I’ve become a big fan of Tom Metzger’s ‘Owning The Stage ‘ articles and have really begun a quest to study and improve this area of my singing and you should too. Technical proficiency really is an element that will only get you to a certain point. Until you can truly connect with the audience your performances will be lackluster at best.
The beauty of the internet is that you can find a myriad of examples to study. This is not A Cappella but is indeed a great performance as she has the audience wrapped around her every note. I love the confidence with which she commands the stage.
Here are 5 ways you can improve your singing and stage confidence.
1. Get your chops up to speed. You’ll notice the voice is not perfect, but technically she is very proficient. She has obviously worked at her craft and is at a point where it does not detract from the performance. Pitch is accurate, inflections do not detract from the sound and she knows how to use the power of her voice without oversinging. If you’re going to be a singer you need to be working at your craft – if you’re not willing to do that get into another performance art.
2. Lose the self-conciousness. If you’re worried about the way you look, feel, sound while you’re on the stage the audience will pick up on it and become nervious about your nerviousness. The time to fix that stuff is in the practice room weeks before. Let it all go before you hit the stage.
3. Develop a scene for the song. I’m not sure if she did it herself or had help developing it but you can hear her building the scene behind the song as it progresses. This is not an accident and must continually be a part of your practice and ownership of the song. It’s not words and notes you are communicating, it’s a story that you are asking the audience to walk through with you.
4. It’s all about the audience. Notice how her face engages the audience from the time she steps onto the stage and addresses the judges. It is truly all about them. Much like being a good conversationalist requires you to truly be interested in the other person and what they are saying – from the time you take the stage your face, body and countenance needs to be saying "Come along with me, there’s a story that I can’t wait to share with you".
5. Leave it all on the stage. The worst feeling (and we’ve all done it) is walking off the stage and thinking later that we had more to give and just didn’t do it. Develop a pre-show routine that gets you to the point where you can put it all out there, your best hit, give it all and walk away knowing that was the best you had. No regrets.
6. ? you tell me – what are your favorite confidence tips?