The visual pillar of performance is probably the most fun. Sometimes, as musicians, we forget about this part of our artistry. That it really comes from a deep feeling.
We want to paint. We want to touch. Sometimes, with music, we don’t get that sense. We don’t get that motion. When we’re creating electronic music.
Get students to feel comfortable getting dirty. You want them to feel like the energy they’ve put into creating a set or creating costumes is going to give back to their audience. Like it is going to make them feel more connected with the work that they’re doing.
What is the story you want to tell? You must make sure that you are wearing the costume of that story, of that main character. What is the character of the set? Is that a sun setting? Or is it people in a protest?
If you never bring up the idea of people in a protest, but you’ve got images behind you of people in a protest, it evokes a feeling from the audience. It’s these subliminal messages that we’re giving to the audience that make them feel connected to what we’re doing.
There are many ways to do this for a performance with a track. For example, to feel more alive, one of those is through movement and choreography. Another one of those is creating or combining a live element with your track. Sometimes, people add live drums, and they’re not even miked.
The idea of moving their body along with the rhythm of the music is something that the audience can really connect to. They feel, oh, they’re moving. I want to move too.
That’s what we must look at. Like there’s really a mirror right there. What you are doing is what the audience feels OK to be doing back to you. If you’re dancing, they’re dancing. If you’re introspective and looking at the ground, they might be too. Decide what you want your audience to do, and they’ll mirror you.