When you’re working on putting your show your show together and you get stuck with how to perform a certain song: accentuate the drama.
Where is the drama in the song? What drama could you pull out of it? If the drama of the song were really ramped up what would it sound like and how would it be different from the recorded version?
More than playing your songs it’s about performing your songs and making a show. Great shows are dramatic and emotional. You need to accentuate those features within each of your songs.
Here’s a perfect example:
Bruno Mars: That’s What I Like- Recorded version
Bruno Mars: That’s What I Like- Live version
What a jump. The alternate intro. The hits. The stabs. The dancing. The weird second verse. Slight changes to the melody. Big changes to the melody. That bass playing. The outro. They squeeze every bit of drama they can out of the song for the sake of making it a better performance.
You don’t need any production budget or tricks to make the type of leap he does from the recorded version to the live. You just have to be willing to do the work.
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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com
