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I have been singing professionally for over 15 years now and I still have to deal with stage performance issues, whether it is my mood at the time, technical problems which affect my performance, the audience (noisy, not very interactive etc.) and in general the venue or the so-called vibe of the night.
When I first started to sing in front of people I was 17 and I was terrified of the audience - I used to be very good in my own bedroom, but couldn't sing well at all in front of people!
Of course after years of training and performing and at times really enjoying it I was ok-ish. Yet at the London Music School I was never able to get good marks, because although my singing was good, my performance was a bit cold and not very interesting. I used to think, "Well at least I’m not too scared like I used to be" - but that wasn't enough.
Confidence is the key, and over the past 3 years with my new project Cris Tanzi where I perform my own songs with a band, I’ve been able to really develop more confidence and more charisma.
It's still a work in progress, and it all varies depending on the night. But on a good night the audience is quite impressed with both my singing, my songs and of course my stage performance.
Such a bit improvement from when I used to shake in front of people and couldn’t drink a glass of water as my hand was shaking so much!
So how did I learn? Definitely thanks to the feedback of my good friends who have come to see me perform and watching other more confident singers, and I guess the tutors at the London Music School who kept giving me lower marks and I used to get upset about it. Now I understand why.
The stage... is of course a stage, and we have a part to play. We should forget about our mood at the time, our worries, technical problems etc., and give 100% to the audience with confidence and joy.
Want to be able to do this every night? Well, with my lessons you will be able to in time. I won't teach you any magic tricks other then listening to you when you tell me about what makes you afraid, and then together try and really overcome all worries and enjoy singing. After all... music is entertainment.
