Playing live is pretty much the best thing in the world. Nothing on this Earth can touch you when the sound is just right, the band is on fire and your fingers are obeying every command from your brain.

Playing live is pretty much the worst thing in the world. Nothing on this Earth is worse than knowing your sound is crap, the rest of the band are playing out of tune, and your fingers are completely divorced from your brain.

As musicians, I venture that we can all agree with both of the above statements. Many of us would probably put it down to luck; the all important “vibe” which either blesses us with its presence or curses us with its absence. While that’s definitely a part of it, there are plenty of more tangible things the working guitarist can do to avoid drooping towards statement B. I’ve assembled a list of seven things to improve your live performances, for you, your band, and most importantly the audience!

1. Practice

This one might sound a bit obvious, but it’s absolutely crucial to the whole deal. Even if you’re performing numbers you’ve played a hundred times, practice makes perfect and can prepare you for the pitfalls that might arise. It’s like a familiar journey; you know exactly where you’re going and how you’re going to get there, but what if a road gets closed off and you don’t know a detour? If someone else makes a mistake onstage, it can throw you off course. If you suddenly find yourself drawing a blank and unable to get your pinky finger to hammer on to that all important G#, you’re screwed. Practice!

2. Prepare your instrument

We’ve all done gigs with crusty strings. We’ve all had slightly dodgy cables or amps that sound like they’re about to fall over. As exciting as living on the edge is, it can ruin the gig. Making sure your instrument and equipment are ready for the gig is just as important as making sure that you are. Don’t leave your strings on for too long – if you’re playing regularly, two or three weeks tops. I recommend string cleaner (Planet Waves makes some good stuff) in the interim. Have a spare guitar if you can! When you’re setting up your amp, check the output jack on your guitar and the input jack on your amp to ensure they’re firmly secure. And don’t underestimate the importance of a good quality guitar cable – they really do make a huge difference to your sound. If something doesn’t sound quite right, investigate and fix or it’ll bug you for the whole gig. Check that you have everything you need (capo, slide, whatever).

3. Prepare yourself

Here’s the important bit. Make sure you’re ready mentally and physically. Stretches or exercises to warm up the fingers can be crucial. I find it helpful to have a practice amp (or my trusty Vox amPlug) backstage to run through any tricky parts or anything I’m worried about in the upcoming set. Talk to the rest of the band, make sure everyone’s on the same page.

4. Just before the performance

Some very simple advice here from personal experience. Make sure you’re not impaired by alcohol. Instead, work off of your current emotional state. If you’re in a good mood, ramp it up to a brilliant one. If you’re in a bad mood, ramp it up to the foulest mood you can muster. If you’re nervous as hell, channel that energy into a confidence booster and try to reach for something new. If you go onstage with extreme emotion (whatever emotion it is), you’ll throw yourself into the performance with everything you have. Some of the best gigs I’ve ever had have been the result of being epically hacked off with something or someone. Who said bad moods aren’t cool?

5. During the performance

You are going to make mistakes. You might as well accept this now, as there’s no way around it. How you deal with a mistake is one of the most important aspects of live performance. This is where how much you practice comes into play. If you know the piece inside-out, you’ll be better prepared to jump back on track quickly. If someone else in the band makes a mistake but you’re all prepared, you will avoid a train-wreck. The best piece of advice I can give is to laugh it off. If you let yourself get pissed off when you make a mistake, you’re going to make a ton more. Hit a bum note, smile to yourself and carry on. Chances are, you were the only one who noticed. If a band mate messes something up, DON’T TURN AROUND AND LOOK! There is nothing more distracting to the people watching than for the whole band to leer at the one guy that hit a clam; it’s unprofessional and should be avoided.

6. After the performance

It takes a while to come down after a good show. You’ll feel untouchable for a couple of hours, basking in the glory of a job well done and, if you’re lucky, drowning in compliments and applause. Let your ego be rubbed, but don’t be fooled into thinking you’re invincible. All too often I’ve come off stage and started throwing pints of beer down my throat, feeling no effect but enjoying the moment. Then the next day isn’t so pretty, and you’ve got to do it all over again. Not fun!

Equally, if you’ve had a bad show (and you will), don’t let it get you down. It’s not worth beating yourself up over. You’ll know what went wrong, and you’ll know what you have to do to fix it. Adopt, adapt and improve (motto of the Round Table!).

7. Repeat

Experience.  You can’t beat it. The more you play live, the better. Every mistake, every train-wreck, every broken string and every dropped plectrum will be a learning curve. If you have a bad gig, get back on the horse.

And there you have it; your first step on the road to the perfect gig. Now it’s your turn – gig, make mistakes, and write your own list!