Steve Goss: Stagecraft (Dec 5) Questions / Suggestions
OH YES, we're finally doing it! 
FINALLY going to be talking about stagecraft - and with the great maestro Steve Goss, no less!
(This is a topic we have been wanting to address for months now, and which we will touch upon some more very soon!)
Find the start time in your time zone by clicking the photo or following this event link:
https://app.tonebase.co/guitar/live/player/steve-goss-stagecraft
We are going to be using this thread to gather suggestions about things he might want to touch on, and offer you a chance to ask him your own questions!
- What questions do you have for him?
- Any particular area you would like us to focus on?
Forum questions will be answered first!
"Stagecraft: what changes between playing at home and playing in public? How do we play our best under pressure? How can we focus and keep concentration? How do we interact with an audience? How do we speak to an audience? How do we combat performance anxiety? In this seminar, I’ll be looking at ways that guitarists can prepare better for performance in recitals, exams, auditions, and competitions."
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Hi, Steve and Mircea. Unfortunately I won´t be able to attend today, so this is my (broad, I´m sorry) question: how do you shorten the gap between your level playing at home and and in front of an audience, given that you don´t perform regularly? See you tomorrow. THANK YOU!!
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Igor Yes, especially when we don't perform regularly!
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Igor Wonderful question, Igor! Such an important one, too!! The entire livestream was basically an answer to it. Hope you've enjoyed it! I for hone had a blast.
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+1 to Igor 's question and Marek Tabisz 's extra emphasis
I'd like to know: "As a performer/composer, do you programme and present your own works in any particularly different way? What about in relation to pieces other composers in the same programme?"
Thanks!
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Roni Glaser Thank you Roni!
hope you've enjoyed his answer! -
Mircea , yes, thank you, I found interesting that he suggested not to play full programme of one’s pieces; I wonder if that’s because he sees playing the guitar and composition as separate activities, the performer playing a series of pieces, some of which may happen to be their own.
I think the opposite is true for a band or singer/songwriter, that they’d basically play their own songs, and maybe a cover.
I have a sense that a guitarist in the classical would be seen as somewhat arrogant for playing only their own music, whereas a band would be seen as lacking abilities if they played only covers.What do other people?
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Roni Glaser Hi Roni! So sorry I missed this initially, I was so swamped with work and the community challenge these past few weeks. (I'm going to go back and answer everyone tonight!)
I think you're right about the "opposite expectation" of a singer-songwriter or band, that they would generally play their own compositions rather than someone else's.
However, I don't think that a classical guitarist playing exclusively their own works would be seen as arrogant. I can think of a couple of high-level examples such as Roland Dyens who would often perform entire concerts' worth of improvisation, or seamlessly integrate material from others into their mostly original performances.
He might have been straddling the line between classical and jazz music, but still. I think it's perfectly possible to accomplish this. Of course this might lead to some hate... but honestly, so would any kind of career or performance, in my experience
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Kind regards from Ecuador, maestro. Keeping in mind that I'm not a professional guitarist, whenever I get to play classical pieces, I get to do so to audiences that don't necessarily have knowledge of a classical repertoire, meaning they can be more impressionable by me and that can forgive our mistakes. Maybe they might not even notice. But how to move on when you just made one in front of a refined audience that knows what you're trying to play? Thanks.
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Diego Arboleda Hi Diego! Encantado de tenerte por aquí! Thanks for your question - I hope you've enjoyed Steve's answer to it! I think he's so right - mistakes... often don't matter nearly as much as we think!
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I find I 'tighten up' in front of a recording device as well as an actual audience (always very small in my case). Mind you, I'm fine in front of my cats. (They sometimes interrupt, but they never criticize!) Joking aside, I would say that whenever I am aiming to get through an entire piece to the best of my very modest ability, I anticipate mistakes before even starting. Part of the problem, I think, is that I don't practice how not to make a mistake, so to speak. My general habit during practice is to stop when there's a problem, analyze it, and try to correct it. I probably don't spend enough time working on pieces in their entirety. So I guess my question is: how do concert performers prepare their repertoire, so as to play 'perfectly'?
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David Thank you for your question, David! Such a thoughtful and important one! I hope you've enjoyed Steve's answer - I personally thought it was very enlightening. I always feel like I learn so much in these livestreams with Steve!
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Hi Mircea,
Did you post the powerpoint file that Steve Goss used in his presentation? I would love to have a copy. Thanks for all the great live streams you have been producing - first rate.
Rick
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Rick Hi Rick! I did. The link to the slideshow is in the description of the event linked above. Alternatively, follow this direct link (<- click) to go straight to the PowerPoint document! Hope this helps. And so glad to hear you've been enjoying the livestreams!
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Mircea Got it. Many thanks! Rick
