Re: [Harp-L] LOWER VOLUME FOR LIVE MUSIC

[Ken Deifik <kenneth.d@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Play soft enough so that people can hear each other talking. Give them a 
> chance to find out what it's all for.

My personal goal: play softly enough that people can talk to each other and 
engagingly enough that they forget to.  It's something to shoot for, 
anyway.  Hell, playing too loud for people to talk over is cheating.

I used to play in a restaurant where half the patrons were facing away from 
the riser.  I knew I was doing well if the people facing me ignored their 
dates.  This had to be due to my music, because I am not especially 
attractive, or at least I do not much suit my own taste.

In the lower depths of the LA club scene you never have to long for people 
to talk over your music.  Everyone who is there to hear someone else 
appears to be discussing anything but you, who is playing for them.  They 
become annoyed when the cappuchino machine goes off and interrupts them, 
but I know that whenever that happens an angel gets his wings.

I once did a home concert for someone who had seen me at another home 
concert.  My hostess talked to me throughout the show, which I really 
enjoyed -- this was totally right for a show in a big living room.  At one 
point she said "I hope you brought tapes to sell."  I said I had.  She said 
"Because when I saw you at Sheryl's home concert we bought the tape and 
went home and made love and ..."

And I heard no more of what she said because the voice in my head was 
saying "Here I am in the middle of my own gig with someone telling the 
audience how much she likes doing the deed to my music."  Only the voice in 
my head didn't use the term 'doing the deed.'

So now that I think about it, my personal goal is to play softly enough for 
people to talk, and to have them talk about how much they like do the deed 
etc etc etc.  -K