Arts & Entertainment, Music
Preparing For Live Performances
Lesson time 07:16 min
If you stay ready, you don't have to get ready. From pre-show rituals, rehearsal techniques and mindful meditation, Usher shares how he preps himself for exhilarating live performances.
Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars
Topics include: Performance visualizations • Powering through mistakes • Taking advantage of every opportunity • Creating pre-show rituals
Preview
If you see it in your mind before it happens, it becomes a reality. If you tell yourself, there's an audience, and there may be no one there, you begin to go through the beats in preparing for what's going to happen. And then when you're performing, when you're in the moment of truth, that connection between you and that audience, it's real because you prepared for it. You saw it before it happened. Do your best to project, in your mind, a successful performance before it happens. Being able to visualize when you're in private, is the beginning of a successful performance. Visualize-- no different than athletes do. For instance, a golfer, he sets up for a shot. He knows what the practice is, but he has to see it first. He has to look at the green and the sky, feel the wind, feel all the elements around him, and see it, visualize it before he even takes his swing. And then he focuses all of his attention on what he has to do-- hitting that ball, hitting that ball to perfection. Once he hits it, he has already connected to where it's going to go. His body just has to follow through what he's already seen. It's no different in music. You're focusing on the note. You're focusing on what they're thinking. You're focusing on where we are. You're focusing on if someone else-- get out of there. Get out of there. Focus on who you're singing it to in your mind. Focus on the truth and the passion of what you're trying to say. That right there gives you an incredible connection, and a amazing performance, every time. [MUSIC PLAYING] There was a time when I would perform and I was so afraid that the first note that came out, I would always crack. And I had to get past that. But that's part of the reason why I suggest that you always remember to go through your entire performance when you're at home, so that you don't get into the habit of breaking down mentally and stopping and thinking you got to go back and fix something then. You've got to make it through the entire exercise when you're in private, so that you build up enough confidence, in the event that you do have a moment. No one's perfect. Turn your mistakes into things that you deliberately did. In the end, you want them to say, he meant to do that. Oh, that was just texture. That I was just raspiness that gave you some depth. That was commitment. Even if you crack, make your way through it. When you're at home in your mirror with your brush in your hand, with you guitar in your hand, with the keys, you have to make it through it. You have to go all the way through the performance. And then think back to what you did wrong. Try it again. Work on it. Keep doing it. Maybe run it four times. Five times, how ever many times it takes for you to do it. Man, I run it tens of thousands of times. I sing in the shower. I sing in the mirror, ...
About the Instructor
Usher, winner of 8 Grammy Awards, reveals the technical skills, career lessons and breakthrough advice that he has used to captivate audiences for over 25 years. For the first time ever, learn how Usher approaches performance and wins over audiences from the studio to the stage. There has never been a class like this before.
Featured MasterClass Instructor
Usher
In his first ever online class, Usher teaches you his personal techniques to captivate audiences across 16 video lessons.
Explore the Class