Playing At Live Concerts - Kiwi Hints

Don't you love the feeling when about 50 to 500 heads turn to you and the eyes just get glued to your shaking face and being? 
I do. That's one of my favorite things in playing music. Live concerts. Well, I am a bit of an attention-seeker on stage anyway, but the adrenaline injection is just earthshaking!

Depending on the venue, the amount of people in the audience can range from the said 50 to 500 people, sometimes even more. Of course, if you are playing in your school concert, there won't be hundreds of people. However, then again, this depends on the size of your school.


Enough of babbling! Getting to the point.

How to stay calm in a live concert?

I have a lot of experience on concerts, especially school concerts, in which I have had to play, often to my own chagrin, before I became a confident performer. Therefore, I can give you a list of things to do to help you calm down before and during the concert. 

BEFORE CONCERT

• The most important one: Learn your song. I can tell you that if you haven't sorted your song(s) out, you will become nervous. Anxiety and nervousness are the main causes for mistakes and errors.
• Play the song to a friend or a family member. This will help you get over the fear of performing in front of a crowd, no matter what size. (Obviously, Elton John-scale numbers are not included!)
• Breathing exercises, a classic! These will come handy during the concert.

DURING CONCERT

     

• Don't think about or look directly at the audience. They don't exist. It's only you and the instrument. Thinking about people will get you distracted and you will likely make mistakes. Play as if you were still in your home, concentrating on what the song sounds like when you succeeded in playing it perfectly.
• Breathe, play and enjoy! Don't think playing as a task. It must not be one! It's a pleasure, and you want to share the music with everyone. If some don't like the music, there are always people who do! Don't get put down by silly comments, laughter, or other attempts of humiliation.
  If bullies don't have enough courage to get on that stage in front of those people and play, they sure don't realize how moronic and low of IQ they make themselves look. This is a true form of self-humiliation perfected over ages!

You can do it!

What is The Easiest Instrument to Learn? - Kiwi Opinions

When taking a closer look at musical instruments, many come to the conclusion that piano would be the easiest instrument to learn. However, this is a common misconception. Learning to play piano is not any easier than learning to play guitar, and although this often depends on the person learning to play, the real difference comes in the achieved level of playing the instrument.

I will be using guitars as comparison because other string instruments, such as violins and cellos, are actually harder to learn, as well as woodwind instruments.

Guitar

Surely, many of you have sat around the campfire and someone has taken out a guitar and started to play. Generally, the music is great and everyone loves it, but the case is often that the "guitarist" only knows how to strum the guitar. Compare them to a flamenco guitarist, and you will see the difference. Anyone can learn to play guitar on a novice level with just a little effort and time. On the other end, learning to play guitar with the technique and expertise displayed by the Spanish "guitaristas" takes years to learn. Therefore, it depends on the level you want to achieve.

Piano 

When it comes to pianos, it may seem like the easy option. Of course, this is a natural point of view, as even little children learn to play piano. There are even some child prodigies that play music Mozart, Beethoven and Bach composed hundreds of years before. This acts as fuel to the fire of viewing piano as the "easy instrument". However, in reality, the amount of time all pianists spend on learning and mastering their skill is astonishing. This includes the child prodigies.

Having personal experience of both instruments, I can prove that correct. I started at 5 or 6 years of age, and I am still learning every day, despite having group classes, private tutors and years of practice. Some people find it exceptionally easy to learn to play any instrument, some specialize in one instrument. There are people who find it unbelievably hard to learn any instrument. Despite the difficulty of learning, anyone can learn to play an instrument.

Conclusion -

My conclusion is that both instruments, as well as any other instrument, require years of practice if you want to achieve an adequate level. There are exceptions, albeit very few. Every person is different, in terms of musicality and they need to find their own instrument, but piano and guitar are the cheapest and easiest to start with. 

An adequate guitar can cost anywhere between $100 to $300. Amateur to professional guitars are dearer, up from $300 to thousands of dollars.


One should consider starting with a musical keyboard as they are portable, as well as a lot cheaper than actual upright and grand pianos. The usual price range is between $120 to $400.

Until next...