"My Word" back to the acoustic for this one :-)

[tom r]

Hi guys
i'm hoping to get out next year and do some live stuff at open mic nights. I've not played live for over 2 years due to stage fright. Anyway i'm gonna beat the old nerves and was wondering if this might work live?
Its one guitar track (open G tuning) and two vocal tracks done on the mbr.
Feedback would be good (please feel free to offer advice)

Cheers and merry xmas

Tom

[tom r]

By the way this is a song for my two boys :-) soppy i know, but hey it is xmas

T

[Wiley]

You have some really great acoustic playing going on here!!   This has a far off feeling of drifting in space to me!!  Very interesting and kept my attention!!  Nice Job!!
PJ

[Geir]

Love it Tom !!

very atmosheric song you've got here.

great performance !

would love to hear you do this live. If you do, bring your mbr and record it will you?

[chip withrow]

Very pretty, heartfelt, well-played and well-sung. Your vocal is full of emotion.
Good for you getting out to the open mics - nothing beats stage fright like just getting up there and doing it. Most open mic audiences are understanding.
One suggestion might be to get to the vocal sooner when you perform. The "ahhs" you sing are very effective - maybe do that at the beginning to lead into the verses.
Writing for your kids is such a cool thing - I do it all the time!

[AndyR]

The acoustic is stunning - really accurate and a lovely hypnotic vibe.

Yes, it will work live - but don't start a set with it if you're struggling with stagefright at the moment, you'll be far too exposed/nervous to be able to do the vocal justice. When you're warmed-up and feeling "at-home" I think you could do a jaw-dropping performance of this.

By the way, would I be right in thinking that the guitar was recorded on its own, and then the vocals separately? All so that you could mix it easier/better? And that you had some of the feelings of stagefright when doing the vocals? I'm suspecting that you had "uh-oh try to keep in time", "try to keep in tune", "try not to make noise on the track", and a whole lot of other stuff going on in your head... (all this is based on the feelings I get myself when I'm recording ).

If that's the case, I'd suggest that you record another one for your ears only. This time play and sing at the same time as if you were singing it to the boys, and don't worry about the mixing. I think you'll find you'll get a better vocal and it will make you feel more confident about taking it out live.

And on the stagefright - I know how you feel . It will never go away, but you can use it to your advantage.

I used to use it to get sort of "angry". Not in a nasty way, but in a whining "why's everyone picking on poor me?.. what right have you lot to judge/laugh at me?... I'll show you..." kind of way.

For some reason, when I walked on stage, this gave me a "I can do this and you can't, you're all here to see me, after all..." attitude. As long as I didn't fluff the first 15 seconds or so, all nervousness dropped off really quickly and I was able to own the place and perform even better than I could without an audience.

Also, I think you could benefit from doing some breathing exercises. You've got the voice, but I don't think you're supporting it enough with air - it sounds like you're taking very shallow breaths before singing each line. Fill the old lungs with a good column of air. Someone taught me to imagine I'm filling a hot-water bottle from the bottom, to make sure I use all of my lungs. Most of the time we take shallow breaths, just filling the top of the bottle, leaving the rest squashed and empty...

Two reasons for training yourself to maintain a good column of air: 1) More breathe means more control and power in your voice. You can sing softer, louder, and longer more easily. You can sing with a relaxed and open throat and reach notes you didn't think existed... 2) It makes you feel a lot more confident and powerful yourself...


Hope you didn't mind me dumping all that here, and that it made sense - I felt that I had something to offer you that other people had given me!


Lovely recording, listened to it three times now - I'm sure you could do a stunning version of it live

[tom r]

Hi Andy yep the guitar was recorded separately mainly because I didn't have a vocal melody worked out due to the slightly different sounding chords. Thanks for the advice by the way, I will certainly work on the breathing exercises, they sounds like a good idea. I found that the last time I played live I found myself gradually playing faster and faster!
I think I just need to get out and have a go. I've heard of a local night where they are particularly kind bunch, rather like this forum!!

Cheers

T

[Ferryman_1957]

Great track, the chord sequences and finger picking really remind me of Nick Drake. Lovely sensitive arrangement and performance.

Live - yes, it will work but as Andy says, don't make it your first track. It's not an easy one to do and you need the audience to be in a "listening" mood. I'd suggest you get the audience on your side a bit first with something a bit easier and perhaps more uptempo then put this in the middle of your set.

Stagefright? I have to give presentations to large audiences for a living and have had the benefit of some excellent presentation and performance coaching. Here's what you need to remember. You may not believe it, but people in an audience want you to succeed and they want you to be "in control". Unless this is a stand up comedy gig, in which heckling and audience participation is expected, any audience will be prepared to sit and see what you can do. They are not there to make you fail but as soon as you start showing signs of nerves or uncertainty, it will make them edgy and embarrassed, and you will lose them. So be prepared - don't just practice your songs but practice what you are going to do and say between songs, and get to know the area where you will be performing so that nothing will phase you when you go on. If you are properly prepared, you will be more confident in yourself and that will get the audience comfortable with you. The first few minutes onstage are key - get the audience relaxed and in your side. Don't start stumbling around and apologising, that will lose them straight away.

Best of luck and have fun!

Cheers,

Nigel

[AndyR]

A BIG +1 to what Ferryman says about stagefright (but I only learnt it while I was being a software trainer, where I was far more scared!). The stage and the audience are yours as of right when you walk on, the stage knows it and the audience knows it. Act like they're yours and you can get away with almost anything .

And a tip for keeping them relaxed, buy a round first... NO! ...If you fluff a note or something, hide that "nerves and uncertainty" - most of the time the audience won't notice it anyway, unless you start looking scared as well... When I made a mistake I used to pick on someone in the audience and smile at them or roll my eyes in an "oh well, can't win em all" fashion... They're willing you to win anyway, if you don't seem to let the accidents affect you then they'll happily forget them as the song rolls along.

[tom r]

Thanks guys this is great advice. You are so right I love going to see bands and want them to perform well. You know what I've never thought of it like that Nigel!
I,m alost looking forward to performing :-)
Nick Drake! I wish :-)

Tom