October 11th, 2008 –

Dear Diary,

Today I played an open mic at a coffee shop and it was amazing.

XOXOXO Sean

Ok, seriously though, it was a great experience. As I posted a few days ago, there are benefits to playing live even if you’re an engineer or producer and aren’t usually in front of a microphone. Here are some things I have learned before, but were cemented today:

1. Being in front of an audience is nerve-wracking. Now imagine how an artist feels recording for you, an expert that they respect enough to record with. Be patient with them, they may be veterans of the stage but they are nervous in the studio if they don’t know you well, and sometimes even more nervous if they do.

2. Even if you want to be in control, you can’t always be. Having experience as an audio engineer, I sometimes cringe at how people set up live sound, but it’s their gig and it’s not my place to be making suggestions. It’s nice to let other people worry about set up sometimes.

3. You may start to resent music when it becomes your job. Take time out and rediscover why you love it so much.

4. Being in the company of talented, artistic people is inspiring. I don’t feel like I make enough effort to meet such people.

5. These are the people who will become your clients and maybe even your friends.

6. Improving yourself as an artist, improves your overall skill.

7. It feels great when you can experience, first-hand, people enjoying your music.

Are there any lessons you’ve learned from playing live?

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 11th, 2008 at 3:13 am.
Categories: Engineering, Featured Articles, Producing, Software Review.

4 Comments, Comment or Ping

  1. smeeta

    8. if you mess up, just smile and keep going. :) people will be forgiving.

    Oct 11th, 2008

  2. smeeta

    most importantly, ENJOY YOURSELF!

    Oct 11th, 2008

  3. 3NOS

    Tune your guitar BEFORE starting a song.
    And if you have a mic, step away from the speakers :)

    Oct 12th, 2008

  4. Sean

    @3NOS: That’s why I played my weird guitar tuning song first. You should have been there when the older gentleman played 4 songs of which he messed up the tuning over half way through on 3 of them and then started over from the beginning each time. His set was almost half an hour long. Also, to avoid feedback, the speakers should have been IN FRONT of the microphone or at least to the sides of it.

    Oct 13th, 2008

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