One of the most important elements in playing a gig is the process of preparation. For musicians, it is crucial to be extremely prepared for a performance. When choosing songs to play, you must choose songs that are at your skill level. It is important to choose songs that are at your skill level because if you are “iffy” about your playing, you will not be able to play the song at your best. When playing a song you are unsure on, musicians often mess up due to lack of preparation. It is best to hold off playing that song until you have advanced enough to play at that level.
Besides making sure you are choosing songs of your level of playing, you also need to choose songs that are relevant to your audience. Choosing songs that appeal to your audience is a key aspect of performance preparation. Song choice is very important. When playing the songs that appeal to your audience it is important to sing the song in your style, without losing the actual sound of the original song. If you are wanting to change up a song, make sure to memorize the changes so that when performing you don’t confuse yourself on how to sing/play it.
The final piece of advice on performance preparation is creating a good set list. Your set list is the list of songs you are going to play in the exact order you plan to play them. It is important to order you songs in a way that mixes up the types of songs you are playing. If you are playing more than one instrument throughout your set, you should evenly alternate the songs with those instruments. For example, if you are playing guitar for the first three songs, change to ukulele for the next three, etc… This will keep your gig more interesting to your audience. Once you have chosen your songs, practiced them, and completed your set list; you are fully prepared for your gig! Good luck!
Music by Kori Kay 