Ya know, I've been thinking about this a bit more, & I've come to the conclusion that the best way to develop your stage presense is to get on stage as much as possible, & just do it, to quote the sneakers commercials. I've had good nights & bad (mostly good, or I'd have quit a long time ago!), but the reason I've had to do it since the beginning was the need to express myself. No matter whose song I'm singing, I'm expressing it in my own way, for better or worse. It's a certain need to be heard, I guess, that front ppl & writers & artists of every medium all share. Figure out what you want to say, for each song you do, & say it. Say it with your entire being, from your nose to your toes. That total involvement in the music will be your stage presense, & the more involved you are, the better you'll come across.
Those bands that you see & think are sucky - how involved are they with the music? Are they more involved with their own image? Are they too easily embarassed to put it all out there? Whatever their problems are, they are detracting from the audience's perception of their message, if they aren't getting it across to them.
The music doesn't speak for itself - it needs a person or ppl with feelings, to get the musical message out there.
Check out several different recordings of any given piece of music - classical is great for this. There are some conductors who you will prefer, even though they are all guiding their orchestras to play the very same notes. What makes you prefer one over the others? The way the conductor conveys his emotional attachment to the music!
In rock forms, there are no conductors or directors, so the band itself, & especially the front man/woman, are the ones who must express the underlying feelings in any given song. When they fail, it's dull & drab, & it doesn't matter how great the musicians are, they still failed. When they succeed, the audience has a more complete musical experience.
So make your own personality shine through in everything you do. Make every song your own, as if the words & underlying meanings sprouted from your own mind, your own experiences. That will make you one of the best, as long as your chops are up to the proper standards.
Those bands that you see & think are sucky - how involved are they with the music? Are they more involved with their own image? Are they too easily embarassed to put it all out there? Whatever their problems are, they are detracting from the audience's perception of their message, if they aren't getting it across to them.
The music doesn't speak for itself - it needs a person or ppl with feelings, to get the musical message out there.
Check out several different recordings of any given piece of music - classical is great for this. There are some conductors who you will prefer, even though they are all guiding their orchestras to play the very same notes. What makes you prefer one over the others? The way the conductor conveys his emotional attachment to the music!
In rock forms, there are no conductors or directors, so the band itself, & especially the front man/woman, are the ones who must express the underlying feelings in any given song. When they fail, it's dull & drab, & it doesn't matter how great the musicians are, they still failed. When they succeed, the audience has a more complete musical experience.
So make your own personality shine through in everything you do. Make every song your own, as if the words & underlying meanings sprouted from your own mind, your own experiences. That will make you one of the best, as long as your chops are up to the proper standards.
