Top Five Tips to be a Great Live Guitarist

We all have our reasons for picking up the guitar. Some people want to jam along to their favourite songs in the privacy of their bedrooms, some want to write songs, some want to be studio musicians, and some want be rock stars on the world’s biggest stages. No matter how or why we started, for a lot of us, this will naturally progress to jamming with friends, performing as part of a band, or backing a solo artist. Here are five tips to help you become a better live guitarist.

This should be a given, but you will surprised how many live shows I have seen (or even some bands I have been a part of), where some musicians don’t know how to play the songs and are bluffing their way through. Practise is for at home, rehearsal is for the rehearsal room, the stage is for performing well rehearsed songs. Imagine Jimmy Page forgetting how to play the intro of ‘Stairway To Heaven’, or Prince royally messing up the ‘Purple Rain’ solo, or Slash walking off stage because he didn’t learn a song in the Guns N’ Roses set. You probably wouldn’t want to make the effort to see that act again.

If you play covers, make sure you know your parts by playing along to the original recordings or backing tracks. Not only what the notes and chords will be, but the structure of each song. When does the solo come in and how long do you need to solo for? How many times do you play the riff before the vocals join in? When will you need to stop playing? All these things should be ironed out before the show. Plus, you don’t want to be caught out like a deer in the headlights in front of an audience.

For most of us, if we are being honest, we probably practise soloing 99% of the time. It is a lot of fun, after all. But for playing songs live, we are actually soloing 1% of the time…at best! Honing your rhythm chops is essential in becoming the best live guitarist you can be. You might be able to nail the solos in ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’, but if you can’t play any of the rhythm parts, you will find it difficult to find a band to play with.

Like the previous tip, play along to the original recordings, and/or backing tracks to practise locking in with the drums. Can you keep time? Are you rushing or dragging (thank you, ‘Whiplash’)? Are you in the pocket? We are not expecting you to down pick ‘Master of Puppets’ in its entirety (as impressive as that would be), but no matter how simple or complex the part, being tight with the music is vital.

Rehearsals are a great time to really practise locking in with a drummer in the same room. It is a very different thing to playing along with the record; but if you can lock in with the drummer, that is when the magic starts to happen. Musicians who are super locked in together really make an audience smile, move, and generally just make them have a great time. If one member of the group is out, it can become very noticeable. Try not to be that person. Timing is everything.

There are some technical problems that can not be helped. Things happen that we have no control over, and that’s okay. But we can be as prepared as possible. Make sure you have relatively fresh strings. There is nothing worse than nailing that well rehearsed solo only to snap a string on the penultimate bend! This can be helped by simply changing your strings either before the show, or at the very least, on a fairly regular basis. Make sure they are well stretched out, too. You don’t want to blame tuning on an otherwise perfect performance.

Speaking of tuning, make sure you bring a tuner to the gig. You will be surprised how many bands I have seen where the guitarist has gone out of tune, and then had to give the audience an impromptu rendition of something that sounds like a dying cat, only to force the singer to tell some jokes or stage banter that they clearly were not prepared for. It’s just awkward for everyone. Make sure your guitar is well intonated and set up for live performance. If you don’t know how to do it yourself, it is money well spent to get a professional to set up your guitar for you.

If budget allows, try to bring spares and backups of everything you will need during a show. I have a long list of moments where I was kicking myself for not packing backups, at all levels of touring. One gig was nearly over before it started because I forgot a 9V battery. Did you remember to pack that capo? Do you have spare strings, picks, valves (if using an amp), cables, batteries for active pickups or electro-acoustics, a backup guitar, maybe even a backup amp? I know all of these things are budget dependent, and also dependent of your level of live expertise, but packing things that are likely to break or be dropped mid song (strings, picks, etc.) diminishes the chances of having to cut your set short because you simply can not continue playing.

Whether you’re in a band or performing as a session musician for a solo artist, you will stay in the band or be hired again if you’re a nice person, turn up on time, and cause no drama. Don’t turn up being demanding, making excuses, or bringing the vibe down. People just don’t want the hassle. We are all at the show to have fun doing what gives us joy…playing music with like minded people. Rock ’n’ Roll shenanigans might make for great stories on ‘Behind the Music’, but they certainly don’t make for good vibes during a show. Don’t be a diva.

At the end of the day, there is no substitute for gaining live experience than simply playing live as much as you can. Everyone has battled nerves, and more musicians than you think have suffered from stage fright (including the one writing this blog). You will encounter moments where you will make mistakes, snap strings, drop picks, lose your timing, and so much more. Some things will happen in front of big audiences. But you will learn how to confidently and gracefully carry on to the best of your ability, as if nothing happened. I will always remember one of my old guitar teachers telling me that the only difference between an amateur and a professional is that no one noticed when the professional made a mistake.