Do you know how to sing on stage?

How to sing on stage..... It’s a question that a lot of new singers ask. There’s a lot more to it than you may think so read on while I give you the “what to do” and “what not to do” aspects of singing on stage, and how it differs from singing in your bedroom or rehearsal space, or even how to think about singing on stage if you’re doing it for the first time or are early in your performance career. 

The funny thing about performing and being on stage is that it’s just plain different from singing. I mean, by now you’ve rehearsed and crafted your art to the point where you feel comfortable enough to get up in front of an audience, but you really do need to know how to sing on stage to be able to pull it off. I’ve no doubt that by now you sound fabulous in your rehearsal situation, whatever that may be. But, now it’s time to take the next step and do it on stage and that’s not only different than rehearsing, but the conditions of your environment it can change throughout the course of an evening as well.

First of all let me say that I’m writing this from the perspective of a club singer. I play clubs must weekends and am pretty well versed in what I like and don’t like to do on stage and I know how to sing on stage for the environment that I’m in regularly. You’ll have to find what works for you eventually but I do think of this info as a good starting point.

How to sing on stage – tip 1

Well it may be obvious or it may not be... You’re in a different room now. It’s not the same old rehearsal space that you’ve been using for the last six months and frankly it’s going to have different characteristics that the room you’re used to. You may find that your gear will be arrange differently onstage than in the rehearsal room. This of course is going to cause issues with the drummer being able to hear the guitars, or whatever. To that end I’ve always advocated rehearsing in the same configuration as your stage configuration whenever you can.

So you’ll sound check (probably.... errr, hopefully) to help the sound guy find the right levels for all of the instruments on the stage. This gives you an opportunity to say that you need more guitar or keyboard etc if you’re having a difficult time hearing it. Provided those guys don’t play their instruments too loudly to begin with, you should by now have your stage sound dialed in.

It’s my experience that most club type concerts start out with less people at the beginning of the evening and end up with more people at the end of the night. It’s almost always been this way for me. Why this is important is because people are “soft”.  Because they’re soft and not hard (like a table) they have the effect of soaking up the sound in a room as more and more people come. You will seldom notice this from the audience point of view (the sound guy is always tweaking it) but it can wreak total havoc on your stage sound. The next thing you know, you can’t hear the guitars or your own voice in the monitor. Be sure to ask for more. You need to be able to hear properly or you really do risk hurting yourself. It may not be much of an issue if you’re only doing a few songs, but if you’re doing a whole night’s worth of songs, it matters.

How to sing on stage – tip 2

Relax. I mean your singing voice, not your nerves. When sound checking it’s not uncommon for singers to give it their all because they really like what they’re hearing and are into it. I don’t blame them for that and it’s certainly happened to me as well. I love to hear the power of the voice through a huge PA system. However I know better now. Singing as relaxed as you can and using your head voice when appropriate is going to help you out big time. You’ll have much more longevity and should have no throat pain. At sound check you can get all those levels figured out, that way the sound guy will have room to bring you up later if you need to be, or you have a little room to sing louder if you need to. Remember to relax though whenever you can. It’s much harder to hear on stage than in most rehearsal rooms and if you put yourself in a position of not being able to hear and having to compensate by singing more loudly you’re on your way to disaster. All you need now is a few tunes where it’s difficult to find a “breathing “spot and you’ll be well on your way to losing your voice. Then your performance will be unforgettable for other reasons! It’s exactly how you strain your voice.

How to sing on stage – tip 3

As a singer you’re going to need monitors. This of course helps you to hear your own voice while you sing. Hopefully the venue you’re playing at will provide this stuff for you but you should have them so be sure you know what you’re walking into. If you have to supply your own sound, be sure a monitor system is part of the mix. As stated above, being able to hear yourself is paramount. It may be that your voice in the monitor system is so loud that it sounds like you too loud. Just relax and trust your sound guy. He knows that the volume there is not the volume out front and you will be more correctly in the mix out there where the audience sees and hears you. Your job as a singer is to make it sound as good as possible in the monitors, despite how loud they are. I always recommend running the monitors dry (no effects) so you can hear just your voice. If you can make your dry voice sound good, you can bet the sound guy is going to make it sound absolutely killer out front for the audience to hear.

I always recommend in ear monitor systems. These things have saved my throat more than once for sure because I can hear myself. Not only that, but I sing better as a result as well. You will too. Now they can be kind of pricey if you’re looking at some professional grade gear but you can get an entry level Nady In ear monitor system for about $160. That’s super cheap. Now it’s a Nady system so they’re not perfect. They can be a little noisy with static, and the ear phones are uncomfortable, but you can hear yourself and that’s the important thing. I’ve read tons of reviews on these things, some favourable, some not, but I’ve decided for myself that they’re worth every penny. So worth it in fact, that I’ve purchased three systems. One broke down after a couple of years but the other two are running strong. You can check out Nady reviews here. And I don’t recommend doing the mod they speak of. It makes limited difference and may be in part responsible for my blown up unit.

Shure is a reputable company that makes an entry level in ear monitor system called the PSM200. I bought one of these as well and it’s what I use all the time on stage. They’re a little more money, I think around $600 or even more but if you’re serious about your singing then they’re an essential tool. The difference between the quality of sound in the two systems is marked. Shure is a leader in audio products though and always have been so you can bet that they’re as good as everybody says. You can check out shure reviews here.... 

The bottom line is this – You have to be able to hear yourself when you sing. If you can’t you’ll be pushing too hard to try and hear  and if you’re not breathing properly it’s not a question of “if” you will lose your voice, but “when” you will lose your voice. There’s nothing that sucks more than losing your voice in front of 200 or 300 people. I’ve had it happen and I know. Make sure you can hear. In ear monitors are the best way to guarantee that.
 

How to sing on stage – tip 4

When you’re onstage you have to “own” your performance. That is to say, you have to get up there and give it everything you have, doing the best job possible. If you have a case of the jitters or are nervous, that is going to be conveyed load and clear to your audience, and they will respond in kind. Nervousness can cause you to perform weakly, maybe you might sing not loudly enough, maybe you’re voice is going to crack causing you to be embarrassed, which in turn may cause you to become more nervous, whatever the case is you have to be strong when you’re up there.

Music and performing music is all about the exchange of energy from the performer to the audience, and from the audience to the performer. Give them good energy, and they will give you good energy back. Give them weak energy and you will receive the same from them. So it’s up to you to do what you need to in order to make sure you can deliver a solid performance. If you’re nervous, get over it. You simply have to. Remember that you’ve practiced long and hard and are in the best shape ever to give the best performance you can.

I don’t generally get nervous anymore but I have a pretty good idea of what I’m capable of and have become pretty good at just closing my eyes and singing the best I can whenever I feel a downward turn in the energy of a room. That downward turn can come from anything, a mistake by the band, an unresponsive audience, really anything. When it occurs I know that it’s up to me to turn it around. When you try to sing your absolute best you end up not only singing better, but you deliver your song(s) with a greater sincerity, which I’ve always believed the audience can sense, and they respond in kind. So be confident. It’s OK to be nervous, but be confident. Don’t let your nerves allow you to sing weakly  or you risk running into trouble. Remember, people love to listen to somebody that can sing so just buck up and do it. 

How to sing on stage – tip 5

Have you ever been to see a band at a club and they are absolutely great, but when they’re done playing a song they’re up there talking to each other, trying to figure out what to play next or whatever? If you do find yourself on stage, don’t do that. That type of behaviour onstage is going to make you lose your audience faster than you can imagine and when that happens it can be tough to win them back. It’s all part of the energy exchange I talked about above. When you play, the audience is engaged with the band. When you stop playing, you need to keep the audience engaged. You do that by talking to them and in some cases, with them. Interact and try to make them laugh with you or connect with you in some other way. That’s what will keep them coming back.

In conclusion...

It’s kind of funny in a way but how to sing on stage is not so much an issue of the actual singing process as it is about performing, and they’re two completely different things. Singing? You can do that. You’ve been practicing and you know what you need to do by now to pull it off. At this stage of the game for you it’s all about the performance of your singing. You need to own it, sing it deliberately with energy and sincerity, and not have a whole bunch of dead air in between songs when you’re on stage. You need to be confident and exude that confidence, even show off a bit (audiences love to watch you show off, but don’t do it too much or they’ll just think you’re cocky). Make eye contact with the occasional audience member and acknowledge them in some small way. Connect with them. 

You need to gather some experience around room sounds so that you know what to expect when you walk into a club or some other  venue. There all different, but at least you will now have an awareness and you may e able to ask the sound guy “how does the sound change in here over the course of an evening?” So be sure you know that you need to be able to hear ad establish that level based on a nice relaxed singing voice that isn’t screaming at the top it’s lungs. Utilize your head voice when you need to to help achieve the higher register stuff and you’ll not only have good power, but you’ll be saving your throat in the process. 

More than anything, have fun. The audience will pick up on it so it pays to be liking what you’re doing.

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