Fake It 'till You Make It: A Guide to Performing

The one thing I have heard over and over again from fellow musicians in a performance situation is "fake it till you make it.”

Does this make all pit musicians pretenders? No. But it does ease performance anxiety and help you get your fake foot in the door.

Here I'll lay out some guidelines that have helped me fake it from garage jams to musical pit bands:

1. Be confident in your musical ability and seek out performance opportunities that push you beyond your comfort zone.

You can play anything with enough practice. Remember that, and don't shy away from opportunities to challenge yourself. Whether it's free or paid, a gig is an opportunity to show your stuff. You never know who's in the audience. Also, each gig helps to build a circle of fellow musicians, which is crucial for finding and landing gigs.

2. Get the chart as far in advance as possible

It sounds like a no-brainer but getting the music as early as possible is a crucial first step to fakin' it. This is because it's going to take at least 1-2 weeks of research and practice.

3. Listen to a concept album, if possible.

Concept albums are a great way to hear the different musical styles and provide a play-along track. Talk with your music director to check if the sheet music is aligned with the concept album. Sometimes 3rd party sheet music companies write tour variations that differ from the album.

4. Study the chart

Studying the chart means going through every song front to back and making sure you highlight language or symbols that you don't know. To help you grasp the meaning of unfamiliar terms (like dynamics, genres of music) and musical symbols, a simple Internet search will answer all your questions. Make sure to scribble a translation that you will remember in the actual music score.

5. Feel the grooves

It's time to search for all the groove keywords in your chart, e.g., "funky", "bright swing", "songo", "driving rock", "gospel", etc. and check out videos or rhythm charts of that style. The important part is getting the characteristic feel of each groove type, even if you don't play it exactly as written.

6. Drill the breaks and transitions

Drummer joke break: "How do you know a drummer is at your door?" ... "He doesn't know when to come in."

Breaks are marked on the chart with slashes (/) replacing the regular note. These are hot spots that demand perfection. This symbol either means "make it up in the current style and accent the slashes" or "these are crucial band hits that need to be all together.”

These are the sections of the chart that require that extra attention and will truly shine when you nail it. Nailing slashed sections is a great way to fake it because you perfectly executed important moments in the score.

Next, check your score for transitions. These usually take the form of fills at the end of groove style, bridge, etc. and will look like a terrifying flurry of notes that basically are saying "play something fancy that sets us all up for the next section.” If you play what's written, go for it. If you can't, simplify and make sure your transition starts and ends when written.

7. Simplify and shine

When life happens and you can't quite sight-read or perfect the entire score, it's time to dig in and spread it out. Most grooves have what are affectionately called the “back beat.” This is the core rhythm and sticking that captures a specific style. For example, Raggae has strong snare on the 3rd beat of a measure while a driving rock beat lands on the 2nd and 4th beat. Another great example of the back beat is to play a simple rock beat with strong snare on 2 & 4. Then, playing the same hit-hat and kick pattern, play the strong snare on the "a" of the 2nd beat & 4. Immediately the drive of rock melts away into the bop of funk. That one single timing change has transformed a rock into a funk back beat.

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