Tips For the Solo Guitarist and Vocalist

This article will cover a few technical aspects to improve your solo performance as well as gig preparation and performance tips.

The following tips would apply to a solo guitarist and vocalist performing at a small venue with their own sound system or running a small system that belongs to the venue. There’s nothing worse than being stuck with bad sound for yourself and the audience. When providing your own sound system at a solo gig make sure it is in good working order and you are well-versed in its functions. Many of us may be in a band and used to someone else in the band running sound. But when you are solo you are solely responsible for the quality of the performance. it may not be possible to bring an assistant to help, so take the time to learn about all of the input/outputs, EQ, and other features of your sound system. Always have a friend you can call in case you run into an issue. A simple phone call might be the difference between saving your performance and dealing with an issue for the entire show.

If you’re running into a venue’s existing sound system, find out ahead of time the make and model of all the equipment and go online to download the user manuals. Going through the user manual can help you prepare for using a system you’ve never touched before. Ask ahead of time at the venue if there is a staff member familiar with the sound system. The user manual is most likely a PDF so save it to your phone so that you can pull it up if needed. It’s wise to do the same for your own gear be it guitar pedals, mic preamps etc. You never know when you might need the manuals.

Since you'll be performing alone take into consideration things you may need to access quickly. If you use some sort of gig bag or travel bag put certain items in an easily accessible pouch so if you need to retrieve them, they are not going to interrupt your show in a major way. Items such as tuners, picks, strings slide, capo etc. are small enough to fit in a large outer pouch of a carry bag or gig bag. This pouch would be easier to access than an inner pouch of the gig bag should you need to retrieve an item between songs. 

Other items you should pack just in case would be a spare cable for guitar or microphone, a spare microphone, and a spare microphone clip. Most microphone clips are made of plastic and they will eventually wear out or break at the wrong time. So always carry a spare. And speaking of spares, it is always recommended to bring a second guitar. Should you need to change guitars due to a broken string or maybe even a technical problem with the electronics, you should have a second guitar ready to play. 

Even if you are playing a very soft finger style, you never know what technical difficulty may arise with your main guitar. If you use alternate tunings or a capo, a second guitar is a great advantage as it will save you time fine tuning in between songs. Have that second guitar already tuned with the capo or the alternate tuning and ready to go.

For consistent sound employ a guitar preamp for your acoustic. Plugging directly into a sound system can often give different results than you are accustomed to. The best way to maintain consistent sound is for you to control everything from a preamp. The preamp will handle your overall gain and EQ and the house sound system can simply amplify that signal. Carvin‘s KOA Acoustic Preamp not only does a great job at EQ and gain structure but it also has a quality compressor that allows you to play soft and maintain a full sound.

Here are a few tips to help with a solo performance. Whether you are performing originals or covers, analyze your setlist and do your best to keep an even distribution of up-tempo and slow songs. The biggest challenge of a solo performance is that you don’t have a band to help you with a dynamic performance. So, try to sprinkle the slow songs in between more up-tempo numbers. Have at least one number that you can request audience participation with. It always helps to keep the audience engaged. Even if you aren’t asking them to sing maybe they can slap their palms on the table to keep a beat. And, speaking of keeping a beat you may want to explore backing tracks or a MIDI drum pedal for your solo gigs. There are websites that offer customizable backing tracks so you can custom mix the instruments and adjust the key and tempo to suit your needs. And if you do use at minimum a drum track, try and boost the low frequencies just a bit. That low end in the drums can often make the difference between someone getting up and dancing or not. As long as they can feel it they’ll get up and dance and won’t care that there is not a real drummer on stage. You can find free MIDI tracks online and use those drum tracks as well. If you are inclined, you can create your own MIDI drum and backing tracks.

And finally, here’s a tip on how to deal with requests. Even if you are performing only your original music, people will inevitably request their favorite song. Sometimes people pull out cash tips and ask for a specific song. If you would like to accommodate those have your phone ready to go with lyrics and chord charts. One of the most useful apps is TABS from Ultimate Guitar.   They generally have professional and basic user submitted transcriptions of the most popular songs. The app can instantly change a transcription to a simplified version, change key, add a capo, and some songs link directly to a YouTube video so you have a reference.  Become familiar with the app and it can help you earn tips when a request is made.

One final piece of advice: don’t forget a tip jar. Bring your own as venues don’t always have one for you. Make sure to have a Venmo account so you can create a QR code to display, as many people don’t bother carrying cash. A QR Code can take them direct to your Venmo account so they can digitally deposit a tip. Venmo offers this QR code for free. Utilizing the above tips will put your mind at ease and allow you to put on your best performance.

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