How to play live

ONCE YOU’VE SECURED A GIG, YOU NEED TO MAKE IT WORK FOR YOUR BAND. KNOWING WHAT WILL BE THERE ON THE NIGHT, HOW LONG YOU HAVE FOR A SOUND CHECK AND WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A SPEAKER BLOWS UP IS PRETTY USEFUL INFO.

THE VENUE

Most decent venues will have a reasonable stash of gear for you to use: microphones and stands, a sound desk and so on. Still, always make sure you’ve got spare leads, batteries, guitar strings (lots of them), drumsticks... Anything that’s likely to fall apart, snap or be enthusiastically thrown into the crowd.

MAKING FRIENDS

The sound engineer will be your best mate on the night, so whatever you do, don’t annoy them. They’ll help you with your sound check and make sure you’re sounding great, so take advantage of their expertise. Gigs are your best means of promotion and you really don’t want to sound average because you were late to sound check.

Help the engineer out with a spec sheet: just a list of what equipment you need and how much of it. And don’t be afraid to ask for what you want, provided you know what it means. Your engineer can’t make your guitar sound like a flute, but they can tweak almost everything else.

A GLOSSARY FOR SOUND ENGINEERING

No matter what stage you’re on, the gear that will effect your sound is going to be fairly similar. The more you know about it, the easier it will be to set up and perform with a strong, consistent sound.

A few variables though: acoustics will be different everywhere you go, as will the quality of the PA system. And, once the room’s packed with people, the sound will be different to that of an empty room.

10-16 Channel Mixing Desk

: Also known as the board with all the knobs on it. A mixing desk lets you adjust the levels of each instrument and microphone, add effects and manage frequencies. Don’t freak out. The sound engineer will know how it works.

10-16 Channel Multicore

: That box on the wall where all the mic leads go, which sends feeds back to the mixing desk.

Front of House PA

: The technical name for the sound system at the venue. It will normally include separate sets of speakers for the higher and lower frequencies.

Monitors Speakers

: When you’re performing, monitor speakers help you hear what you’re playing by pumping music back to the stage. Singers usually need them the most, as vocals are hardest to hear on stage.

Direct Injection Boxes

: These little guys connect the standard jack (or guitar) leads to XLR leads. You’ll need them for keyboards and acoustic guitars that only have jack outputs and it’s worth having a spare around.

Microphones

: Even for the most basic setup, you’re likely to need a few different types of mic. Two of the most common include:

a) Vocal mics, so your singer isn’t drowned out by the drums. You can use these mics for brass and wind instruments too, as well as drums and percussion . They’re really versatile, so don’t worry if your sax, acoustic guitar or bongo is mic’d up in the same way as your singer.

b) Drum mics fit onto the rims of the drums, saving space and covering the range of frequencies given out by each piece of the kit. Small venues will need to mic-up your kit so they cut through the guitars and vocals.

Reverb and Delay

: Reverb and delay add an echo to your music and help blend sounds together. Like any effect, though, use it sparingly or you’ll sound like you’re performing in a cave.

XLR Leads

: XRL leads link mics to the PA system. If you tend to swing your mic around, probably best to get your own: they’re fragile and it’s better to bust your own stuff than the sound engineers.

THE WIDE OPEN ROAD

So now that you know how to take on a venue, how about a tour? Aside from being a logistical nightmare, getting your band on the road adds volumes to your musical experience, puts your band in touch with new audiences and helps you understand more about booking venues.

If you’ve got the cash, use a booking agent to find your venues and set up gigs. Otherwise, do it yourself: write a great email and find venues that suit your style of music. Oh, and buy a really good map - getting lost and missing a gig won’t improve the experience.

Finally, keep in mind that you’re probably not going to make much money. In fact, you’ll probably lose some, but the experience, as they say, will be priceless...

NOT COOL. DEFINITELY CHARACTER BUILDING

Ah, open mic nights... Pretty unloved on the whole, but before you write them off, think about what they have to offer to your Act.

Firstly, invaluably, a chance to practice in front of a live audience who don’t know you and, if it goes badly, will never see you again.

Secondly, the best way to get over performance anxiety is to perform. Get out there. You have nothing to lose.

Without fail, an open mic night will attract the most diverse group of musicians you’ll ever play with: soloists definitely, as well as bands testing new material and old blues singers who look too tired to perform but have the best voice you’ve ever heard.

Lastly, if you’re on your game, you’ll impress a whole new audience. Take your business cards and badges and make the best impression you can.

Playing live

howtoplaylive

LEADER BOARD

This year MySchoolAct powered by Motorola gives your act the opportunity to win a chance to play at the Big Day Out 2012 in your nearest major city. Make sure you rally your friends & family to keep the votes coming to lock in your place on the Big Day Out 2012 line up!