Learning to be a full time musician is just like everything else; firstly, you learn your craft and then you gather experience.
As performers, we are often viewed in adoration when we’re able to put on a good show, however the dark side of performance is when people interrupt your performance. It happens to everyone, especially when you’re just starting.
Check our our tips on how to thicken your skin while performing!
Self confidence
Music is subjective, which is something you just have to get used to. Not everyone will like your act, no matter how good you are. Even the most famous acts get told “they’re shit” by people who will never put themselves out there.
Self confidence is only built through experience – no one, not even those who appear most confident, are born that way. You only build this by working on your craft, surrounding yourself with positive people and loving what you do!
Don’t down-play yourself
Note from Editor: This is something I’m absolutely guilty of – self-deprecation. While you should present yourself as humble, you are an entertainer and people in the room will adapt to your energy.
Match your audience
In my experience – having fun is more important than giving a pitch perfect performance. If you appear nervous or anxious, people will be less interested.
Equally, if you’re over enthusiastic when the room is relaxed and chilled, you need to match that energy at first. Then, as people become more engaged with your songs, you can bring the energy up through higher tempo and other performance techniques.
Drunk people
Either in a pub or in street performances, you’ll come across people who have been drinking. They can be a great vibe, but they can also be annoying or even dangerous.
This can be a difficult situation to navigate – they may invade the stage, grab equipment, bump into things etc.
Here’s some of the tips to handle these situations you may find useful:
- Be Polite – never be rude, it can escalate the situation. Instead, politely ask them to get off the stage (this usually works)
- Be Funny – if you can, make them laugh to de-escalate. Being cheeky or flirty can help. (Girls, be careful and make sure you have back up from friends or staff)
3. Ask for a request – if you don’t know the exact song, get as close as you can and say “I’ll see what I can do”. Then ask them to leave the stage..!
4. Audience help – if you’re mid song and somebody interrupts the energy, the audience may get irked and often step in to help.
5. Get staff on side – always introduce yourself to staff, get them on side and they will keep an eye out to help you in tight situations.
6. Avoid stopping (where possible) – this appears unprofessional and ruins the energy of the room, giving the perpetrator exactly the attention they were after. By continuing your performance you have established they’re not bothering you and will hopefully drift off. You also get brownie points from the audience.
Note from Editor: One technique I’ve always found useful when someone is shouting/interrupting is smile and shout “security” and point at them. This draws attention to the person, who will often shy away as the audience laugh at them!
All of these methods are a refined skill, so speak to any other performers around and they’ll all have a story to tell and their own methods for handling it.
An incident can completely ruin a show, but when you learn to handle it properly you can brush them off like water off a ducks back!