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Some people seem to have difficultioes understanding how live music in Second Life works. Some seem to think that there's no preparation necessary, that I just equip my guitar and hop up on stage and sing my heart out but that's not really how it works. I'm going to tell you my view and experience of this whole thing shaped as an advice for anyone who might be willing to get into live music in SL or just learn more about it.
First of all you need a computer that can take the pressure, atleast if you don't have an extra computer to run Second Life on. You need a microphone that works well and has a clear sound, the best is a singing mic and a mixer or preamp. You need a good soundcard, you need programs to help you stream, you need a streamingserver to connect to and you need a place to play at in SL. And that's just the technical bit.
Once you have all those things in order and have a place to play at you still need people to know that you exist. There's alot of live musicians in SL and to make a name for yourself you either need to know the "right" people, be very persistent or lucky. Nomatter how talanted you are, you can't just do one show and then expect that to be it, you need to keep at it. There's usually a max of 100 people who can come to your shows and people easily forget, so playing atleast a couple of times a month is a good thing I think. Starting a fangroup is a good idea. There people can join and you can let them know when and where you are playing through notices. Also getting a myspace page or a website can help alot so people can find out more about you and hear your music even when you're not playing in SL.
Besides getting the technical stuff in order, booking gigs, building a fanbase and making a name for yourself, you need to have something to perform. Do you write your own music? Do you intend to do covers? I know not everyone does this, but I do... I usually do a setlist before I go on. I choose about 15 primary songs that I want to play if I have an hour show and then I add 3-4 more songs in the end if encores are requested or if you need to keep going for one reason or another. And if you do alot of shows you will see that there's a selected few who come to almost every show you do, so I atleast try to mix new and old songs, do different covers and offer a variation of music so people don't get bored with me. Also of course, warming up your voice and tuning your guitar like you would before any other show is a good idea. Soundcheck is also awsome to do before you go on of course. One thing to have in mind is that there's almost always a delay when you stream, so when you have finished a song you will see no response from the audience, but don't worry, it will come, just be patient. This is also something to have in mind when you speak inbetween songs. If you ask a question the answer will take a while so ask the question, do something else, play a song or talk about something else for a while and then the answer will appear in the chat after a while. Dead air and silence is no fun for the audience so that can be good to keep in mind.
Soo, we have the techie stuff, the fanbase, the notices, the songs, the voice... The only thing left is to find your place in the SL music scene and enjoy it. Do your own thing and don't let people bully you around. Be yourself, have fun and go with it. It is alot of fun and a great way to reach out with your music.
Love
Natalie Moody aka Therese Åhs
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