A crash course in the importance of dynamics

How often have you seen a highly competent band, with perfectly good songs, and yet still found yourself yearning for something extra to keep you interested? Chances are the missing ingredient was dynamics.

It's nine o'clock on a muggy Tuesday evening in South Manchester, and I'm sitting in one of my favourite local music venues, wishing I hadn't decided to sit quite so close to the stage. A four-piece rock act is giving it some, about six feet away from me. It's pretty intense stuff as they mosh away — heads down, eyes closed, their faces contorted in the most intense concentration. My wife nudges my foot under the table, points at the lead guitarist and mouths the words "sex face" to me, with a wicked grin. I start to wonder how she knows, but that particular train of thought is broken as an ear-piercing javelin of feedback wakes the dopey sound engineer from dreams of crisps.

The bar is quite busy, for a "school night". The band are only on their third number, but I can see that a lot of people are already starting to consider their options. And I know why. It isn't that these guys can't play. In fact, they're clearly all very talented individuals. The problem isn't even the volume, which is bordering on the absurd for the size of the room. People are thinking of leaving because they're getting bored.

The first number was great. It was loud, fast and energetic. The second number was good too. It was loud, fast and energetic. The third number is OK. It's loud, fast and energetic, and it sounds a bit like the first two. An all-too-familiar pattern is forming here. This band clearly only has two settings — On and Off. There's just no light and shade — not even between numbers, let alone within them — and it's becoming tedious.

The fourth number confirms my fears. They launch into 'Killing In The Name Of' by Rage Against The Machine, but they forget to do the quiet bits. The whole thing is played at full volume, which leaves them nowhere to go. The only way is down. We finish our drinks and leave, in case they decide to give Nirvana's 'Come As You Are' the same treatment. Outside, we find ourselves competing for taxis with several like-minded individuals.

It isn't just heavy rock bands who can be guilty of doing this. Nearly all of us do it at some point in our musical development. It normally happens just as we start to get competent but it is an important habit to break, and as soon as possible. The key to being a great live band does not lie in the playing ability of the individuals. It isn't just skill which separates the great from the good — it's dynamics. The following is a simple list of rules which will help any band to improve the dynamics of their performance:

This is the golden rule. Not listening to the other players is possibly the most damaging schoolboy error any band member can make. If you're just concentrating on your part and not listening to what the rest of the band is doing, you will never reach your full potential to contribute the best you have to offer.

You don't have to spend the entire performance gazing into each other's eyes, but the occasional meaningful glance here and there can really help you to make sure you are all headed in the same direction. Orchestras follow their conductors to help keep them focused. Most bands have at least one member who knows what is supposed to happen next, so keep an eye on the designated driver or you'll fluff that clever bit that you worked out in rehearsal.

The soundcheck is much more than an opportunity for your drummer to shine. It's really important to get your levels right, not just for your audience but for you as well. How many times have you come off stage complaining that you couldn't hear yourself? Ever wondered what you actually played? Of course, the normal reaction is to play louder, but this only forces the rest of the band to crank it up as well. It feels like a Catch 22, but all you have to do is agree a sensible level and make sure your on-stage monitoring is as good as you can make it.

This must be the most common mistake made. In fact, it happens so often that perhaps we should simply assume that most bands don't think that the vocals are important. If you do value the vocal, then don't play all over it. If you value the lyrics, then back right off and give your audience a fighting chance of working out what they are. Stopping playing entirely and letting the lead vocalist fly solo for a few bars — without the aid of instruments — can sometimes be incredibly effective.

Vocalists can be every bit as guilty of doing this as anyone else — the lead guitarist's favourite solo is not the time for you to start practicing your vocal gymnastics.

Knowing what not to play is every bit as important as knowing what to play. A little skill can be a dangerous thing. Just because you can cram all those notes into each bar with such impressive dexterity, doesn't mean that you should. If you think you might be guilty of overplaying, try rationing yourself on notes. Select four or five notes from the scale that you are using and stick to them, religiously. Not only will it force you to become more creative with what you have to work with, but it will encourage you to use the space between the notes more effectively.

Classical scholars will speak of Diminuendos and Crescendos, but let's just say it is important to have quiet bits as well as loud bits. Varying the volume level can be intensely expressive. Starting off small and building up to a really big finale is common enough, but try hitting the audience with everything you've got for the intro and then suddenly stopping for a whole bar, before starting the first verse nicely. For the audience, the effect can feel much like dropping off a cliff, but you catch them before they land.

This can be dangerous territory and may lead to boring bouts of self-indulgence, but, if any bandmembers are sufficiently multi-talented enough to play a second instrument, try mixing it up a bit. Changing to an instrument which you feel less confident on can force a player to show a little more restraint than they might normally exhibit, and give someone else a chance to shine. Also, the different playing styles between players can help create a change in the general feel of the performance.

This is another form of self-medication for anyone with enough self-awareness to know that they are guilty of over-playing, but not enough self-control to help them in the heat of the moment. There's nothing like trying something in G-sharp minor to calm your keyboard player down, and hearing things in unusual keys will make your audience sit up and listen. Of course, it also helps to improve your skill as players.

This is simplicity itself but it can be so effective. All you do is change keys part-way through a number — pick the right key to change to and you can lower or lift the whole feel of a piece. It can be particularly effective when you do it to a cover that doesn't actually feature a key change in the original.

This might just be an exercise that you restrict to the rehearsal room, but covering songs that already have strong dynamics is a great way of learning how to apply it to your own material.

If you are playing covers, don't feel that you have to be true to the original. Another great way of discovering more about dynamics is to try changing them.

Remember, it isn't just the dynamics of each individual number that are important. You need to keep the balance between light and shade right within your set list too. This can mean more than simply making sure all your songs are in different tempos and keys — I once saw an Irish Folk band shake up its set with a stunning rendition of the TV theme tune to 'Fraggle Rock'.

Finally, if you discover something that adds a great dynamic to a number, be careful how often you use that trick. If every song in your set has a quiet bit, followed by a loud bit, followed by a key change, followed by a tempo change, and ends with a bass solothen you are missing the point. 0

A crash course in the importance of dynamics

Stagecraft