Interacting with audiences

[shelby-m]

Lately I have started playing at nursing homes and for small audiences.

[Paul and Brenda]

We start with an introduction about our harps, then announce each piece, including anything we know about the piece.

[adam-b-harris]

Many of them are going to find whatever you have to say as interesting as the music.

[Sylvia]

It’s good practice.

[diane-michaels]

I think that the interaction with the audience in between pieces is just as important as the music. This is how we can personalize the live music experience for our audience. In addition to giving them information about the music, about the harp and about you, find other ways to engage them. I like to play medleys and ask them to name the tunes I played afterwards, for instance. This can be very therapeutic for aging audience members. I also have ways to include the audience in building my program like having the names of tunes written on pieces of paper in a grab bag, and giving individual people the chance to pick the next piece.

[shelby-m]

Oh I love the idea of the grab bag!

[tony-morosco]

I think interacting with the audience is a vital part of a solo or small group performance.

In fact I even like it at the symphony. It is why I always try to go to pre concert talks. And why, in SF, I really

[carl-swanson]

I love all of the responses here. It’s more important then ever to interact with the audience and to talk about the pieces in particular, no matter what type of concert or what type of audience you are dealing with. As an audience member, i also go to the pre-concert lectures whenever they’re available.

I’ve given about 14 or 15 solo recitals(of classical music) over the past 12 years or so. Whether the audience was a harp chapter or a general audience with no knowledge of classical music, I always talked between pieces, mostly about the piece coming up. I try to follow a couple of simple rules.

1) Keep it short. No more than 2 or 3 minutes maximum, and more often than not, about a minute long.

2) Keep it light. Try to be funny if you can(don’t force humor. If you are not naturally funny, then skip this one).

3) Whatever you say should be relevant to the next piece coming up. Don’t get off on tangents and turn the whole thing into a shaggy dog story.

4) Practice what you plan to say so it sounds natural but is also clear and concise. I often write out the whole spiel that I want to say, putting the information into the best order for the audience. Then I read it over and over again aloud so that I’m very familiar with it. I don’t memorize it, but it’s close to memorized.

5) Tell the audience something that they can listen for. If you’re playing Au Matin, tell them that the melody is often at the bottom, in the left hand. Same with the Prokofief Prelude. I usually play 3 movements from Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, and I tell them that each movement tells a little story, and show them how Ravel does that. There’s a Renie transcription from a Bach Suite in which the left hand plays a melody above the harmony and a counter melody below. I tell them that Bach does a little slight of hand in this movement because he makes you think that there are two melodies going on with chords in the middle, when in fact, from the first note of the piece to the last, you are never hearing more than one note at a time. That’s enough to make them sit up and actively listen.

The greatest compliments I get are when people come up to me at the reception and tell me the specific piece or pieces they liked. Without the talk, the whole thing would have been a pleasant wash of harp sounds and not a single note would have stood out.

So yes, talking is extremely important.

[kreig-kitts]

I went to a great concert of the Fry Street Quartet, where they did a terrific job of talking about pieces beforehand, including playing bits of motifs. The violinist who did the talking

[Sarah Mullen]

Always talk!

[kay-lister]

I always try to chat with the people.

[Paul and Brenda]

As far as at the beginning, we tell who we are, where we live, how long we have been playing, what types of music we play, and tell about our harps, make, where they are made, a little history of the company, how many strings, how much they weigh, etc.

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