I know I am making a very bold statement here about “musical success” but I am speaking to you 100% earnestly and from life experience.
If you are in search of a wider audience, greater appreciation with your current audience, and maybe even a better “way” to make a living as a musician, this will interest you.
I am about to help you remove a HUGE block and change your life….yes that’s right.
As they say, “if the show fits, wear it.”
I am going to teach you about my formula…
“C + Y = R”
But first…the proof.
In the last 6 years I’ve increased my joy, my feeling of aliveness, number and quality gigs and overall lifestyle due to this formula.
I’ll present you with the info, and then you decide.
I hope that by the end of this post, you’ll have a new understanding about connecting emotionally with your audience.
When you “connect” emotionally to people with your music this is the start of all good things for them and for you.
Gig bookings, more students, more connection to your loved ones and yes (gulp) more money, can come to you from doing what you love – playing music.
Maybe you are student and money doesn’t matter, but the RELATIONSHIP to your listeners still does. This post is all about emotion and connection….money is just a potentially nice side effect.
Your audience can be your husband, wife, kids, friends, neighbors church group or even a club or concert audience. This applies to you whether you are a hobby player or pro player!
This “C + Y = R” formula was (and still is) used by artists and bands like:
- The Beatles
- The Rolling Stones
- Michael Jackson
- Prince
- Led Zeppelin
- Chet Atkins
- Tommy Emmanuel
- Adele
- and more…
Let me paint you a picture of how life was before “C + Y = R”
Years ago I played every little gig I could. I taught relentlessly, and it was as if my dreams of being a concert and festival performer just refused to become a reality.
I could hardly pay my rent! What was I doing wrong?
Then, I learned solo pop arrangement (my first Youtube Video was “I Wish” by Stevie Wonder) and a “flood” of activity started.
Later, I’d find that even on a small gig I could get the room’s attention and sell a ton of CD’s by playing “I’ll Be There” by the Jackson 5.
As if by magic, a whole audience of talkers would fall into silence and then applaud wildly after the song , as if it were some sacred ceremony sprinkled with gold fairy dust.
Why on earth did these little “ditties” turn heads, get people to shut up…when I could spin out endless jazz standards that only served to be “background music?”
I’m not dissing jazz. I am calling out musicians who overlook the all-important connection to the audience. Jazz can and should have that, and in it’s heyday – it did.
Back to the Stevie & Jackson 5 tunes….
I knew I stumbled on something deep after years of toiling away. Why did these tunes make life better?
Here’s my formula.
C + Y = R
Cover Song + You = Relationship
By playing a well known song, you access something ALREADY existing in your listeners mind, rather than teach them something new.
It’s like telling a little kid a bedtime story they already know…it provides a degree of security & comfort.
Rather than “confront” with new information – you give them the “warm fuzzies” by accessing a “corresponding” reality that they already know. As a result…
THEY FEEL GOOD and become open to YOU!
Very Important – and the Catch 22
In order to do this properly, you must be VERY honest with yourself because your “cover” songs must be infused with true love and dedication.
You have to let these ideas “sneak up” on you – otherwise they will feel “hollow” and “loveless” to you & your audience.
I know this because I have learned tunes that did not “vibe” with me. As a result, I basically never want to play them.
Use your head and your heart together when learning cover songs.
If you infuse the song with your love, your dedication, your touch, and your sound – it becomes an easy vehicle for you to connect with your audience.
They get to feel the love, warmth and passion that you have put in over hours, weeks maybe years.
They react to the “human-ness” you give them….
By doing this you build “R” – relationship.
By making it easy for them, you are communicating to them that YOU want a RELATIONSHIP and are taking the first warm friendly step towards them.
What About Original Songs?
Of course you should play your own music too.
Once your RELATIONSHIP is “activated” with C + Y = R your audiences will be open to your original music or more obscure tunes. Once you have bridged the gap, almost anything can go!
On the surface level it sounds like I am saying “play cover tunes”, and yes every wedding band does that.
I’m saying something deeper because it’s based on giving and not taking.
Make the RELATIONSHIP the priority in your performances.
For example – if I play for school kids, I’ll play a popular tune like “Billie Jean” so they feel “hey this guitar player guy is cool” and they’ll then feel open to my offerings.
Were I to barge into a school and play all originals – how long could I keep the attention of high schoolers?
The point is this…3 or 4 songs deep – everyone feels groovy and THEN I can say “Hey gang, here’s one of my tunes.”
Imagine for instance you have never heard my tune “Ciao Bella”.
If I come out and play1. Billie Jean2. Superstition3. I’ll Be There4. Ciao Bella
You’d likely be MUCH more receptive than if I played 3 originals, and then a 4th. (I speak of the general public.)
For some this would seem “un artistic”, but for me this allows greater possibilities to have a hungry audience for my own music and compose more music.
But Rock Stars Don’t Play Covers…Why Should I?
Actually they do if you think about it.
And – The Beatles and Stones started as blues bands covering Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry tunes…and slowly brought their tunes in…
Big rock groups are expected to play their “hits” in concert before they launch into the new album material.
Could You Imagine:
- a Bon Jovi concert without “Livin on a Prayer?”
- a Led Zeppelin Concert without “Stairway to Heaven?”
- a Stevie Wonder concert without “Superstition” and “Isn’t She Lovely?”
Of course not.
Pull your audience in with well loved songs FIRST, and then anything can happen.
You are still free to play what you want…only you are in a better position to do so.
I bet you’ll be closer to being a flourishing and successful musician if you use C + Y = R.
“Try it, you’ll like it!”
=-=-=–
P.S. The All-New Volume II “How To Play Stevie Wonder for Fingerstyle Guitar DVD” launches tomorrow June 27, 2012.
If you want to try out your C + Y = R with 4 great new Stevie tunes (Isn’t She Lovely, Higher Ground, Cherie Amour, You Are the Sunshine of my Life), I’ve laid them all out or you in video lessons and written guitar tabs!
Coming June 27, 2012…
Adam, you’ve nailed it on the head there buddy! Great blog post and I totally agree with you on this. I was a big fan of the BEach Boys growing up, so guess what? I put a lot of time and effort into creating some great arrangements of Beach Boy Tunes….
Very true. If something does not work, you still need to learn something. This is a great lesson. Thanks!
“You have to let these ideas “sneak up” on you – otherwise they will feel “hollow” and “loveless” to you & your audience.” – Adam Rafferty
So true! Thanks for taking the time and sharing.
Agreed. In fact I’ve gone so far as putting my original stuff aside altogether. There is plenty enough creativity and art in making your own arrangements!
I think as a solo instrumentalist you also get an extra bonus with covers. When someone _sings_ a cover with their own voice and expression, even only slightly different from the original, the audience may not respond positively to “someone messing up my favourite song”. But when it is instrumental, an active listener will hear the song in their head as sung by the original singer as they work through the lyrics. Even if you’ve funked the tune up, slowed it down, or done anything crazy with it – they still hear the voice they grew to love, so you almost can’t go wrong!
Audience relationship is everything to me. I’ve played all my songs hundreds if not thousands of times, I don’t need to impress me anymore; in fact I can grow tired of hearing me. But when I’ve caught the attention of just one audience member – I can’t help but put maximum love into each song, like I’m having a deep and meaningful conversation with them. I love playing for them. More than half the time they won’t give you any signal they are into it (why would you show emotion?) – but afterwards you get “the nod” – so I play with maximum love even if it looks like nobody cares, just in case somebody secretly is.
Which makes Naudo a mystery to me. Absolute maximum expression comes through his covers, and yet in the few times I’ve emailed with him it seems like he scratches around for gigs. He should be touring the world! Perhaps it is the culture of where he lives…although where I live in Australia live music is borderline unaccepted, people don’t know what to do when they hear it – so it couldn’t be worse than that…he must be doing something wrong?
Anyway, still enjoying your posts (I’m that restaurant/cafe player you mentioned last time, I could give you a hundred excuses, but let’s just leave it at “everything in its time”). Best wishes from Oz!
JAW
JAW thanks man. You speak with the ring of having experienced this first hand.
Let me add that I love playing small intimate gatherings for people, and restaurant playing and small gigs offer a satisfaction that big gigs don’t.
I like playing both…big stage gigs have a totally different kind of stress and feel to them, so please don’t self depricate on that….they are fun.
For Naudo – the answer is this…you need to have the vision. No matter what the level of talent, you have to aim for where you want to be. When he aims for a concert stage, he’ll get there.
Don’t know about that Maestro Naudo seems to be doing well and he has TV guestings in Spain it seems.
https://youtu.be/GGPdWYhpgz4
Hey there….that means he’s doing great, and I am happy. We all win when one of us wins.
I was only reacting to the above comment – something about him “scratching for gigs”….my point being – that if you “scratch for gigs” it’s the scratcher’s doing – not the gigs doing!
AR
True that Adam, you’re a cool dude and I’m glad fingerstyle is becoming more popular and respected cause I play fingerstyle too and I hate it when some people tag it right away as “Elevator music” not fair at all because it takes a special skill to play and craft and interesting arrangement of a popular song on fingerstyle guitar but I guess you can’t really please everyone…I’m even seeing people busking it out fingerstyle here in our city which is awesome!!
Great post Adam, you really nailed it with this one. People always seem to respond more to what they know.
Any advice for those of us whose style does not lend itself to popular cover tunes? I play celtic music on guitar, and am also thinking of folks who play original instrumental compositions. Is it just a reality that there is going to be less of a market for what we do, and not as many folks interested in it?
Keep up the good work.
Anton
Good question.
Is there ONE well known tune you could drop in as a little gem?
Also – do your tunes vary in key?
Vary in tempo?
Vary in melody types?
Another thing you can and should (and probably) do is tell stories and “shmooze” in between songs to strengthen your audience connection.
I’d look for ONE tune that fits your style….try it, you’ll like it!
AR
Adam is right, you’re never going connect with the audience with even the most brilliant playing if they don’t have something familiar to hang on to. Chet Atkins or Tommy Emmanuel could, but you need them to invite you in first. Remember Marty’s guitar solo in Back to the Future? Even though they’d never heard Chuck Berry, his music is in context for that crowd, and they picked up on that right away. When he began to improvise, he lost touch with their reality and they couldn’t or wouldn’t stay with him. A cover piece, a familiar standard, both let the audience in comfortably. branch out gradually from there.
Seems to me there are lots of Irish Standards that everyone will recognize. The nice thing about old standards is that you have carte blanche to put your own stamp on them, because everybody already does. So make it your own fingerstyle version, if its a song they all know, they will recognize what you’re doing with it. Best Case they’ll be thrilled to add another good treatment to the ones they know of that particular song, and look forward to the unique bits that you do. Worst case, they’ll enjoy it at least as much as hearing someone else’s version on a record or radio. With well-loved standards, you can even get the audience singing along, which is the motherlode. After that, they’re in your pocket, and will remember the song and you as a great time.
Remember, humans are neurologically wired to tap their feet to any music they’re comfortable with. If you see feet tapping, try to escalate it to clapping time or something else. Then you’re talking to each other in real time. If you don’t see any feet tapping at any time, you haven’t reached them.
Adam, it is true that Fingerstyle is too new and unfamiliar to the mainstream for non-musicians to get involved without being eased into it. I find it entirely appropriate to talk about what you do, what FingerStyle is, where they’ve heard it without realizing it, and what they should listen for. \I’f go so far as to say that we all have a DUTY to talk it up, for the good of all of the rest of us players. If they go from your concert to dusting off their old Chet Atkins records, you reached them. It’s a topic for your patter before and after songs, that has a sensible reason to be there, and everybody loves knowing something that other people don’t know.
HEYA
BTW….After having played jazz guitar for years and years and YEARS as a pro in NYC, I wen’t for the fingerstyle thing. At the first performance of OVERJOYED by Stevie, a very attractive 30-something year old woman came up and kissed me.
Ok, super duper ego trip, I felt like the DUDE! 🙂
But I had to notice that WOW – SOMEONE NOTICED.
It rang a bell as opposed to being something that to “the public” sounds like endless noodling, or better said – a language they don’t understand.
That was a wake up call as to “what works and what doesn’t”
🙂
Thanks again for the comment!
AR
Adam, this resonates with me. A few years ago when I was playing a regular restaurant gig my wife asked me which song I play that gets the most audience response. Now, I play standards (*my* favorite), bossas (my next favorite) and pop tunes (that speak to me). So I broke it down to this way: at that time the song I was most proud of was my arrangement of Bill Evans “Turn Out the Stars”, to that date the most challenging arrangement I had ever done. But when I would play it, then look up at the end, inwardly beaming with pride, to see no one paying attention.That song puts me in awe of Evan’s harmonic genius, but none of them had ever heard it before. But when I played “You’ve Got A Friend”, a song I’ve been playing since I was about 15, everyone would applaud, sometimes with tears in their eyes. It wasn’t because I had done an extradinary job, it was because the song evoked the emotion embedded in their memories of their youth (just as it still does for me). This got me to thinking about how tap into the emotion of the audience, as well as tap into my own emotional life as well, in my performance. I’m sure you understand what I’m talking about. It’s easy to be so concerned about the technical aspects of playing a piece that one never tries to access one’s emotion about the music and try to express *that* in the performance. Another instructive example what when the wife and I attended the Port Townsend jazz festival a number of years back. During one of the big evening concerts, it opened with a legendary pianist (who shall remain nameless) who proceeded to play the most extraoridary and awesomely technically masterful stuff I had ever heard. But he seemed completely unemotionally involved. It just seemed to spin off his fingers as he yawned. While intellectually awed, I was left cold by the performance. The program night ended with vocalist Nancy King and pianist Steve Christopherson who performed one of the most emotionally complex and stirring performances I’ve ever experienced. Technically, it was rudimentary compared to the first pianist, but lightyears beyond in emotion. Nancy’s performance of St. James Infirmary–a “simple” tune–was one of the most moving I’ve ever seen.
Great advice Adam,
It’s hard for me as a singer/ songwriter, to do covers that I can actually connect to and sing as if they were my songs, and this is the challenge singers face: to be able to sing covers and feel them. There are some out there that do speak to me, consequently, I can sing them as if I wrote them. Mad World is one of those songs, Angel from Montgomery another.
Have to say, I almost jumped out of my chair when I heard your version of Superstition on So You Think You Can Dance. So happy for your well-deserved success and so happy to know you.
Blessings, Nomi
Hey Nomi! Well, covers boosted my career, and even the Beatles did Chuck Berry covers. A singer songwriter friend threw in “Whats Going On” by Marvin Gaye at a gig – and for me it was a highlight, even though I love originals. One or two lil’ hooks for your audience could help – and it may feel unnatural at first. Of course, that’s just one idea 🙂
vous-etes une mèrveille du monde musical
mèrci un fois de plus.
Excellent point, Adam. Resonates with me, too, Don Mitchell.
When my two sons were younger they wanted to see Journey at Riverport Amphitheatre in St. Louis – a 20,000 person—capacity venue. Hmmm … selfishly, I would get to see Neal Schon who was recruited for Santana at age 15.
Unbelievably, the first hour and a half of the show was some pretty amazing fusion-type stuff (think Jeff Beck “Wired” with Jan Hammer). The crowd barely applauded after each song.
Sensing they were ‘blowing it’ Ross Valory (bass) laughed nervously and assured the crowd, “Don’t worry, we’ll get to ‘the dirty dozen’ soon” (Separate Ways, Lights, Don’t Stop Believing’, etc.). But it was too late. They had lost a good part of the crowd. Many had left altogether. Lesson learned on that night.
The classic rock band I recently left after 16 years had ‘signature songs’—covers that would always bring the crowd to a frenzy—even on those gigs where we were playing for 10 people. ; ) — What I Like About You, Long Cool Woman, Vehicle, Oye Como Va were just a few. We were very careful to build the set lists with these songs strategically placed. Worked every time.
Now that I have switched gears from the classic rock band to an acoustic duo and expanding my repertoire with some help from “Study With Adam” (shameless plug!) … I’m anxious to see what our signature songs will be and how we’ll carefully build our set lists for each gig.
C + Y = R is a timely reminder!
Thanks Stephen!
First off, I want you to know that I in awe of your playing. Having said that I am a 75 year old guy with short fat fingers. I love to play and sing with my wife Linda, We have been doing that for almost 50 years. To say that I feel somewhat overwhelmed by some of your posts is an understatement. Trying to figure out guitar tabs totally frustrates me.
This last post C+Y=R I loved because it is exactly what I try to do. Making an emotional connection is critically important. Sharing music to me is a form of worship. Music can express a thought in ways the spoken word can’t. I just wanted to thank you for sharing these thoughts. Peace, Jay Banta
Great advice. I’ve been a believer in doing covers so that my audience will hear “somethin’ they know.” The thought is that I want to wrap them in their comfort zone, so they will metaphorically snuggle in. About your advice today, it’s a timely word: I’ve been leaning a massive Dylan tune that I like, but there are two verses that grate against me. It would be no problem to drop the memorizing and move on to something that resonates.
Thanks again.
Absolutely right Adam, and very well put. It is our job as performers to ENTERTAIN. At the start, the audience wants you to deliver something they find entertaining, and they will let you in to expand on how you do it, only after you have delivered on your first obligation. The first song has to be something they recognize, then they can put you in context, listen to another cover so they can discover what you’re doing, another one to listen intelligently to how you’re adapting a standard. Probably one more to understand what you’re doing, and then they’ll be ready for you to introduce something original.
I honestly believe chatting is a key part of it. We have to put the song in context of where it came from and what it was hoping to achieve, so they can musically “read between the lines”. After the song you can acknowledge what you were doing, and set up the next one. Saying you’re a fingerstyler is not at all like saying you’re a Beatle, or even a Monkee. Jazz collapsed because the audience lost touch. In the early days of Bebop, the cats would explain what it was about, and people followed them. Anybody who just wanted to dance, got what they wanted. Anyone who wanted to understand the music and what was great about it learned from the players. When it got to be a jazz musician’s extension on another jazz musician’s extension, of another … Only Jazz Musicians could figure out that they were doing and why. So they ended up playing for each other, not the public.
Chet Atkins always put the song in context before he played it, and he was, well, Chet Atkins. And I think his records were more than 90% covers. We may not all be comfortable chatting up these strangers, but we certainly should be comfortable talking about the song that took dozens or hundreds of hours to prepare, and what that journey was like. And always include a plug for Fingerstyle. If you don’t, they won’t recognize that its an emerging art form, and that you are one of those shaping its direction. And won’t recognize it in any of us that come after you, either.
Good point “Big rock groups are expected to play their “hits” in concert before they launch into the new album material.” Are they saying we’re too stupid to remember the earlier hits to put the new ones in context? Not at all. They’re setting the stage for a successful introduction of the new. It’s a party, not a test. Even if you’re the biggest Stones fan ever, you can’t just jump from your day job to a piece you’ve never heard in any way. The covers get you all the way into your Stones head-space, and in the mood to hear even more.
If you don’t spend a bit of time setting the stage and/or educating them, how can you expect them to appreciate the awesomeness of what you do?
Even made 5 years ago, you are absolutely correct about the connection with your audience, and I would go even farther as to speak of an “inner” connection. Because people don’t know you personally, but they connect with your “inner” you through the music. Nice!
One point that you didn’t cover, and which bugs me the most. When you play someone else song, a contemporary musician, are you are playing with the “legal authorization” of the composer, or you just go along, and take a chance you won’t have any legal proceedings against you?
I play usually for my church (non-profit), and play for no money. But we are asked not to play anything that could infringe the copyright of the music. So, I’m kind of forced to play songs that are beyond a certain year. So, usually if I play something that’s 50 years or more, or that is in the public domain, I don’t have any problem, but if I want to play a “cover song”, from a more modern song, it would not be accepted.
How can I deal with that? And how do YOU deal with that?
Thanks!
Jackie
Thank you for the comment.
The question is where. Playing a cover song in an official place like a church or school? There may be issues.
In Germany, each concert requires a form from a company called GEMA, that it be filled out , reported and a little bit paid. The organizers do that.
In the USA? I am not sure. In a restaurant / bar? Usually no problem, but it’s always good to check.
– AR