A bit over a week ago, I performed at the Barbados 57th Independence Dinner Ball. It was a black tie event in commemoration of Barbados’ independence, which happened on November 30th, 1966. Quite a lovely occasion, I must say! It was great to celebrate the history of this beautiful Caribbean nation, and also rock the colours of their flag.
Something new I did this time was to stream part of the sound check on my Instagram account, @millicentstephensonsax. I explained the process, showed some of the equipment, and shared my conversation with the DJ. We also walked a bit around the stage and the venue. You can watch the video here:
Sound checks are a vital part of my work. As I explain on this episode of my podcast Success Beyond The Score, sound quality can be the doom of gigging musicians. It’s important to know your needs and the needs of your instrument, so you can communicate them to the sound engineer. Nobody wants their experience, training and talent to be eclipsed by a poor mix, a faulty microphone, or backing tracks that don’t work!
Speaking of backing tracks, I have a comprehensive course on how to get the best out of them. You can find it here for a special price.
Whether you’re a musician or not, I hope these glimpses behind the scenes, as well as my other resources, are interesting for you and contribute to your understanding of everything that goes into achieving a good music performance. To finish, have a look at this other video I got that day, of me playing “Goodness of God” and my original song “I’d Be Blue.”
