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  #1  
Old 01-17-2010, 09:46 PM
gibson311 gibson311 is offline
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Default Playing to an audience that isn't listening

I played a show in a bar this weekend to a room of about 200 people. I play solo acoustic fingerstyle stuff, a lot of Tommy Emmanuel, Chet Atkins, and other songs in that style. I would say that about 99% of the people there never stopped talking and were paying little if any attention to me. Now I realize that this shouldn't really bother me since they did not come just to see me but I still found it very annoying. I wasn't even nervous when I was playing because it felt as if nobody was listening anyway. It almost makes me feel like it's not worth doing again. There was no pressure which is good, but there was also no rush, and no feeling that people actually enjoyed what I was doing. Anyone have any thoughts on this?
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Old 01-17-2010, 10:03 PM
Craig_S Craig_S is offline
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I don't play acoustic shows, but my band plays to large crowds regularly. It's just a part of playing music. Sometimes we just can't grab all of them. Be happy you had a gig. Enjoy the fact some of them were into it.

P.S. If you want to appeal to the masses, play more pop songs. Sad but true.
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Old 01-17-2010, 10:24 PM
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DenverSteve DenverSteve is offline
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It is part of playing anywhere where you are not the feature. That said, the artists you listed are not in the top-100 bar song portfolio. I like to play either original music, contemporary Christian or top 100 songs depending on the audience. You should be able to bring around 50-80 per cent of your audience if you are playing to and for them. Some will never quiet down because life revolves around them. The others will absolutely listen, sing along and participate when you play what they (the venue) wants to hear.

Last edited by DenverSteve; 01-17-2010 at 11:00 PM.
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Old 01-17-2010, 10:48 PM
Wade Hampton Wade Hampton is offline
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I started off playing only instrumental music, and was good enough to get paid pretty good money when I gigged out. But if there's no singing, unless you're an absolute virtuoso you're going to be treated as background music.

Leo Kottke can play all instrumentals and people will listen, but if you're not playing at that level of musicianship, it's hard to get an audience's attention and respect.

Not if you walk in cold. At a special lunchtime concert series or some other arts event, sure, people listen better there because that's what they came for. But not at a bar or (especially not) a restaurant. There a musician playing instrumentals is basically one step above the ornamental greenery...

On my case, the solution was simple. Although I'd sung a lot as a child, once my voice changed at puberty I had stopped singing. But I realized that I'd better sing if I didn't want to be treated like a potted plant, there for atmosphere only.

So I taught myself how to sing again, and regained my range.

What I have found is that in a barroom situation, if you're good at playing instrumentals, you can get away with playing two stand alone instrumentals per set, no more. If you want to hold the crowd.

You can fudge a little bit and go from a song with lyrics directly into a lively instrumental number, as the great Irish band Planxty used to go from songs right into jigs and reels. I have several instrumental pieces where I've paired them with songs with lyrics, and so that way I can do more like six or eight instrumentals per set.

But the average person relates far more easily to vocals than they do to instrumental pieces. Tain't fair and tain't right, but it's the reality of the situation, nonetheless.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller
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Old 01-17-2010, 10:54 PM
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I know exactly how you feel and welcome to the world of instrumental music. I play the same styles you mentioned and have experienced the same in every place I have played, except for nursing homes and private performances for friends. People are usually a product of the situation/environment and sometimes worse. Example, at church playing a prelude as people gather in the sanctuary, often some listen and others talk through or over the music. During the service, it is quiet.

The less the audience is part of the music the less attention they typically pay. Audiences are more connected to songs with vocals and especially those familiar to them.

I once chose a balcony seat at a Tommy Emmanuel concert and pretty much observed the same thing from numerous audience members.

There is an increasing lack of appreciation by many people for various art and music forms outside the mainstream.

As far as how I take it:

I quipped once that my contract(I not a professional) states that I play but there are no guarantees that people will hear of even listen to me.

I am placing effort into adding some more vocals into my performances.

What I do appreciate is I love playing guitar and sharing music, and that there are people who enjoy my music. There are a lot of people who aspire for that.
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Old 01-17-2010, 10:55 PM
Misifus Misifus is offline
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It also has to do with where you play. If you play in a restaurant or lounge bar, as you said, the patrons didn't come to listen, they came to eat and drink and socialize. If you play a house concert or a listening room, you can expect a more attentive reaction.

So far as what Wade said, I went to audition for a coffee house gig one time, I opened with an instrumental I'd composed and was rather proud of. When I finished it, the owner gave me a big smile and said, "That's what you warm up your fingers with, then?" When I sang a couple of songs, I got the gig.

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Old 01-17-2010, 11:00 PM
gitnoob gitnoob is offline
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The first thing my teacher asked me when I signed up for guitar lessons was something like "Do you want to sing and entertain your friends, or do you want to play instrumentals and entertain yourself?"
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Old 01-17-2010, 11:00 PM
66strummer 66strummer is offline
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I would think that the percentage of people in the crowd who appreciate instrumental stuff may have been small. Usually the average crowd wants to hear stuff they know and are familiar with, which boils down to songs with lyrics. Even a performer who sings can have a tough time finding an actual listening crowd in bars though. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who don't even like live music of any kind.
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Old 01-17-2010, 11:08 PM
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DenverSteve DenverSteve is offline
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In addition to what I posted above - it depends on where you are playing. If it is a restaurant or bar where live music is an expectation, people come there to hear/listen to the live music. However, if you get yourself booked in to a venue that is not known to promote live entertainment the regular patrons make even look upon a performer as an overly-loud nuisance.

If you plan to play instrumental music it is likely that unless you get booked in to instrumental venues you will remain background music (Muzak). If you are playing for your own enjoyment, continue to enjoy it. If you are playing to entertain others - play what they want to hear. There are many web sites that list the top 50 or 100 bar cover songs.
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Old 01-17-2010, 11:11 PM
wierdOne wierdOne is offline
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been doing it for 8 years... played 200+ gigs each year for the past 3 years...

I've always looked at it as paid practice....

some nights people care about what i'm doing... some nights they don't....

the experience you gain doing this is worth more than anything you'll learn on your average band gig... when I step on stage with a band now.... well... I really try not to toot my own horn, because there are soooooooooooo many great players out there that could tear me a new f-hole... but... with all the experience i have from doing solo gigs... let's just say that it's REALLY easy to grab the reins of the band and steer...
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Old 01-17-2010, 11:13 PM
ewalling ewalling is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wade Hampton View Post
I started off playing only instrumental music, and was good enough to get paid pretty good money when I gigged out. But if there's no singing, unless you're an absolute virtuoso you're going to be treated as background music.
Yes, I agree, and I think this does not relate only to live performances. I've never played a serious gig alone, but I have played in front of family, friends and students. Generally speaking, they want some singing. I can play a fingerpicking instrumental which I consider quite nifty, but in most cases people seem to prefer songs that include my mediocre singing.

I hope to play some simple solo gigs in the not-too-distant future, and to this end I've bought a vocalizer to beef up my vocals because I suspect singing and playing will go down better than just playing. I had thought of doing something that Wade suggested: to run an instrumental in the middle or at the end of a song as if it were a solo attached to the song itself.
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Old 01-17-2010, 11:20 PM
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Bluewyatt Bluewyatt is offline
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Just get 'em 1% at a time!
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Old 01-18-2010, 12:51 AM
raregroove raregroove is offline
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I remember attending a show in the 70s with a young Paco de Lucia playing an amazing set of solo flamenco and people drunk booing, hooting and throwing beer. And that was at a outdoor "guitar" superstar night.

At a bar gig, well, I would just try and keep Drunkulis from falling on your equipment and get paid in cash...

I would try brunch or coffee bar gigs, calmer more attentive patrons.

Instrumentals are background music to most people unless its a "high culture" or "folkloric" booking. In those situations you should have a good body of killer original material and a CD released, to go along with the covers.
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Old 01-18-2010, 03:59 AM
Jack Orion Jack Orion is offline
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If I'm playing 'bars' (or pubs in ol' blighty!) I'll normally start with something everybody knows - a Beatles song normally - and I find then that the people who are going to listen will continue to, and the people who aren't will just ignore me till I play another well known song about 1/4 of the way in.

I'm doing mainly originals, sets of about 30 minutes, and I regularly play about four covers, and some instrumentals, but, if I haven't caught anyone's attention by the fourth song I just write the gig off as practice, and make sure to speak to anyone I saw listening. And I might finish with something like Back In The USSR or Wonderwall by Oasis, just so everyone has a singalong...
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Old 01-18-2010, 04:59 AM
David_Mead David_Mead is offline
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Mark it down to experience. You got to play to 200 people in a low pressure situation and got paid for doing so. Look at it as a paid rehearsal – there will be times when the audience is listening and you'll be glad of the experience.



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