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Stage Presence - how to get some?

#21
There are obviously no rules, so just make it up as you go along. If you can get into dancing, that works. No matter if you're worse than Ellen on Sienfeld, someone will think it's cool or funny. Another thing to try is to pick certain people in the audience to make eye contact with. Make sure there's one or two in each direction to look at so that your head turns. The people all around them will think you're looking at them, too. There's a guy here in Austin whose whole stage presence is built around the fact that he never talks, only sings. The other guy in the band does all the talking & joking & Son just stands there with a blank expression on his face. However, when it's his turn to sing he lights the whole place up with the first three notes(he good). So, he's funny & cool & mysterious because he just stands there. See what I mean? There's a million ways to go at it & you gotta find yours.
 
#22
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Powerstance
 
#23
I've never really cared too much about whether people thought I had good stage presence or not (stage presents are a whole other thing!).

I always just focused on my playing and grooved without stressing about it until after a few years stage presence wasn't really an issue. I think after a while the confidence behind the whole deal reaches the audience naturally.

The guitarist and I would joke about moves though and fool around. I've found that the most exaggerated moves look best on video:

Link Removed
 
#24
You have to have the material down cold. You can't look like you're struggling with it. Playing with confidence is a big chunk of "presence".

The rest really depends on the song itself, doesn't it? It's all about expressing the music. Jumping around during a sad song doesn't make much sense, and looking all serious during some fun dance tune doesn't, either. A lot of classic rock is about "swagger" (which comes from confidence, so back to paragraph 1). I look at it as "a show". What are you "showing"? With some songs, you are showing emotional content, which is facial expression and body language. With some songs (or some breaks in songs), you are showing technical prowness, so show the hands and stick the instrument right out there. React to big accents; I usually find myself doing the left-turn thingie with the neck of my bass, almost like I'm throwing it, on the big crashes and booms. Act like you're in contact with the other members of the band, as well.

And some songs are about moving. If your performance can't move you, why would you expect anyone else to want to move to it? Again, it's a "show", and you need to show the crowd that this is a dance tune that move at this speed. So for the belly-rubbers, I try to sway or pivot slowly on that slow-dance beat, almost like I'm dancing with my bass like I would with my wife. On the faster ones, I'm putting some rocking into it, either on every beat or every other one.

On those songs, I try to make the message "If this old white fart can move to this, then YOU don't have any excuse". And it seems to work--people start dancing when I show them the way.
 
#26
vagus said:
Seeing yourself on video is a real eye opener.

I also found this guys video series on youtube and found it to be an excellent source for a how to on stage presence
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I think we all envision ourselves a certain way on stage.We think about ourselves and we see that in our heads.I recently saw a video clip of myself at a gig. WOW!!! My whole stage presence was awful. I looked stiff and weird.
 
#31
As earlier posted:
"Or like Gene Simmons said "if you hit a wrong note look the audience in the eye and make em think it was planned"

I agree - you need to f**kup with authority!

Seriously, video taping is the only way to learn. Bent knees work a lot. And smile!
 
#35
DeluxeRed said:
You have to have the material down cold. You can't look like you're struggling with it. Playing with confidence is a big chunk of "presence". The rest really depends on the song itself, doesn't it? It's all about expressing the music. Jumping around during a sad song doesn't make much sense, and looking all serious during some fun dance tune doesn't, either. A lot of classic rock is about "swagger" (which comes from confidence, so back to paragraph 1). I look at it as "a show". What are you "showing"? With some songs, you are showing emotional content, which is facial expression and body language. With some songs (or some breaks in songs), you are showing technical prowness, so show the hands and stick the instrument right out there. React to big accents; I usually find myself doing the left-turn thingie with the neck of my bass, almost like I'm throwing it, on the big crashes and booms. Act like you're in contact with the other members of the band, as well.

And some songs are about moving. If your performance can't move you, why would you expect anyone else to want to move to it? Again, it's a "show", and you need to show the crowd that this is a dance tune that move at this speed. So for the belly-rubbers, I try to sway or pivot slowly on that slow-dance beat, almost like I'm dancing with my bass like I would with my wife. On the faster ones, I'm putting some rocking into it, either on every beat or every other one.

On those songs, I try to make the message "If this old white fart can move to this, then YOU don't have any excuse". And it seems to work--people start dancing when I show them the way.
Click to expand...

+99999 to all of the above.

Something I like to do is add a little flourish to some of my hand movements. When you pluck a single note, for example, take your hand away from the strings in a big sweeping motion. That & a little bent-knee, side-to-side shift are some of my favorites that are pretty easy.

Something to remember is that you're a little distance away from people, so any movements that you want them to notice need to be exaggerated. Same thing with dynamics (i.e. loud vs. soft). Think "theatrics". If you've ever seen a stage actor's gestures, voice inflections, etc., that's what you need to "act" like. There's a very good reason that they exaggerate their movements, expressions, vocalizations, etc.

Making contact with the audience is key, though. That means EYE contact most of all.

JM
 
#36
Although I agree with the whole eye-contact thing, I do something different. See, when I go onstage, I throw myself at the mercy of the music. I basically jump around and move as much as I can. I pound on my instrument like it just stole my TV. I try to always be looking at the far wall away from me, the ground, or my drummer. I often am as far away from the mic as I can be, and then frantically run back towards the mic to sing. When I actually make eye contact with people, they usually look away with a kind of nervous look on their faces. Basically, I end up intimidating the audience, even though I'm a really timid and soft person off stage, and most of my audience is people I know outside of shows. One guy who has known me for five years and has actually been in several bands with me recently said to me after seeing my band play "Wow. You're really a different person. Like, really scary different." Folks think I'm on drugs.

Actually, on second thought, don't do this. I've broken my hand and a P bass a few times as a result.
 

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