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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Pre-performance rituals
Pre-performance rituals
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Fil
448 posts
Oct 05, 2019
7:56 AM
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I thought this was interesting. I don't perform in front of people often, but I'll set up, help whoever needs it, then find a place off to the side and just quietly play one particular slow solo I know real well...not something on our playlist. It lasts maybe a couple of minutes.
https://bulletproofmusician.com/quirky-pre-performance-rituals-do-they-really-work/
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Phil Pennington
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SuperBee
6195 posts
Oct 05, 2019
9:24 AM
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Hmm, do you think a hip flask counts as a ritual?
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kudzurunner
6587 posts
Oct 05, 2019
9:34 AM
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Warm up for at least 5 and preferably 10 minutes before you hit the stage. That's a rule of mine. If you're gigging every night, you may not need to do this, but it's still advisable. When I forget to do it, I always notice on the first several songs.
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Beyond the Crossroads: The Devil and the Blues Tradition
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nacoran
10174 posts
Oct 05, 2019
12:32 PM
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Go over the lyrics and don't let anyone talk to you about anything that will knock them out of your memory. I can sing. I can play harmonica. When I have to do them in the same song I have the hardest time remembering lyrics.
Blow all the harps I'm using and make sure all the reeds are responding. Layout my harps in the order I need them to the extent I can (if I'm going to need to use the same harp over I may leave a space for it to put it in after the first time I use it, or may arrange the playlist so I can use it a couple times in a row.) Make sure I have the set list and it has the keys for all the songs, spend a little time out in the room... that's an anxiety thing. I do it whether I'm performing or not. I like to spend a bit of time in the room before it's crowded to get to know the place. Check in with the sound guy, even if it's just an open mic, make sure we are on the same page. I've got a couple songs that start on weird notes, so I make sure I know what hole it is... once I'm playing a riff I can get all the jumps by heart, but if I haven't played a song a lot and it starts somewhere weird I may write down the starting hole, particularly if I'm singing and the harp comes in later... if I start with the harp I usually just step back from the mic and find the first note first, and then come up to the mic. I can do that in a song I'm not singing too, but if I'm singing and going straight into the harp knowing where I'm starting is crucial.
Casual hi's to people I know, smiles to the audience, inhale, exhale, get a laugh, set my lungs to the appropriate fill level and start playing.
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Nate
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SuperBee
6196 posts
Oct 05, 2019
3:26 PM
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I reckon you folks have probably not read the article to which Fil has posted the URL.
Those very practical routines and preparations are sensible and no doubt they help achieve a more calm state of mind than would otherwise be present, but the article discusses ‘rituals’, not really practical things. The label appears to matter also.
The experiments described in the article are somewhat different to the typical performance situation encountered by harp players though. I expect the things discussed in the ‘stage fright’ thread a while back are probably working for people who know what they are planning to do. If you’re able to prepare and be across the material and warmed up and even have a sip or 3, that is probably going to be at least as effective as throwing a pinch of salt over your shoulder and spinning around 3 times before spitting on a photo of your fear.
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The Iceman
3928 posts
Oct 05, 2019
3:56 PM
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I developed an unusual approach over the years...I eliminated "practice" and every time I picked up and played the harmonica, it was "performance" - even when running an idea over and over....with the respect given to a performance - no throw away time.
Eventually, playing in my study, playing for one or two people or playing on a stage with band on a medium outdoor venue became the same thing. I eliminated the division between "practice" and "performance" and started to live "performance". So, now I don't need any pre-performance rituals.
I'm locked and loaded...probably not for everyone, but at least for you serious players, it's something to ponder
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The Iceman
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Fil
449 posts
Oct 05, 2019
6:50 PM
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Well, for sure, be prepared, warm up, review the material, check the harps, (in my case) pour a finger of bourbon in a plastic cup, check in with family and friends out there. These probably go without saying. And for some, maybe it all adds up to a ritual. Then, if it works for you, add in bending a nail or tossing that salt. A little superstition never hurt anybody. In my case it’s that solo. Like with many things, whatever floats your boat.
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Phil Pennington
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KingoBad
1740 posts
Oct 05, 2019
8:04 PM
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I sing in the truck on the way to the gig to get my vocal chords warm and clear.
Get my spot set up: mic and stand, cup holder, harp tray. Guitar on stand, check 9v in guitar, curse and put in a new one because I left the tuner/bypass on fron last gig. Wonder why I don't own stock in Duracell.
Help set up the rest of the pa, unless we're plugging and playing at a bigger venue.
Check the setlist, wonder what extra harps I need to get out because other guitarist singer in group capos with reckless abandon.
Get a beverage that won't wreck my harps, Then play all kinds of songs we never play during sound check. We like to throw a fun mix at each other - very entertaining for everyone.
Then it's either mixing with the crowd or go time.
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Danny
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snowman
498 posts
Oct 06, 2019
7:27 PM
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Since Im getting older 67---I do my old martial art deal---draw in as much air as I can and then force more in---same with exhale all air out and push to get more out---5-6 times
I sing as well and since im a wimp now and no Im no longer running , I run out a gas-- I have to be aware of, where and how deep I inhale and exhale
1] stretch my lungs
2] do little patterns I've developed ascending and descending, they start at low end and go to hole 9 then high end to low end-
also bass boogie lines with backbeat
3] THINK OF SOMEONE i DON'T KNOW, WHOS IN A HOSPITAL-WISHING THEY COULD DO WHAT iM ABOUT TO DO---MAKE SURE TO ENJOY IT FOR THEM
4] But when I do my best theres a prayer in there somewhere, to do my best and to thank god for the opportunity
may sound like BS but thats what I do
Oh wait; My initails are BS Bob Snow Hmmmm
i use to try to not fail-not good
Now I try to have fun and make sure the people listening do as well
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nowmon
218 posts
Oct 07, 2019
11:08 AM
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PLaying 5 nights a week , in the 70`s , the Bass man and me would go out and smoke a joint, than go back in chuckling, and the dude always said, Blow your face out.....A ritual of sorts
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kudzurunner
6588 posts
Oct 07, 2019
11:52 AM
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@Iceman: Mr. Satan used to say, "I don't practice, I exercise." Like you, he felt that the word "practice" connoted something negative. I understand and pretty much agree. I actually distinguish between two very different kinds of not-quite-performance. One, my version of Mr. S's exercising, is just mindless warmups that get my embouchure up to speed and sync my reflexes. The other is actual music making, which is to say thinking in music and playing what I'm thinking. It could be simple stuff, and usually begins as simple stuff, like playing a three or four note riff from the blues scale and then versioning it.
For both sorts of activities, it's absolutely crucial, for me, that I'm tapping my foot and keeping the beat.
@Snowman: I completely agree with #3 and 4 on your list. Gratitude opens the heart and dissolves fear. Always a good thing.
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Beyond the Crossroads: The Devil and the Blues Tradition
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Honkin On Bobo
1520 posts
Oct 11, 2019
11:26 AM
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I swig down a triple shot of Jack Daniels and perform a Haka, preferably right on the drum riser. Next, I offer a small sacrifice (the elements of which shall remain confidential) to my personal Mt. Rushmore of harp players: Paul Butterfield, Little Walter and Magic Dick. I then stand on the base drum and amplified with mucho distortion and way too much breath force, play my version of Hendrix's version of the star spangled banner from woodstock. Finally, I smoke a massive joint and pass out a cigar to each and everyone in the crowd. Seems to work.
But that's just me.
Last Edited by Honkin On Bobo on Oct 11, 2019 11:58 AM
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BnT
253 posts
Oct 11, 2019
11:48 AM
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• Read through a couple of newer, less ingrained songs before leaving for the gig
• Do one or two songs (one time) in the car on the way to the gig
• Listen to jazz, unrelated to what I'll be playing, for the remainder of the drive to shift (mental) gears. It sets me up to listen more carefully to other players and to think differently about what I might play.
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BnT
www.BluesWithAFeelin.com
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