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Ku i keleawe
Aloha
19 Posts |
 Posted - 11/08/2011 : 2:44:17 PM
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Aloha,
Our local ukulele group will be in charge of organizing an open mic/jam session at an upcoming ukulele festival. We have a willing group of volunteers and the sound will be provided by a proffessional. Does anyone have suggestions regarding how to keep the audience engaged and things running smoothly? We are planning to project chord charts and song lyrics on the wall to make it easy for people to follow along. Any ideas or suggestions from those of you out there with experience in organizing or conducting an event like this would be greatly appreciated.
Mahalo,
Ku i keleawe
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ukuleleforbeginners
Aloha
Japan
4 Posts |
Posted - 11/08/2011 : 4:49:19 PM
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| I am by no means a professional, but posting the chords on the wall seems like a good idea. I think music choice is also important. People are generally more involved if they are dancing. |
Ukulele For Beginners: http://www.buyukuleleforbeginners.com/ |
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ricdoug
`Olu`olu
USA
513 Posts |
Posted - 11/08/2011 : 8:40:20 PM
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1. Clearly post the rules for your open mic. Stick to them. Have a first come, first serve sign up roster.
2. Give the performers time slots, not a certain number of songs. A performer that has everything together can perform 3 songs in 10 minutes. Some waste time and cannot even finish one song in 10 minutes. At 8 minutes, give them their 2 minute warning. Shut them down at exactly 10 minutes. Allow 5 minutes between performers for setup and teardown.
3. Performers must tune their instruments before going on stage.
4. Set appropriate breaks for head calls, lunch and dinner. Don't put yourself in the position of breaking the schedule.
5. If performers show up 5 minutes into their timeslot, let them know they have exactly 5 minutes to setup and perform.
6. Set rules for language and vulgarity. There are mixed ages and creeds at these festivals.
Study resources available:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4422044_run-open-mic.html
http://www.njopenmic.com/openmicrules.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1537353/how_to_run_an_open_mic_night.html
http://jeffrey-baxter.suite101.com/how-to-create-the-perfect-open-mic-night-a165431
I have experience in running great ones and also in completely destroying hosting open mic's. Fortunately, I now favor on the good side. Ric |
It's easier to ask for forgiveness, than permission! |
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Ku i keleawe
Aloha
19 Posts |
Posted - 11/09/2011 : 04:21:08 AM
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Ric,
Mahalo for the excellent advice and resources.
Ku i keleawe
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Retro
Ahonui
USA
2368 Posts |
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Earl
`Olu`olu
USA
538 Posts |
Posted - 11/10/2011 : 06:40:45 AM
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Ricdoug sure has it right -- you need rules and structure, and time limits are very important. I used to work at a large folk festival where everyone had 15 minute sets, including set up time. Some musicians were good at getting out there on stage and plugged in, and could play four songs totalling 12-13 minutes. Some groups came out with five musicians but 12 different instruments, patch cords, effects boxes, and whatnot. By the time they finally got set up, there was time for one song, and they were annoyed. But we cut them off at 15 minutes to be fair to subseqeunt acts, the staff, and the audience.
I've also observed over the years that most succesful jams have a definite leader or "alpha" dog. To put it another way, a benevolent dictator. Without someone actually driving the bus, I have seen jam groups that devolve into mostly chatter, playing one or two songs per hour (no kidding).
The leader does not need to be a jerk, but has to take charge and keep things moving.
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Ku i keleawe
Aloha
19 Posts |
Posted - 11/10/2011 : 09:09:00 AM
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Earl and Retro,
Mahalo for your advice. We have recently added a "music director " to our group and it has made a very positive impact to overall group performance.
Ku i keleawe |
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Advice for organizing an open mic/jam for ukuleles
