Liz’s Guide to a Successful Performance: Part IV
Time for the last two rules of
Liz’s Guide to a Successful Performance
These final two points are, in my opinion, the most critical in creating a performance worthy of being called a success. All the other guidelines hinge upon getting these two right.
Making detailed observations about the lighting is valuable, as is your choice of music, the audience, making sure you actually have skills to show off. But these things, while relevant, are useless without a plan. To bring value to your analysis,
#0 Know your goal.
As I stated at the beginning of this series, your definition of a “successful” performance may vary depending upon many things. Have an idea of what “success” means to you for this show, or you won’t have a target to shoot for.
Not every performance will fit your concept of the “Ideal Show”. The mythical Ideal performance, with perfect setup, choice audience, exquisite timing, etc., is pretty much impossible to achieve. Save it for your daydreams of stardom. A more relevant concept for the everyday performer is the much more manageable, adaptable, and actually possible, “Successful”. Success can mean whatever you want it to mean for this show. It can be, “I have fun playing my instrument.” Maybe you define success as, “Our speakers won’t start smoking this time.” You might make flawless musical execution your aim. Perhaps you decide that selling three demo albums will be your bullseye. It might be that getting people to dance, or entertaining a crowd for an hour is your goal. Or maybe you aim low, and success is only that nothing goes terribly, horribly wrong. In any case, the very first thing to do, (hence this being rule 0) is to take a moment to define “success”.
Try not to pull some random metric for success out of nowhere. If no one in your band cares about exactly how many branded key chains you sold, then don’t make that your only goal. Choose something relevant and meaningful to you. Quantifiable goals that can be expressed in numbers are excellent for objectively analyzing your performance; either you made at least fifty dollars, had twenty listeners, made zero mistakes, or you did not and missed it by a definite amount. Intangible goals are harder to measure (“Were my listeners happy, or really happy?”) but can sometimes end up meaning more than the kind of things that are easily reduced to numbers.
Defining and evaluating “success” is not a one-time event. You will find that you need to modify the definition as you go along and change your goals. Take note: you will need to adjust this as you go along, for your own sanity. Not meeting your pre-determined, potentially arbitrary goals does not necessarily mean your show was an utter flop. This does not mean abandoning your genuine goals, but re-evaluating them as needed. For example, you might not have drawn the fifty people you hoped for, but the fifteen you had were wildly enthusiastic. You could fall short of your album sales quota, but your sellout crowd is still an achievement. All your equipment can blow up in a fiery conflagration of mythic proportions, but because the pyrotechnics so impress that one influential audience member, he gives you a record deal. Maybe everything you try goes wrong during the show, but you salvage the night later by having beers with a fellow performer and end up making a friend — and showbiz connection — for life.
Regardless of whether you end up changing your goals or your methods for achieving them, keep in mind what “success” means to you. Don’t go in blind: define success.
#6 Adjust accordingly.
So you have come up with your own definition of a successful performance, and you have the skills to do it. You know what kind of audience you’ll have, what your venue is like. You know your instrument inside and out, as well as your own self. You compare what you want with what you keep getting and…they are very different. You have two choices:1) Change something so you can reach your goal, or 2) Do nothing and tolerate what you get.
Maybe you adjust the stage setup, or switch up the setlist. Choose a different busking location, or practice a little more. If you want money from busking, play the songs that elicit the most tips. Modify as you go, or evaluate after each performance so you better know for the next time. Maybe changing things to meet your current goal is not possible for whatever reason, so you modify your goals instead. If you cannot or will not change your setup and still refuse to compromise your goals, then prepare to be disappointed.
Changing things to fit your idea of success is not always possible. Your stage size might be impossible to change without remodeling the club. Too little time to perform might mean cutting the perfect set list down too much for comfort. And, of course, you only get one shot at each live performance, so do-overs aren’t an option in that sense. If, however, you take the time to evaluate things before they might become a problem, you will have the chance to change them.
So what would you add the list of rules for a “Successful Performance”?
Inspiration article: Pearls of Wisdom? No. (Courtesy of The Busking Project)
Part I: Liz’s Guide to a Successful Performance: Part I
Part II: Liz’s Guide to a Successful Performance: Part II
Part III: Liz’s Guide to a Successful Performance: Part III
Music In Your Soul 