Hi all,
Im thinking of playing and performing using my Psr2100 for the old folks homes,but I will not be singing at the moment,need a lot more practice in my vocals department.

Does anybody on this forum who just plays without vocals do actually get any gigs and if so how well does it go with an audience?

regards,
Daren

Daren...

If you are EVER going to do vocals, there is no better time or place to start than in the retirement homes. I'm telling ya, give them a song they know, a smile, and sing your heart out and they'll love it!

Daren,

There are a couple things you should. First, go to your local community college and take some voice lessons. While you can probably sing just fine, the lessons will teach you breathing techniques, expand your range, and provide you with some vocal exercises that will really make a difference in your voice quality.

The next part of the equation is to practice, then practice and practice some more. There is no such thing as too much practice. Not only will this permit you to learn the words to songs, but additionally, it will aid in achieving the vocal quality you desire.

Just doing instrumentals for seniors, or any other audience for that matter, just don't cut it. In this business, IMO, without vocals you're out of business.

Good Luck,

Gary

I couldn't disagree with Gary more...

I stopped singing almost three years ago and went completely instrumental with my soloact. It works very well for me but it certainly wouldn't work for everyone - a lot depends on the gig itself. I'm lucky to live in an area with a wide assortment of places that feature entertainment, so I no longer try to play at "bars" in the stereotypical sense as I did once but focus on restaraunts that normally feature live music. And I try to play music that is fairly easy to recognize along the pop/jazz standards lines of my audience.

I've found that instrumental music has some advantages: it's more controllable volume-wise and doesn't compete for attention as singing does. People can talk to each other over my music even if they sit close by me. Even so I still get a lot of dancers, especially people who really know how to dance. I am more comfortable as a musician than as a singer anyway so my job is much easier without singing. And I still play just as many private functions, weddings, conventions etc. as I ever did.

The instrumental act allows me to be both unique and competitive with the singing soloacts in my area. If you have a good voice then I would suggest that you use it to your advantage, but my experience has proven that there are plenty of places that would also welcome a good instrumentalist. Just make sure your chops are up to the job!

[This message has been edited by The Pro (edited 01-16-2004).]

Gary's words are good advice. Believe me, I took that route, in fact still on it, and it works. Won't make you 'sing like Bing', and nothing happens over night, but like anything else, the more you practice, the better you get. Go for it and good luck.

Daren, keep working on your singing voice, possibly even taking a voice class at a local community college, or even taking some basic private voice lessons to develop the foundation of good vocal technique.

I've found (at least in my case) that both market-ability, gig pay, and tips (especially) are a LOT higher when you add singing to your keyboard performance. Doing BOTH (keyboard playing & singing) really well, is the key to success in this biz.

Scott

I am reminded of an old barn in North Carolina that was turned into one of the most fantastic apartments I've evev seen by one man with talent and vision. Not one nail was used, and the wood looked like it bad been liquified to fit contours no wood should fit in. In the top of a loft was a small sign that read "if I hadn't believed it, I wouldn't have seen it".

Last night I played to a large group of vacationing acoustic musicians from Tennessee with their wives, regular diners, and a birthday party in another room. Not only did the dance floor stay full the entire time I played but the musos invited me to come to Tennessee to sit in with them sometime (they danced the most). My tip jar was stuffed. I spent all of my breaks talking to people who wanted to know about me, about my keyboard, how my "flame lights" work, etc. They stayed until my very last note.

I think, and my wife agrees, that the reason my instrumental act works is because I believe it will and always have. I look like I enjoy what I do - perhaps my self-confidence prevents me from failing. It doesn't hurt that I play most often in a nice waterside relaxing atmosphere either. But the most important thing is that I try to play something that I would enjoy hearing if I was in the audience. My music sounds good and people enjoy it or they wouldn't stay for hours after finishing their dinner just to dance and listen when there are plenty of other entertainment options nearby.

I respect my fellow performers here but they don't believe an instrumental act will work for them so it probably won't. I believe it will for me and it does. It may be that simple.

hey Pro......any demo videos, short clips of your show we can see...I'm also toying with this idea for a future feature on my website....but I'm video/website ignorant at tis time..

Pro,
Hi,
It really interests me that you succeed as a instrumentalist,something i would like to do.
Tell me what is your setup and what type of songs do you perform and what style of playing do you use ie o you play in piano style and use midi files for backing or do you use accompinment on an arranger?
Also do you play by ear?
My setup would be in piano style using my Yamaha P80 stage piano and using a double tier stand with my Psr2100 on top.

I would want to use some midifiles and some recorded rhythms for my backing and play some of the sounds of the Psr2100 on right hand.

Thankyou for your reply
Regards,
Daz

Donny: I used to have some streaming video clips on my website but I removed them because they were dated and I haven't had time to create new ones... but I'll give it some thought.



Let's see - I currently use a 9000 Pro arranger with the PLG150-PF piano card in it mostly. At one time I used a two-keyboard setup similar setup to what you are proposing with a Kurzweil PC88mx and a Roland EM-2000; but the 9000 Pro is much much easier to carry and use, plus I think it looks better visually that my former two-keyboard setup. I play both by ear and I read music, about 50/50 each. My music is full piano style with backing MIDI files and/or arranger accompaniment, althought I do also play some songs with either electric piano or a nylon guitar lead. I use midifiles more than arranger accompaniment for backing. It's worth mentioning that I also play gigs where a grand piano is provided and in that case I use a laptop for midi file playback.

The songs I play are along pop/jazz lines and I go for some pretty familiar stuff with, what I hope is, unique arrangements. I guess my style would be called contemporary. My songlist ranges from Cole Porter, George Gershwin and Duke Ellington to Sade, Sting, and Seal along with the ever-necessary Billy Joel and Elton John tunes. It depend on the age group of the audience a lot.

Some places I play provide a PA and at others I use a Motion Sound KP-200s keyboard amp. There are some samples of my live music on my website (that probably need updating): http://www.hiltonheadmusic.com/. Good luck with your instrumental gig... let us know how it goes.

An important thing that needs consideration is "What do you want to do... How do you want to musically perform? Do you want to sing? Or do you feel you would be doing it because you have to? Because you don't have to, The Pro has proven that point.

On the other hand, if you really want to sing, don't let a mediocre voice stop you. Voice training and the many things recommended on this forum really do work.

In my case, I have a very average voice, but I'm doing all the things necessary to improve my vocals... for one reason only - I love singing, close to a passion! And I've made some good progress, but it's taken practice and time.

So listen to your heart, follow your passion. Life's too short... you can make it work with or without singing.

Half of my jobs are instrumental only jobs. Usually, they are corporate coctail hours before a meal and meeting.

On my regular restaurant gig, I do instrumentals only the first hour, limited vocals the second hour, and about 60% vocals the rest of the night.

What's appropriate depends on the requirements of the individual jobs.

For my little part of the world, it would be easy to work four nights a week as a solo
instrumentalist.

Also, it seams that a solo act with the ability to do a lot of instrumental only material has morre staying power at long-term gigs. Customers don't get tired of the variety of material.

Russ

I think as pro has pointed out it really matters what type of gigs you want to do. For some here it is necessary to sing for others not.

My early musical journey was all about vocals. The last 7/8 years of the journey though I played Vibes in a Latin Jazz band without any vocals. I've always played the clubs and larger gigs though, like concerts in the park Cinco De Mayo celebrations and the like.
Terry

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jam on,
Terry http://imjazzed.homestead.com/Index.html

Sounds like you guys are a bit to the left of center with your responses.

He said "Im thinking of playing and performing using my Psr2100 for the old folks homes..."

If you're playing retirement centers, nursing homes, assisted living centers and the like you better be able to sing. Many of these folks are at the end stages of life and the only thing that keeps them going and makes a crappy day tolerable is someone playing music and singing. Additionally, if you're singing, they often sing along with you. If you're just doing instrumentals and not interacting with the audience by doing vocals and talking with them, they'll soon let the folks that do the hiring of entertainment that they're not happy about the situation. Sure, you can get away with pure instrumentals while playing the nite-club/restaurant scene, but that's a different scenario than he was describing. Stick with the vocals and practice, practice, practice.

Cheers,

Gary