How to stop the audience from texting during a show   by Tim Fox

in Entertainment / Music    (submitted 2012-01-27)

It's never a good sign when the audience is texting when you are on stage performing with your band. In fact it is quite unlikely that they are texting their friends telling them how good your bad is, most likely they are bored and that falls on the band. There are times when the people who attend shows don't really care about the music but if your band is entertaining they will pay attention! Here are some tips that will get audience members to put their cell phones away!

Texting songs versus Non Texting Songs

During your set list start paying attention to which songs the audience is grabbing for their cell phones and which songs that you have their undivided attention for. If you see that the majority of the crowd is texting during a certain song it means the song or performance of the song is boring. For songs that you don't see any texting going on it's a great sign that you have captivated the audience. Make sure to leave these songs on your set list. Another way to gauge audience response is to see whether the crowd pushes towards the front of the stage. If they do they are signalling that they like your band. Girls dancing and guys headbanging is always a good sign that your band is doing it right.

Up the energy level for each song

The worst thing you can do as a performer is to look bored yourself. The band and yourself control the energy and atmosphere of the show. If you and your band mates are excited and bringing high energy it is likely that the crowd will follow suit. If you and the band go through the motions up there the crowd will be bored to tears and the sound of fingers hitting keys will flood the venue. It's important when performing to put every ounce of energy you have into the music. If you don't give your heart and soul into a passion filled performance it's just not going to work. If you don't care about your own music nobody else will.

Have a Call to action

The lead singer or whoever controls the microphone can also put the audience in the frame of mind the band wants them to be. The lead singer can ask the crowd to come towards the front or for people to start dancing. As long as the lead singer vocalizes the commands with conviction the crowd will respond. The microphone holder has all sorts of power. If they command the audience to dance with conviction it's likely a few people will start dancing which will cause more people to start to become comfortable and want to dance. Think about someone you see see public speaking. If they are good they will have the audience focusing in on every word. You should be able to do the same on the microphone during a rock show. If you see what the audience responds positively too, up the energy level, and have a call to action the audience is going to save their texting after the show about what a fun show it was.

About the Author

Now that we know how to capture an audience we need to learn better technique. Just click on online music lessons for instruction in drums, guitar, and bass lessons!