How do you improve your stage presence?

[sqlb3rn]

Wear sunglasses no matter how dark it is inside.

 

[40Hz]

It's easy, just be a smoldering hottie.

That works too.

Although the absolute torchiest woman I ever knew to front a rock band was totally different off stage. During a performance she was a rock goddess who radiated a earthy and confident sensuality that could steam the windows in any club her band played. Before and after a show however, she was quiet, very polite, and even a little shy at times. Her stage persona ‘Talia’ was completely divorced from Ellie, her everyday self. I asked her how she managed and she said her stage character was “just someone” she created but didn’t ever want to be anywhere but on stage. As she put it: “I’m a very nice woman. ‘Talia’ isn’t.”

Needless to say she was a drama major attending acting school.

Guess Yogi Berra was right:

“Always be yourself - even if you have to fake it.”

 

[electracoyote]

For me, I try not to take the stage looking like I just did an afternoon's worth of yard work or just changed the oil and lubed my car. It's a really bad look for me, very un-entertainment.

Also, wearing all black makes me feel like a member of the catering staff, or perhaps I just attended a funeral. I don't feel like much of an entertainer in all black, more like a member of the pit orchestra trying to blend in and be inconspicuous rather than be fun festive and entertaining, so it puts a damper on my incentive to perform. Stage lights don't do much for me when I'm in all black, and I kind of blend into the (normally) black background. I just quit a band because they insisted on all-black. I saw the pictures later, we looked horrible and common as dirt. I made the right call. Superficial? Sure, just like my audience members (and they are central to this discussion, right?).

Dress well, wear some color, pop a little, it's okay because you were hired to entertain, and this is a visual medium as much as a sonic one. It's the next best thing to moving around and puts you in a different light with the audience, literally and figuratively. You can learn the moves over time, but you can look great right now if you want.

 

[mambo4]

What are some of your tips for improving stage presence for a rock cover band bassist?

Tom Jackson convinced me that stagecraft is something to take seriously.
"Do all your songs sound the same? No. Then why do they all look the same?"

He tends to ramble and, is of course selling his services ,
but if you wade through it, the advice he drops is solid.
here is a SXSW 'band makeover' panel he did recently.

 

[chaosMK]

All white outfit, constant hip thrusts.

In recent years my focus in music has been to improve my "sabor." I started playing congas and saw that a lot of these players have a great presence, especially the guys who both sing and play (Pedrito Martinez etc). Work on your sabor and truth as a musician and the presence will follow.

 

[Eric Swaim]

Act like you enjoy being there.

 

[DavC]

have FUN ... if you're not having fun ,... something is wrong ..!!??!!


sadly , my answer in past decades = drink ..! thought i was more entertaining with a slight buzz on .. ( alcohol )

started playing again in my early 60's ... way more sorber , and having fun ..!!

 

[Rob Martinez]

Be yourself. Smile. Unless you play Death Metal. Then scowl a lot.

Nothing makes an audience more uncomfortable than an uncomfortable performer. You set the tone of the room.

 

[Pork_Chop]

1. I realize that nobody ever died (musician or audience member) from a mistake on stage.
2. I practice dancing and moving while playing alone.
3. I learned a long time ago that it is more enjoyable to watch musicians that are having fun and hitting an occasional off note, than ones that are standing in fear that they will make a mistake.
4. The whole reason I practice and rehearse as hard and seriously as I do, is so that I can let loose and have fun while performing for a crowd. I love it, and allow myself to have as much fun as the people watching. It has become my playground.
5. Experience, experience, experience.

 

[LBS-bass]

It's so hard to explain "stage presence".. It can't be explained but some people have it and some other people don't.

I guess that it comes from a place of joy and self confidence and relax...It can be faked.

Years ago I tried too hard to be a showman,moving a lot, jumping, walking among the crowd, pushing things to create an impact in the audience, I tried to fake charisma and confidence. I watched an old video and I look like some kind of weirdo/attention seeker.....After spending time meditating at home and focusing more on the joy of playing, my experience is way better than before .. I just come out and play with confidence and enjoy every single note I play.. mistakes included...this display of confidence can be seen as "Stage presence"... I don't care too much about moving up and down ..thess things happen naturally now while I'm playing..

This is the thing. It can't be faked. Confidence and just being happy about where you are and what you're doing are keys. Being yourself is key. I don't do well if I'm trying to pretend to be something I'm not.

But there's a fine line between faking it and doing things to psyche yourself up to feel better about where you are. I don't always feel like going onstage and the situation onstage isn't always great (like the bad monitor mix I talked about earlier) but once I'm out there I know that if I smile and engage with the music, I'll soon feel good about it, or at least as good as conditions allow. So maybe I start with a bit of a showman's grin, but it soon gets replaced by a genuine smile. After all, I'm out there doing something fun that most people never get to do. Why shouldn't I be happy?

 

[EricMordus]

Practice in front of a full length mirror, dont be afraid to try new things. It's a good idea to try and LOOK the part when you do this too. Dress the part and watch yourself

 

[fhm555]

Power pose and windmills!

While no windmills i did spend an entire four sets in a rock god pose with my left leg splayed out at an exaggerated angle, but not to look cool. Our drummer usually nailed a section of 2x4 to the floor in front of his kick to keep it from walking away. This particular night the club owner stopped him. The stage was too small for me to get close so i had to stand to the side and slide my left foot over in front of the kick, all night.

 

[LanEvo]

There are two fundamental approaches:

(1) lose an excessive amount of weight, wear cool clothes, and just stand there looking cool.

(2)

 

[RustyAxe]

Look like you're enjoying yourself. Dance to the up tempo songs, sway to the slow ones. I play stage left, and my mic is high (I'm 6'2") so I have to swing my bass's neck over the mic and turn to my right to connect with the drummer. I get back with the drummer and groove, and with both of us smiling the audience knows we're having a good time, and then snap back for the harmony or lead vocals. Bottom line, SMILE, GROOVE and MOVE.

 

[CWAnderson]

I've found it most helpful to engage audience members. One at a time or as a small group.
Wireless technology is easily the most helpful solution to the problem. In-ear monitors allow you to hear anywhere and no instrument cable gives you freedom to move.
Act as carefree as you want your audience to respond. They will be entertained.

 

[promdates]

Wear sunglasses no matter how dark it is inside.

Pretty sure we just found Corey Hart...

 

[BassGeekJack]

If the music is good, I don't ask much of the performers. Although standing completely still can be a bit boring. I would just get really comfortable with your parts, make sure you can mostly play them blind, and then just walk around a little, bob/nod your head, let yourself have fun. I don't do any more than that myself, and no one's complained.

 

[Yellow Bang66]

Step 1: Smile. Why are you smiling? Because the music is sooo good.
Step 2: Now dance like you're listening to music that is sooo good.
Step 3: Look at the audience in a way that says, "This music is sooo good".
Step 4: Profit.

For me it's mostly about Confidence. know your parts, have them down. Do you have a favorite song,or favorite part of a song? Let it Show in your playing(express it!). it's a bloody performance. smiling helps, yeah, it's intimidating but, once you do it it gets easier & easier, just try breaking the "wall" between the audience & you, once. I noticed at one gig the rest of the band (singer & guitarist) weren't engaging the crowd at all. We were all staring at the floor! I decided to look up into the crowd and saw blank bored faces staring back at me (YIKES!). I looked around & saw my band mates frozen in their places! oh, how very boring, i thought! So I started to bob my head a little, and I broke away from my "safe" place next to the drumset, and moved over to the guitarist (he's usually Very Animated) & I started to sway a little, & move around a bit more. that seemed to snap him out of it. then I moved behind the singer to get her moving. it was like a mini game of Unfreeze tag! I looked up/out again and was startled to see people staring back at me! I finally, landed on a friendly face smiling back at me (Whew!). it made me LOL, in relief. then i noticed more faces smiling back & bobbing their heads. thank god! the audience wants to be somewhat entertained.,

you don't have to jump around like Eddie Van Halen, just have fun, I'd rather watch a band having fun, than a band frozen in fright, looking miserablely at their shoes. move to the music, if you can't feel the music (as a bass player) maybe your in the wrong band or playing the wrong kind of music. It's a performance. You don't have to dance around. just feel the music, and let other people see your having fun, and that you are enjoying what your doing/playing! never let fear cripple your performance break out of that shell! It's not that big of a deal!(most people won't recognize you anyway, & no one will fault you for "rocking out" a little)

 

[Wisebass]

hi Tausti

This is a gig my last band played last summer:

Coole Mucke! Det grooved!

greetings

Wise(b)ass

 

[matthewbrown]

In my case, there's always the Tardis.