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Performing is one of those things which I grew into. It is one thing to be able to play a song well in front of a crowd, and it’s entirely another to be an entertainer. In a future post, I’ll go over a performance outline, but for now I’ll share with you performance tips from my soloist’s perspective.
Know Your Audience
Age group. Place. Mood. Expectations. Attention span. All of these things must be “felt”. I can’t say that I have a real scientific formula, but I’ve learned to pick up on who my audience is and how to perform to them. If I tell a joke that gets a big laugh 90% of the time and people don’t laugh, then maybe they’re in a more serious tone and want me to be the same way. The same goes for tune selection. Keep on an eye on reactions and applauses to your tune selections and figure out what it is that they like and play those tunes.
Play a Variety of Tunes
Sure, you’ll run into genre specific concerts, such as Christmas concerts, but I think it’s a good idea to play a variety of genres and moods when it is possible. This keeps things moving. Vary up speeds and volumes to add a lot of emotional impact and keep attention.
Don’t Drag
If you see a lot of yawns or feel anxiety in the crowd, then maybe it’s time to close things down or shake things up. If I’m losing the crowd mid-way thru a concert, I try to involve them. This almost guarantees to bring them back. Children love to be involved. Some are rather shy, but you can usually find one that would be thrilled to come on stage with you. Then, I let them hold the hammers and guide their hands to play a song such as Jesus Loves Me.
If no children are present, I (once again, entirely depending on the mood and setting) pick a “VIP” from the group (such as a pastor or event coordinator) and ask them to come on stage impromptu. I have them play something simple (such as a droning 4/4 5th to the metronome) from the front-side of the dulcimer while I grab my 2nd pair of hammers and play a song backwards. This is an easy way to play a duet that actually sounds good. And, the crowd loves it!
Keep the Songs Short
Depending on the setting, 2:30-3:00 minutes is as long as your songs should be. Keep the 4:30 stuff for the CDs. There are some venues where your piece could be much longer if your listeners are trained music appreciators, (such as a classical event), but that’s probably not what you’ll be doing on the hammer dulcimer.
Don’t Talk too Much
I can get in trouble here, and there are a lot of performers who do. You may have a unique presentation where people are just as interested in hearing you speak as they are your music, but I’d venture to say that most people want to hear your music. From my experience, in a 30 minute concert, you need to play at least 6-8 tunes. If you’re only playing 3-4 and the time runs out, you’ve said too much.