Increasing your Win-Rate, instilling confidence, and unleashing potential – one team member at a time.
My “happy place” is definitely signing on stage with a good band in front of a crowd. So, it doesn’t surprise me when people tell me “You like being behind a mic, it doesn’t stress you out like it does me”. Here’s my reply: I can get nervous too, but I’ve practiced so much until all the songs are muscle memory, and I get to walk into the spotlight and enjoy performing.
Making in Memorable
A good band knows that having a strong set list and practicing are foundational, and that knowing what our audience wants to hear (genre) is key. Sound familiar? Every band will tell you they spend an inordinate amount of time laboring over their set list. Just like presentations, to be memorable, songs need to be to tell a story or set a mood. Sometimes it starts with a bang, and other times you build to that perfect musical climax. It’s very similar to a presentations Opening Hook. BAM!! You give them a reason to sit forward and listen. Other times, you build your stories so that layers of expertise and insights leave a client wondering if they can afford to NOT have you on their project.
As for Practice: I bet most of you have no idea how many long hours are spent preparing for a wow performance. What’s behind that practice is tied to a study published in 1967 that identified three stages of learning known as the “Fitts and Posner Model”. This model describes the process we go through when honing a skill, like becoming a good presenter. The Music Range wrote a great article about practice that I’ve condensed; an excerpt follows.
“COGNITIVE: This stage is when you are familiarizing yourself with a song (message), learning the key, the chords and the rhythm. It requires the most focus and your brain is processing a lot of information.
ASSOCIATIVE: Now you know the song, but how will you share it? By no means have you mastered it, but you are able to recall the core of it and this frees up the brain to start working on breathing life into words. Knowing the song’s (message) mechanics, you can focus on the nuances and connecting with the audience.
AUTONOMOUS: Here’s where magic lives. At this point, you’ve mastered the song and your brain takes a back seat. As long as your band mates are also at this point, this is when the groove flows and you can explore creativity. Your ability to improvise will peak because less brainpower is being used to think.
This is the lesson: Do the cognitive stage at home and learn fundamentals on your own, not at practice. As a group, in associative stage, your personalities will come through and the songs will begin to take on life. If everyone does their homework and you practice, your band will sound like a unit rather than a bunch of parts and creativity can emerge. Your rehearsals will become incredibly efficient and productive as your band continues to build upon its mastery of the songs.
NxtJen: A strong message and practice is always key to the teams success and being memorable, and everyone being prepared in advance is where a solid presentation is born.
