I was wondering about some things

Like
Is it better to sit down or stand up when you play an instrument ... or sing ?
Is it better to look at your right hand or left ... or neither, when playing guitar ?
Is it better to clap on the first or second beat ?
Is it better to look at the audience, your band mates or the floor when you're gigging ?
Is it better to read the lyrics or try to remember them when recording or gigging ?

OK OK, I know they're stupid questions but I thought someone would like to share their thoughts.... or tell me there's no right answer :)

Shammy :)

---

haha, actually good questions Shamika, sorta depends on what's going on.

i usually sit down when i sing and play guitar (now). a few times, depending on the song, it may prompt me to "get into it" and stand up to jam out.

looking at my hands and guitar positioning varies. sometimes i may play with the guitar closer to me, or away from me. i think where i'm going on the neck determines that. sometimes where i'm picking (higher up or lower) may determine that as well.

when i used to play live gigs, i always tried to be one who looked at the audience, but not always. i don't feel totally comfortable knowing exactly the positioning of frets, so it varied based on the part of the song. would look at band mates too, really depended on the song.

i like to memorize lyrics.

i'm not a clapper but a foot tapper :)

---

1. These days I sit most of the time.
2. Depends on the piece.
3. Depends on the piece.
4. I usually kept an eye on the fret board but enjoyed watching the dancers when I could.
5. I dont sing. Sometimes depended on part of a lyric as a queue during performance.

---

Thanks Rootshell and FrankieJ I had been watching Hartmut's youtubes and wondering if he was looking at a crib sheet, or playing by ear. He didn't smile and sometimes just looked into space and not at the complicated finger work.

I want to expand my 'wonderings' with a few more thoughts if I may

Do you sing with eyes open or closed ?
Do you keep your instrument in a case or on a stand ?
Do you perform better in a warm or cool room (or outside) ?
Do sycophantic compliments inspire you, embarrass you or irritate you ?
Do you have to tune guitars every time you use them what makes them go out of tune ?
Do you ever feel mad that mainstream artists are often not as good as you ?

---

Cool thread as always Shamika :W

Do you sing with eyes open or closed ? I sing with open eyes, but when I sing other people's eyes turn up in their sockets and they find all sorts of excuses to leave the room

Do you keep your instrument in a case or on a stand? When I am in a playing phase the Strat sits on a stand ready to go next to my beloved red sofa.

Do you perform better in a warm or cool room (or outside) ? I guess I prefer medium temperature, definitively don't want to sweat.

Do sycophantic compliments inspire you, embarrass you or irritate you ? I am acutely aware of what my level of playing is, so I don't get a big head when I get compliments that are in no way justified. I just wonder why...

Do you have to tune guitars every time you use them what makes them go out of tune ? My old strat is actually quite good at keeping tune, even if I use the whammy bar which has a very bad reputation in the guitar world. When I record a track I will check the tuning more often, especially if I did a lot of hard bending of the strings.

Do you ever feel mad that mainstream artists are often not as good as you ? Lol I definitely don't have this particular problem, my frustration is the other way round. That is the reason I stop playing once in a while, I get frustrated at my lack of talent compared to what I would like it to be.

---

Lovely informative and personal responses TeeGee, but in your usual modest way of course. I'd like to boost your self esteem just a little sometimes, remember the Herring ! :)

---

LOL Shamika, you such a kind person. If you'll ask anyone who has met me in person you will find that low self esteem is definitely not my thing, probably leaning more to the other side ;) But, I am also a realist and I try to be an honest man generally, but also to myself. That does not mean I can't play this or that, and that I don't like what comes out occasionally, but unfortunately I can hear the grand canyon size gap between Robin Trower playing and TeeGee trying to play like Robin Trower

---

I never heard of Robin Trower - now I have to check him out for comparison :)

---

Try out these favourites:

[youtube]Qg7PJNALBmQ?si=ZjDpgxFJzpIWt80W[/youtube]

[youtube]1e_xK35C1Yg?si=eMqlpmsE_22jns42[/youtube]

---

Thanks for that TeeGee, I researched him a bit too. I have heard of Procol Harum.

Hey, I think you should do some slower pieces, you got the same guitar as him but you need to bend and slide a bit more.

Here's an idea, why not produce a new template called "Bridge of Size" it could turn out to be big :)

PS I'll even write some suitable lyrics for you.

---

Do you sing with eyes open or closed ?
both, if i've jotted down stuff that i'm singing, they'll be open looking at the lines :) if i'm trying to get to a spot i can't get to, and shouldn't be attempting, it's gonna be eyes closed haha

Do you keep your instrument in a case or on a stand ?
mine are hanging and laying around...just in the open. i have a piece of redwood on the wall, drilled into some studs, with 4 guitar hangers, so they hang around there, but my most frequently used guitar is just in a stand nearby the computer.

Do you perform better in a warm or cool room (or outside) ?
comfortable temp is preferred, i don't like cold hands/fingers. the older i've gotten, my fingers sorta lock-up in the cold :o:D

Do sycophantic compliments inspire you, embarrass you or irritate you ?
players and the music inspire me more than anything

Do you have to tune guitars every time you use them what makes them go out of tune ?
i tune-up before every jam. my jam room does get a bit cold and i feel they get out of tune from the temp. i sorta feel like my guitar has to 'warm up' a bit before it stays in tune :) i have no idea if that's true, but wood does expand and contract with temp, so maybe there's some truth to that :D

Do you ever feel mad that mainstream artists are often not as good as you ?
i've never approached music as a 'job', it's always been 'fun' for me, like just creating something, or creating a form of 'art'... for fun and not for money. i think because of that, i don't compare myself to mainstream artists, etc.

---

Is it better to sit down or stand up when you play an instrument ... or sing ?
Playing bass I do sitting down, though I`ve found that to be a mistake, as I can`t seem to play standing up.

Is it better to look at your right hand or left ... or neither, when playing guitar ?
Neither (at the moment). I practice and work on updates without looking at the instrument

Is it better to clap on the first or second beat ?
Why should I applaude a beat? What has a beat ever done for me? :D

Is it better to look at the audience, your band mates or the floor when you're gigging ?
I used to hate bands that either looked at the floor or had their back turned to the audience - still do.

Do you have to tune guitars every time you use them what makes them go out of tune ?
Yep, everytime. More as a ritual than out of neccessity.

Do you ever feel mad that mainstream artists are often not as good as you ?
I know that I`m not as good as I could have been had I not taken a 30 year sabbatical. But I don`t compare myself to others with the exception that I might possibly be having more fun as I`m playing what and when I want to - hence the Loops.

---

Well I'm glad I asked these things and I'm noticing some common themes coming through. But you guys are way too nice and diplomatic. I'm always listening to the talented players at WL and I can tell you for certain we have stars in this place who knock spots off some charting artists. Listeners who don't know about wikiloops are missing so much :) A little recognition from outsiders and not just your mates can't be bad. Some of you have that already but others would be happy just to get a few more subscribers on YouTube maybe !

---

I wonder about alot of things to.

As for standing/sitting in a recording environment:
Back in the day guitars and basses were heavier. Woods used to be a factor in the sound and tone but not anymore.
14 lbs as opposed to 8-10lbs nowadays. That’s a huge difference. So today it doesn’t really matter as the straps have become more comfortable and instruments and woods lighter. I’ve just restored a 14 lb bass and it will make a grown person cry after 5 minutes from the weight.

Vocalists should stand while recording and aim the microphone at their upper lip so the are ever so slightly pointing their face upward a bit and still comfortable. This allows easier breathing and more air to the diaphragm resulting in stamina to do tours night after night and consistantly good performances. In the professional recording world most times but not all, the vocalists are encouraged to stand because also ...after lunch you lose energy and sitting doesnt help.

The pros always slightly point upward to the upper lip. Now that you know this , youll notice it alot more.
[img]https://i.iheart.com/v3/re/new_assets/5c9d33959ceb347baad3dc88[/img]
[img]https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Alicia-Keys-Musical.jpg?w=1581&h=1054&crop=1[/img]

As far as what you are concentrating on while playing guitar:
On any instrument, it should be the goal to train yourself to do chords and scales (the rudiments) repeatedly until you can hold a conversation with someone while playing a song
without so much as a thought of what your fingers are doing. Can’t stress that enough.


If you have to think what your hands are doing you haven’t mastered the instrument. The hardest thing while learning is splitting your brain into left and right hemispheres and training it to multitask.Very important and that’s where the rewards are at. If someone says play a C chord your hands should form it while conversing like a reflex.As you get more proficient , your brain thinks 2 seconds ahead of what your fingers are playing. Your fingers and body just do it automatically.

As far as clapping first or secong beat:
Not sure about hand claps but I can say Funk is always the first down beat according to funk master Bootsy Collins on the bass. Reggae for bass is the third beat. The drummer may be doing the opposite with the kick drum. It varies.

As far as where you are looking during a performance:
It’s all about connecting with the audience and band mates thru a spiritual level. It doesn’t happen every night but anyone with stage experience seeks the rare magical night where you connect with the audience and there is electricity in the air . It’s a high greater than crack cocaine. You don’t have to look at anyone. You feel and connect with your soul. Something higher connects and guides you.
The entire universe becomes connected. If you wave your hand out into the sea of people they actually ripple like the ocean and it comes back to you.
You become a vessel for the universe to spread love and the entire venue feeds off it and returns it back 10 fold. The adrenaline lasts for days.

Within the band dynamic, eye contact happens more with keyboardists, drummers and bass. After awhile of playing together theres a telpathy that a mere look means start ending the song or we are coming to the bridge in the song so get ready.


Back to the connection with the room during a performance...
This is what you aim for no matter what music. The spiritual connection to the ocean. As a performer you are in auto mode playing what the universe tells you to play. You are just a vessel for delivering energy and receiving it.. A classical pianist can do the same thing with the energy.

[img]https://cdn.accentuate.io/279971922119/1648751810042/PageonStage_20980_20full.jpg?v=0[/img]

You dont have to look into all their eyes to connect and communicate on an emotional level. You do that thru your brain imagining the music (provided from the fourth dimension) and your body executes it . It then gets transferred into little charged sub atomic particles and sent out to the listeners who recieve those atomic particles thru their ears and it enters their bodies and the particles go for their brains and heart,

As for bandmates, the occasional glance or hand jesture should completely be sufficient .

This photo is my friend Jan and The Who. Pete Townshend looks like hes on cocaine and other drugs but that is the pure adrenalin high after rocking hard in front of 20,000 people. Thats the energy that he gives out and gets back from the audience .
[img]https://i.imgur.com/CXXSKFq.jpg[/img]

As far as reading or remembering vocals:
Teleprompters and IPads have eliminated this issue.I have written lyrics where the vocalist slightly changes a word or reverses two lines.Sometimes even rewrite a line or two.
Its all about serving the song and if someone is passionate enough to make changes always allow them to do it.
I generally will sing off a handwritten bar napkin .Done that many a time.

---

Oh WOW! LittleWing, that was a fascinating read, thank you. I never realised there was so much spiritual energy, instinctive transmission, telepathy, and possibly quantum physics involved for a serious performer. An audience may be feeding off it all but have no idea why, I love that <3

---

The obvious example of a performer/audience energy connection is Haitian voodoo rituals or Native American medicine rituals. They are basically the same as a rock concert.
Performers whip the collective energy of a group of people to a climax. In voodoos case the energy is directed at a symbolic diety to achieve a result. In Native American medicine rituals the energy is directed at someones unhealthy body.

Often times the trance like state of the audience is confused as "possession" but its actually taking in the energy of all the other people around you. As the people around you are all building the energy it becomes collective and you just let go and submit to it.

Add some pounding drums and some chanting and people start digging it and start adding to the chant building the energy. The darker side to this would be riots.When a riot breaks out in a large group others will be swept into energy and join in. Theres a certain rhythmic factor that runs thru large groups of people. We sense that rhythm and if we submit our bodily actions go into "Auto" mode. Note the second guys body is automatically falling in rhythm to what the main medicine man is doing.
[img]https://media.tenor.com/cJbCyOSI8I8AAAAd/dance-turn-up.gif[/img]

The effect of a Haitian Voodoo ritual. Its basically a rock concert with pounding drums and repetitive chanting that builds to a crecendo. The music becomes her very impassioned "lover" and as she builds toward climax she then releases that energy into the collective energy of those around her. That collective energy is then focused toward a symbolic diety that represents the result to be accomplished.
[img]https://media2.giphy.com/media/5WJ0S9LsQLGzxl4rsz/giphy.gif?cid=6c09b9520b0cszlxz3k4km3dfbq25a4crz2c2r19ed80cmg5&ep=v1_gifs_search&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g[/img]

Now a classical pianist wont invoke that intense of a reaction however they are still building that energy on a gentler scale.

---

I've always liked small room gigs, the sound just fills that space, the audience is usually right up front, practically rubbing elbows and other things...those were the best gigs for me. u really feel connected and locked in at times.

---

Someone pointed out one time if you watch an intimate performance and you are connecting with the room and this especially happens with pianists and solo guitar players… if the connection is there and the magic is happening, when the song ends , there is usually a second or two delay from when the last note goes silent and the audience responds because they are collecting their thoughts after being so entranced by the music. You can notice that slight time period of silence on those intimate rooms. It’s like they suddenly woke up and came back to reality after being so engrossed. Always a good sign .

Then of course there are small intimate biker bars and roadhouses where if they don’t throw a beer bottle at your head , you are doing good.

---

That's why we have expressions like "Left speechless" "Gobsmacked" "Jaw dropping" "Awe-struck" It's as if we need to digest what we heard and give respect. I've trained myself to see auras, mine is usually white or grey. These show the vibes a body gives off - at an exhilarating Rock concert where people crowd surf and rip off clothing the auras will all be red for sure :)

---

Today I was wondering about problems and disabilities that could make music making difficult.
For example, I suffered a dislocated jaw a few years ago. Despite a year doing special exercises it never returned to the correct place. This means I find it hard (and painful sometimes) to open my mouth wide. I also had 6 months of physiotherapy for a torn arm muscle and only had one usable arm. I'm fine now :)

I know some wikiloopers have been set back by illness, disability, accident or even just age.
They say that losing sight will focus the ears, but hearing loss must be the saddest disability.... however, Beethoven seemed to manage :)

If you don't mind sharing, I would love to hear your stories or the stories of musicians you know.

Thank you, <3

---