Starting My Live Performance Journey

Today marks the start of my preparations for live performances.

Having spent the year focused on writing, recording, releasing, and promoting my EP, I’m ready to shift gears. My next big goal is to perform a headline show by August 2025.

Why Live Shows?

In my music career, I have two core missions:

Release music I’m proud of.
Engage with my audience meaningfully.

With my EP release complete, it’s time to focus on audience engagement. After experimenting with live streams and social media posts, I’ve realised the best way to create meaningful connections is through live shows.

Live performances also have the bonus of generating content for my online community. Many of my favourite artists’ live videos dominate my feeds, and I see this as a natural extension of my music and online presence.

Challenges to Overcome

I’ve identified three areas I need to focus on:

Improving my piano playing.
I grew up learning classical piano, but years of prioritising songwriting over performance have dulled my technical skills. Scales, arpeggios, and classical repertoire will be my foundation to rebuild accuracy, rhythm, dexterity, and dynamics—all crucial for performing live.
Improving my singing.
Many of my songs push my vocal range to its limits. Performing these consecutively often tires my voice, so I aim to improve stamina, ensure healthy technique, and strengthen my head voice.
Planning an engaging live setup.
I want to blend piano with synth sounds, live drum looping, and the flexibility to adapt performances in the moment. This means diving into Logic Pro, MIDI controllers, and live looping, but also navigating challenges like venue compatibility and tech reliability.

My Practice Plan

Piano Practice

Returning to classical techniques feels natural to me. I’m starting with:

Warm-ups: Using Hanon’s The Virtuoso Pianist to build dexterity.
Technical drills: Practising Grade 8 scales and arpeggios.
Repertoire: Re-learning Mozart’s Sonata in G Major to strengthen accuracy and rhythm.

What I worked on today:

Warm-ups: Practised the 1st exercise from Hanon’s The Virtuoso Pianist at 100bpm (goal: 108bpm).
Scales: Worked on C major (170bpm), C harmonic minor (160bpm), and C melodic/natural minor (176bpm), focusing on accuracy and balance.

Repertoire: Re-learned the first page of Mozart’s Sonata in G Major, K. 283 (1st movement) at 70bpm (final speed: 126bpm).

Singing Practice

I’ve just received This Is A Voice by Jeremy Fisher & Gillyanne Kayes, which I’m going to use to build a structured routine to boost stamina, ensure vocal health, and improve head voice technique.

Live Performance Research

I’m exploring tools like Logic Pro’s Live Loops, MIDI mapping, and MainStage to create a dynamic, flexible setup. Recent videos have helped me understand how to integrate these into my performance. Today I focused on research to learn about what areas I should explore and learn about. These are some useful videos I found:

What’s Next?

I’m committing to regular practice across all these areas, working towards a headline show that feels true to my artistry and connects with my audience.