7A Testing the Hypothesis Part 1

Musicians forgetting their music or lyrics on stage

·     When performing on stage, some musicians and singers need their words or chords to be displayed to help them perform to their best ability. However, looking at a chord chart or screen can make it feel like they are not prepared or connected with their audience.

o  The who: onstage performers

o  The what: they don’t remember every single lyric or chord they need to sing or play.

o  The why: either they do not know, become nervous and forget, or the set is exceptionally long, and it is hard to remember what is coming next.

·     Testing the who: This can also be spread out to actors and speakers that need help with points and lines on stage.

·     Testing the what: not everyone has this problem. Some performers can remember everything that they need to know.

·     Testing the why: there are a lot of different reasons why people will forget stuff they should know. It’s hard to explain, but sometimes when people get nervous, their thought processes seem to disappear.

Interviews:

·     The fist I interviewed was my coworker at my home church. She went to college for music. She has been performing on stage since she graduated. The first few words to sing are the hardest for her to remember. Since songs normally run in patterns, she can figure the rest once she gets started. She gets nervous when she gets a solo. She doesn’t experience the problem usually, but there is a screen in the back of the room with the current slide and the words coming up next when she does need it. The hardest part for her is communicating to others that she does not know lyrics when there is no cheatsheet available. 

·     The second person I interviewed was my boss at my home church. He thought of the situation differently because his job is to lead worship. He tries his hardest to memorize everything he has to perform, he feels it is expected of him. He finds it distracting to the audience when he has to look at a screen or piece of paper to help cue him.

·      I interviewed a pastor to understand an outsider’s perspective. He said he noticed when others were using a piece of paper to help keep them on track. He noted that he didn’t see when they were looking at the screen in the back, but it was terrible when it located right in front of the stage. He said it was pronounced when they would look down. He did not mind it if they were natural about it. 

·     The next person I interviewed was a sound technician. He also provided me with an outsider’s perspective. He said that it was apparent when performers did not memorize lyrics. He doesn’t like when they have to move papers around, because a lot of people notice the hands moving and it distracts them from the focus of worship. He feels like they did not practice enough and doesn’t get connected to the singer. 

·     The last person I interviewed was someone in the band I used to play in. He does typically well with remembering, but now that he is leading the band gets stressed out. He has to think of a lot of moving parts, and he worries more that everything stays afloat. When he stresses out, he forgets the words, because his mind starts to wander to other places. He cannot get connected with the audience for these reasons. He wishes there was a way to use cheatsheets without it being a distraction to others.

Opportunities you did not notice till now:

·      I am not the only person to have a problem, there are times when we forget lyrics. My boss is practically a walking jukebox, it was surprising that he sometimes needs the screen in the back to help guide him. 

·      I asked the sound technician if he noticed when I used the screen and my chord charts, and I rely on it very bad. I thought it was fine, but it is to the point where it is disengaging. 

·      I did not realize that is was off putting looking at the screen was, it hindered some not to be able to worship. They feel as if I am singing to the screen instead of the audience. 

·      I feel that the real solution is to know what you are singing, but sometimes that is not possible with the number of songs people play during some church services.