Do you hold practice for stage presence?

[Kyon`]

Well do you? While I've never been too concealed with what someone is wearing on stage, or jumping or what not, we recently picked up a new guitarist who is just boring to watch. He's not a bad player, and a really friendly guy, but he just stands there. I don't move much either but I try to get into it, and I have a mic to hide behind and all that. I don't think I'm asking much for him maybe to rock a little and not seem so unnatural you know? It's just for matter of presence and pleasing the crowd, since I'd imagine it'd be hard for me to get into it if I was in the audience if the band wasn't.

[Fnord Explorer]

No, stage presence just seems to be one of those things that you either develop naturally or just don't have. I try to get into the music just as much at rehearsal as I do onstage and we're all a bunch of goofs anyway. It definitely keeps it fun. Besides, if you can exude presence in the practice room by yourselves, you can exude it on any stage, even if it's only for a dozen people and the bar staff.

[dj150888]

We don't have practices for stage presence as such, but we set up our practice room in a gig set up and try play through the set as if in a live situation. Try that and then talk about what needs to be improved. An awkward looking guy trying to groove looks worse than someone not grooving at all to me.

[Lemoore-on]

Not really, but kinda.

We practice lead ins & song flow

We goof around and someone will say "that was cool! Do that at the show" or something like that.

Our new GP is the same. Very good, but quiet & shy. we are worrking on him though.

[manutabora]

I'd say if he is playing the music well, just let him be.
I think it's kind of monotonous for all the people in the band to behave in the same manner. It can be kind of interesting to see different personalities on stage. Besides, if he has to make an effort to move around and do some "cool" antics, it could take away from the music and it could look pretty lame (rehearsed). But then again, I'm not much of a rockstar so I wouldn't really know.
Rock on bro.

[4-string]

No, but we really should.

[ric1312]

A little, when I rehearse I try to get into it an move like I would like to on stage, that way I can see what works and what doesn't.

I always tell my band try and work on it. I've been in bands with guys before who are like, "I'm gonna go nuts when we get on this stage!" Of course they end up being statues who won't look at the audience if they have never gone nuts just at practice. On stage is not really the time to try something new you've never done at practice unless you have already been on stage a lot and are used to it.

I've gone to the point of recording, "stage rehersals," and gigs so that I can let the video point out who looks lame on stage and fades into the background.

[pretaanluxis]

Most people I know go to gigs to see a show, not to hear the music. SO I say get into it as much as possible. Just try to kep the energy level up and make everyone feel comfortable groovin to the music

[TrevorOfDoom]

give him an energy drink about an hour before you play. see what happens.

honestly, you should make sure you have the music down first, then think about stage presence. but it should always be natural, never forced. give him time. maybe he'll get better. but if he doesn't, then talk to him about it.

[TheBear]

I agree with pretaanluxis, whenever I play any kind of show I try my best to not only be a good bassist but also a good performer. Think of it from the audience's point of view; when you go to a show, do you just want to stand around with a bunch of other people, watching a band onstage just stand around while playing their instruments? It's been my experience that if the band acts like they're grooving and enjoying themselves, the audience is more likely to start enjoying the show and will be more likely to come to the next one.

[seanm]

I wouldn't say I move around a lot on stage, but I am always moving given the constraints of the stage. Before I switched to wireless, I always tangled the cord badly by the end of a gig.

But I move much less when practicing or rehearsing. And I have never rehearsed a live show. In rehearsal we try to get in a circle as much as possible for maximum interaction.

IMHO you can't really mimic a live show. The crowd interaction just isn't there. However, I would thing that tribute bands or bands with lots of dance moves would have to practice those moves.

[TheDarkReaver]

sort of, we practice what we're gonna do between songs...so we don't go blank and leave noiseless gaps.

my guitarist says i should practice jumping off my amp, as the last 2 times i've jumped off things i've tripped over something on the way down or done it at the wrong time.

[fretlessman71]

I've been considering what I can do to improve my stage presence. However, I am forced to sit when I play and it makes it difficult to do much at all other than appear to be genuinely interested in what my bandmates are playing.

This might be pricey, but if you can get a big mirror to put in front of the band while you practice, your new guitarist might see it and change his ways. Or maybe he just doesn't care enough to do much (in which case you're kinda dead in the water).

[VisualShock]

*cough*get him drunk*cough*


Who said that? *suspicious look*

[Qvist]

Originally Posted by pretaanluxis

Most people I know go to gigs to see a show, not to hear the music. SO I say get into it as much as possible. Just try to kep the energy level up and make everyone feel comfortable groovin to the music

1+ right on, you're absolutely right!

When I'm at a rock show with a band I don't know, I could care less about the music as long as it rocking! BUT if it's rocking coldplay or radiohead style, then I would feel like forcing the band to do cocaine - just to get 'em movin'!!!

[Step]

this sounds sooo familiar, my guitarist does the exact same thing, and a practices he grooves and does his old-school blues moves, but at gigs?

nothing, nada

[Depth_Charge]

We're a 70 to current rock covers band. Our band rehearses for live shows, including stage presence. Some of it is corny mess about stuff you might never do live like the Angus Young AC/DC skip or daggy head bobbing for a laugh.

But we do a fair bit of extra showmanship like coordinating wide arced strums where we all circle our hands together (corny I know LOL), hip bumping with the singer, leaning back to back with another guitard (and practicing getting off each other again LOL), jumping on the spot, spinning, "sword fighting" with a guitard (never hit necks it sounds awful LOL) or interacting with the drummer and waving/gesturing to the crowd.

It feels silly doing it in an empty room and it never seems to come off as often or dramatic live, but the more we get comfortable with the moves and do them naturally in practice, the more they seem to creep into our live shows as we don't have to think about the moves and break musical momentum to get them into our routine.

So, yeah, we do it, and will continue to do so as movement and enery are part of our stage show.

[6jase5]

We just won a contest last week and the judge came on stage to say "I really like your(me) presence, but the rest of you guys need to work on it. The outfits matched great as well." I hated being singled out, but it helped my argument.

I bought the shirt for my guitar player at a thrift shop.
At rehearsal I'm trying to make them see the importance of rocking out in rehearsal just like a live show. It is called a show or performance for a reason. I watch videos or our shows too.

I say get off your arse and make sure that you can play the song with some attitude. At least look like you get into your own music or no one else will either!

[Moe Monsarrat]

Practice for stage presence? No. Practice for that would be watching yourself on video. That oughta do it.

[dj150888]

I think a band image is highly important too, if you've started wearing matching clothes, thats a good start, if not, maybe its worth discussing. What kind of music are you guys playing? I'd say start off by making a few "set moves" for him, like, "during the solo in that song, go to the front of the stage, put your foot up onto the stage monitor and lean back a little" or, "during the (insert nice energetic bit of song here) we (bass and guitars) take to the middle of the stage and all point headstocks forwards"

Those are some very simple, basic suggestions, they don't need to be practiced, just make sure he does them when it comes to crunch time. Then, when he does that, compliment him, tell him he looked much more rockin' on stage and that he should keep doing that sorta stuff, then he'll start improvising it, doing more and the less original sort of moves will filter out.