve learned after producing, studying music theory, and teaching students over the years, it’s that… Everyone has a different journey, but the things we as artists want never change. For example, we all want to: - Sound as good as our favorite artists - Build an audience of fans that truly love our music - Get recognition for our work from others - Feel inspired and spend our time on this planet doing something we actually love and are passionate about Which of course begs the question… How do we get there? How do we achieve our goals? How can we develop our musical skills to be able to live out our dreams? I want you to think about a world-class Michelin 3-star chef. Do you think his success comes purely as a result of the knives he uses? Is it the pots and pans that make the food so delicious? No, of course not. It’s the chef himself that makes the food delicious. It’s the recipes he puts together. It’s the knowledge of cooking that he uses. A true chef can prepare a delicious soup with a cheap pot, a wooden spoon, and a butter knife. A true virtuoso can write out a symphony on napkins using crayons. If you’re new to production, or are just stuck in writers’ block, then the reason you’re suffering is probably because you’re lacking some kind of knowledge or the productive habits to apply that knowledge in the studio. And that’s exactly what we at Jumpstart EDM are here to help you with. We’re a startup dedicated to helping new music producers, and we’ve put together a free 150+ page PDF called Easy Theory for Music Producers that’s specifically designed to help you learn fundamental concepts of music as quickly and easily as possible. So if you want to connect more with your listeners and build a larger audience for your music, visit JumpstartEDM.com to get your free PDF and start building your musical foundation today. |
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