Dancing, or other movement while playing for others?

After about 4 months of I started getting sort of comfortable with the idea of playing and singing in front of other people. Now it's been about 6 months since I started, and I actually enjoy playing for others.

One thing I noticed though, is that I tend not to move much while I'm performing. On video this made me think I looked like a robot. So I'm trying to be more animated when I practice alone as well as when I perform in front of others.

I don't really want to dance around or move in some way that looks strange and forced. But, I also don't want to stand perfectly still.

What are your thoughts on this?

Why not just relax the way you do at home maybe shift around your weight from one foot to the other or walk around a bit within the limits of the camera, cable, stage etc.

I found I like playing standing up. I can hold a soprano fine or use a strap on tenors. And I try to do what I described above.

Video yourself and you'll see how relaxed or tense you are and you'll get more comfortable

It's not that people want to see you dance it's that looking like a robot is a sign of tension which then gets passed on to the audience.

If you see some of my earlier vs later videos I have become more relaxed and do less and less takes. I just did a 14 min review on custom cases in one take no script all on the fly.

Best of luck
Ivan

Thanks Ivan,

I noticed that I don't move much when I'm playing at home either. I think it's partly because I'm still so new that in my head I'm just focused on remember the words to the songs. Here's a video of me playing. This was after I realized I looked to robotic in earlier takes of it. I still don't move that much, but do you think it's a good amount of liveliness? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB3laBX9vUU

I like your videos and can see the difference you are talking about.

Lincoln

Here are my thoughts on moving while playing:

For a small screen, in fairly close shot like that video, too much big movement would make it harder to watch IMHO. I liked that your face was animated, that works well close up.
The further you are from the audience/camera, the bigger your movements need to be because they can't see subtle nuances of facial expression or small body movements.

Perhaps it isn't the same for everyone, I find that if I am feeling the song, I can't help but move with it.

I watched "Facebook Girl", and didn't think you looked robotic.

Katz-in-Boots said:

I watched "Facebook Girl", and didn't think you looked robotic.

Click to expand...

Thanks. That was the version I shot after realizing how robotic I looked.

Lincoln

Sometimes.... moving is weird. I enjoy her videos more if I don't actually watch them.

Practice moving around a little when you play.

As in move around... Practice playing while you walk around. Learn to stand up and sit down while you play. Ride a city bus and practice playing while you're being bounced around. Try walking through a group of people while you play so you have to move your upper body to keep the ukulele out of peoples way.

As dumb as that sounds, learning how to play while you move will actually do two things for you. First, it will improve your concentration. Second, it will make moving your body while you play more natural. After a few months, I think you'll see a big difference in how you move around while you play in front of people, whether it's on a stage or at a family event...

Katz-in-Boots said:

Here are my thoughts on moving while playing:

For a small screen, in fairly close shot like that video, too much big movement would make it harder to watch IMHO. I liked that your face was animated, that works well close up.
The further you are from the audience/camera, the bigger your movements need to be because they can't see subtle nuances of facial expression or small body movements.

Perhaps it isn't the same for everyone, I find that if I am feeling the song, I can't help but move with it.

I watched "Facebook Girl", and didn't think you looked robotic.

Click to expand...

:agree:

This video looks fine to me. A little sway never hurts! Just like you did in the video, seems 'just right' to me.

Also, I find 100% constant eye contact throughout the whole song a bit creepy (but that's just me) - it's ok to look at your instrument when you are not in fact singing, and then look back at the camera/audience when you start to sing again...

The one thing that puts me off, is when instrumental uke players make those 'guitar faces' like Steve Vai does when playing, it seems fake and so totally forced, and it is annoying to me when I see it.

Jake does these 'faces' a lot, like he's doing heavy lifting while he plays, and it seems oddly misplaced on ukulele. But again, that's just me.

Hope this helps

spookelele said:

...snip Taimane video..
Sometimes.... moving is weird. I enjoy her videos more if I don't actually watch them.

Click to expand...

again, :agree:. I cant decide if she looks like she needs to pee, but she's holding it, or somebody dropped a snake down the back of her shirt as to the root cause of how she moves that way - her movements seem so arbitrary to me, like she's dancing to completely different music in her head than what she's actually playing....sorry - pls dont hate me - but her PLAYING is off the chart - I DO like that part

Your video looks fine to me.

To me music is about honest communication with others.

The more relaxed you are the the more intimate and personal the communication with your audience is. Even on video.

I read once that when you perform your playing should be so that you can experience it as another listener. In other words you should be able to hear what you are playin much like anybody else that is listening to you.

Getting to that point at any time is the when you are so focused on the music that you forget about yourself and your technique in a good way.

But this is a careful balance because you don't want to loose the connection with the audience (yes even on video) either by spacing out.

I think intense faces and strange gestures etc come from too much tension or too much focus/spacing out.

I for one used to look angry when I focus on my playing. It's a tough balance. These days I'm a bit more relaxed so hopefully I look less angry.

A great book on on performance in general Effortless Mastery by Kenny Werner.

I read it when I first studied classical guitar. That's a tough one being alone on a stage with a classical guitar which is the only sound in the room and each note has to be clear and sweet and the audience tends to be made up of a lot of other players and critical people. But that book helped me a Lot to the point that I got to enjoy the warmth of the center stage lights. Unfortunately my playing never got good enough for me to pursue performing often.

Keep it up. And th fact that you are questioning how to improve should keep you motivated and progressing.

Aloha
Ivan

Watch some Youtube videos of Lil Rev, Jim DeVille, Uncle Elvis, and Ralph Shaw to get some ideas. Ralph's specialty is teaching how to "perform."

http://www.ralphshaw.ca/Learn_Ukulele

Talking about moving while playing for others, how about this?

Ukulele player ran the Dublin City Marathon (42kms) while playing the Ukulele
(42 kms is about 26 miles)
Read Brendan Byrne's own account at:
http://ukeireland.com/2015/04/he-ran-the-dublin-city-marathon-42kms-while-playing-the-ukulele/

Thanks for all the thoughts everyone. That guy who ran a marathon while playing!?!?! That's awesome!

Maybe you could try something like this? Chris Leslie playing and dancing With Jockey to the Fair. Oh, and he made his own fiddle too.