Performing for the first time before a huge audience can make one nervous. However, staying in control and remaining confident is the best way to keep an audience engaged. The following are some tips for beginner performers.
Exercise Spatial Awareness Before a performance begins, it can be helpful to do a physical run through to become acquainted with your environment. When you do this, you get the opportunity to survey the stage and check for stage lighting equipment, mic stands, and the presence of any slopes or steps, especially between the upstage and downstage. Avoid Awkward Silent Moments Moments of silence happen frequently in performance, especially when performers pause to take a break in preparation for the next song. However, when silence lasts too long, an audience can quickly lose interest in the performance. Fill the silence by making a joke or telling a brief story to maintain the energy of the performance and keep the audience engaged. It's helpful to have a few stories rehearsed - you can even make notes on your set list to remind you of what they are. Create Special Moments Performers should work on the flow of their show and look for an opportunity to create a special moment - something that changes the energy and refocuses the audience. For musicians, for example, doing an acoustic song or slowing down for a ballad helps to break the monotony of a performance and allows an audience to engage or connect with a performer on a deeper level. Another way to do this is to find a song with an easy sing-along part, and lead the audience in a call-and-response.
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Songwriting workshops are educational programs where students can master music composition, enhance creativity, and perform their art to an audience with the help of mentors. An example of such a program is the New York University (NYU) Summer Songwriters Workshop.
NYU created the Summer Songwriters Workshop, a two-week seminar, for aspiring songwriters. The intensive workshop covers different aspects of songwriting and offers guidance from accomplished professionals in various genres. Participants receive in-depth presentations, hands-on training, and strategies for songwriting. Participants in the workshops collaborate and record music together while receiving peer critiques. Participants showcase the songs they created in a live performance event called SongShare, the culmination of the workshop. The NYU Summer Songwriters Workshops welcomes students above 15, including high school, undergraduate, post-college, and graduate students, as well as adults looking to receive guidance in their craft. There is also an option for auditors to attend the workshops, performances, and events. However, instructors do not critique auditors’ works, unlike other participants. Besides the Summer Songwriters Workshop, NYU offers degree programs in songwriting. Students can earn a bachelor of music, where they study music theory and composition. Additionally, those looking to enhance their composition skills and competitiveness can pursue a master of music degree. Siobahn Hotaling is a songwriter and poet who started her music journey at the young age of 16. By 17, Siobahn Hotaling had begun writing original folk-rock songs on guitar. A few years later, she became involved in electronica, using computer-based tools to create songs under the pseudonym Equipoise. Though these genres of music are quite different, Siobahn used the emotive aspects of sound in both, tapping into the psychological impacts that music can have on the listener.
Listening to music has numerous advantages besides the potential for enjoyment and fulfillment. Music has the power to uplift the spirit, revitalize the body, and even improve pain management. Music can affect ideas, feelings, and behaviors. A riveting live performance can bring the crowd to tears. Thus, they can truly appreciate the sound's power and how it affects moods and inspires action. For instance, drumming is a great musical tool for encouraging carefree enjoyment and unrestricted engagement. Drumming boosts cellular activity that aids the body's defenses against neurological and endocrinological illness. Drumming also has a positive social meaning and unites people as a group while enhancing body functioning. Today, music therapy is an intervention used to support psychological well-being and emotional health. Some studies contend that musical preferences can reveal various personality traits. Siobahn Hotaling is a manager of product design with Global Payments in New York, City and a project consultant at Adaption Institute based in Gilbert, Arizona. Siobahn Hotaling has also released several albums over the course of a long, diverse music career, including an acoustic album in the singer-songwriter genre.
Individuals interested in learning to play the guitar should consider the benefits of an acoustic guitar compared to an electric model. To start, the acoustic guitar generally provides financial advantages. Both acoustic and electric guitars can range considerably in price, but entry-level instruments are usually more affordable as acoustics. Furthermore, electric guitars require a number of additional components to function properly, including amplifiers and cables. Lack of amplification doesn’t just have financial advantages, but also musical ones. Electric guitars simply were not made to be played without being plugged in, whereas acoustic guitars immediately provide musicians with a full, rich tone. Amps are also heavy, as are many electric guitar models, while acoustics are light and portable. Finally, and most importantly, learning to play on the acoustic guitar will make a musician a better guitarist. The strings and action on acoustic guitars require players to press down firmly on the fretboard, leading to better technique and stronger fingers. Acoustic guitars also expedite the process of developing calluses, which further improve an individual’s ability to comfortably play notes and form chords. Siobahn Hotaling is a talented musician who has received mentorship from Grammy-award winning songwriter Phil Galdston. She began her career at 16 with a show in front of 300 people as part of an acoustic duo, and has since gone on to publish two solo EPs. In 2013, the strength of Siobahn Hotaling’s songwriting led to her being accepted to the New York University (NYU) Summer Songwriters Workshop (SSW).
One of several NYU musical programs, SSW is a two-week seminar that helps songwriters hone their art. Led by Phil Galdston, the workshop maintains a faculty of experienced and successful songwriters who provide presentations that explore the key skills in songwriting. SSW also offers hands-on writing work, opportunities for collaboration, and a useful peer review system. The program accepts 42 students annually, who are split into two groups. Applicants must be 15 or older to qualify, and the course is open to everybody from high school and college students to working professionals. You must pay a $55 non-refundable fee to apply, with the course and on-campus housing fees adding up to around $3,500 for the two-week workshop. Applicants must also submit lyrics and recordings for three songs they’ve contributed to, along with detailed descriptions of their contributions and a summary of their songwriting goals. A graduate of Harvard University’s Extension School where she earned her master’s degree in psychology, Siobahn Hotaling is a project consultant with Adaptation Institute. Siobahn Hotaling is also a musician who has published two EPs on Spotify, Heart on Fire and Unguarded. If you’re an independent artist, these tips will help you get more Spotify streams.
First, start by creating and sharing playlists that feature your music along with tracks from other artists. Many Spotify users discover new music through playlists that appeal to their genre preferences. By associating your music with more popular tracks, you achieve streams through association, some of which will lead to consistent listeners. Consider switching out tracks from this playlist every couple of weeks, because Spotify notifies users whenever changes occur to a followed playlist. Next, incorporate links to your Spotify artist listing in all of your marketing material. This includes links in social media profiles, emails, and your artist's website. If you publish your music on YouTube, make sure you place your link as a pinned comment underneath the video. Doing this creates a multi-channel marketing strategy wherein every platform you use to gain exposure points people to your Spotify account. As a resident of New York City, Siobahn Hotaling has become involved in the city’s gay community as well as become deeply interested in the history of its gay community. Even up until the 1960’s, while New York City was considered a haven for gays and lesbians, individuals could still be arrested for what was called the “three-piece rule”. This rule stated that individuals had to wear at least three “gender appropriate” items of clothing, or else be arrested for cross-dressing. Police would raid gay bars frequently, using this rule or other lesser laws as an excuse to arrest gay people.
The Stonewall Riots of 1969, which took place at the Stonewall Inn, erupted on a night when the patrons of the bar finally fought back against police discrimination. The initial night of riots, followed by the nights that followed of protests, has long been heralded as the one that galvanized the gay rights movement in the United States. Stonewall Park, the small urban park located in front of the Stonewall Inn, was designated a National Monument in 2016. Every year, tulips bloom in the park to celebrate New York City’s Pride event. This year, Siobahn Hotaling joined a dozen other members of the city’s gay community in volunteering to plant the tulips that will bloom next spring as a sign of hope, solidarity, and pride. New York City also has spawned many gay and lesbian organizations designed to continue the feelings of solidarity and pride that the LGBTQIA+ community stands for. One such group is the Stonewall Chorale, named after the famous bar and riots. The Stonewall Chorale is known as “the nation’s first gay and lesbian chorus” and has been in existence since 1977. In 2021, Siobahn Hotaling joined the Stonewall Chorale as an alto, and has enjoyed becoming part of the Stonewall community. A New York resident, Siobahn Hotaling graduated from Harvard University and holds a master of arts in psychology. She also holds a BA in creative writing and poetry and currently serves as Global Payments' senior user experience designer. Additionally, Siobahn Hotaling is a singer and has a great interest in the psychology of music.
The psychology of music is a discipline that deals with the effects of music on the human body and mind. One way music impacts the human mind is that it improves cognitive performance. A study showcases that background music, without lyrics in general, can help older adults be more productive and efficient in their cognitive tasks. Another study showcased that upbeat music can help people process and retain information faster and improve a person's memory. Music therapy is also used to treat and help people with dementia, stroke, or Parkinson's. Music helps relieve some of the depression and anxiety symptoms patients may encounter. Studies suggest that classical and meditation music is mainly used to alleviate symptoms as other music such as techno or heavy metal could cause more damage than they do good. The advent of digital technology has completely revolutionized how songs are produced, priced, and distributed. Music today has transcended the use of polygraphs and outdated recording machines and has evolved into various digital software and technologies and online streaming platforms.
The Compact Discs (CDs) was the first digital music medium to be created. However, the creation of Mp3 file formats compressed recording size and made it easier to listen to music on the go. Over time, the iPod was created. The iPod could hold about five gigabytes (1000 tracks) of MP3 files compared to regular MP3 players, which could only store around 12 tracks. Today, musicians have adopted entirely different ways of creating music, thanks to digitization. Composers can write and produce songs from the comfort of their homes. Also, fans can stream concerts of their favorite musicians from anywhere globally. Digitization has also made it possible for songwriters to release their songs on digital streaming sites without the help of a record label. Consequently, digitalization has significantly impacted the hierarchy and structure of the music industry. The channels and cost of distribution of music have been altered by digitization. This has eventually resulted in establishing a new crop of downstream retailers who have reduced the need for publishers, collecting societies, and record labels. Digitization has also made music cheaper and the distribution less complicated. While digitization has improved music production, sales, and distribution, a few problems exist. Digitization improved the efficiency of piracy. Piracy no longer requires the extra effort of burning CDs and dubbing tapes. One could illegally download any song they want from specific websites. Consequently, this has greatly affected the profits of creatives and investors in the music industry. However, paid digital music platforms like iTunes and Spotify were eventually established to entrench the monetization of music downloads. These platforms have helped mitigate the effects of digital piracy, increasing profits from the digital production and distribution of music. Similarly, online video platforms like PayPal and YouTube also joined in on the music streaming business. Today, YouTube has become the world’s most crucial video-sharing platform. It has also released its music streaming platform application, YouTube Music. In 2017, YouTube agreed to share revenues with three major record labels in the United States. Then they introduced a paid music service with Google Play Music. Furthermore, the digitization of music created new dynamics in copyright. For instance, performers’ rights were initially meant for public performances. However, since the digital recording of performances, these rights have been extended to cover dancers, instrumentalists, singers, or individuals involved in the performance. These individuals now possess the right to derive financial benefits from the commercial exploitation of their performance. From the preceding, one could conclude that the digitization of music is increasingly being centered around subscription-based streaming. This has brought massive economic prospects for both creatives and investors. Today, the music industry in the United States is worth an estimated $14 billion, while the global music industry, on the other hand, is worth about $40 billion. This digital transformation of the music industry is primarily dominated and championed by five companies, namely, Warner Music, EMI, Bertelsmann Music Group, Universal/Polygram, and Sony. These companies are responsible for about 80 percent of the music sold globally. A graduate of Skidmore College, Siobahn Hotaling divides her time between creative and professional pursuits. She is an accomplished singer-songwriter who has released two albums. Siobahn Hotaling also supports psychological research as a project consultant at the Adaption Institute. Over the past several years, she become increasingly interested in the field of implicit bias research. For her final capstone project for her Master's degree in Psychology from Harvard, Siobahn Hotaling developed a prototype of an implicit bias transformation program. In the future, Siobahn hopes to bring the Implicit Bias Transformation Program into organizations and institutions that want to implement diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Implicit bias refers to feelings and thoughts that you are unaware of. Instead of being neutral when interacting with a new person or group of people, this bias results in the association of stereotypes with new people or certain attitudes towards them while unaware of these attitudes. While implicit biases are correctable, they first require accurate identification. This involves being introspective and exploring your prejudices through self-analysis or implicit association tests. On top of this, remain mindful of your behavior when under pressure. Certain biases don’t appear in calm situations, but they do manifest when you experience pressure. Reducing this stress and being aware of how it affects behavior helps combat implicit bias. In addition, implementing individuation practices makes implicit bias more obvious. Individuation involves seeing people as individuals first and not as part of a group. When doing this, it is important not to ignore key aspects of a person’s identity. Instead, remember that they do not speak for every member of their group. Substitution also aids in highlighting implicit bias. This process involves placing someone else in place of another. For instance, you have a new colleague with a different racial background than yourself. Imagine that your new colleague has the same racial background. If you regard the hypothetical new colleague with the same background more positively, you know your implicit bias is pushing you towards negativity. |
AuthorSiobahn Hotaling - Project Consultant at Adaption Institute. Archives
November 2022
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