How can you use silence and pauses to create tension during a live performance?

One of the most important lessons I've learned is to shut up. To leave space. Sometimes it can be uncomfortable so we often have a tendency to fill up the space with all the notes we can sing or play. Sometimes even accomplished players can overdo it. I find that the space in between the notes is as important as the notes themselves. The same can be true with dynamics. When playing for a loud crowd, don't try to compete. Instead, get quiet. Pull them in. Calm down, shut up, leave space, see what happens.

"Breathe in, breathe out". Get on the same page with the crowd before striking the first chord or note whether its a guitar or a piano. Add delays to the first vocals that comes in. You may have the liberty to do this at a venue like the MGM so the audience will find the show at intimate level of connection. Then, they'll buy your records.

Silence and pauses wield immense power in live performances, serving as potent tools to amplify tension. Strategic implementation can captivate audiences, heighten anticipation, and add depth to the performance. By skillfully incorporating silence, artists can manipulate rhythm, build suspense, and accentuate pivotal moments. Pauses create a vacuum of sound, prompting listeners to lean in, their senses heightened in anticipation of what comes next. Utilizing silence as a canvas upon which emotions can resonate, performers can evoke a profound connection with their audience, leaving an indelible impression long after the final note fades.

a 'Tacet' is a latin word for silence, typically used for musical contexts such as a voice or instruments. Tacets are also known as rests. In a big orchestral piece for example, indicating where silence occurs is crucial to keep the piece clean and cohernt - Why tacets matter is that some instruments play whilst others don't and this must be indicated by some sort of silence otherwise, the whole piece would fall into a mess!

In my experience, pauses, and silence can create a whole different atmosphere for the performance. Taking the music to a fever pitch, and then dropping it down, either as a pause, or as silence can change the perceived performance for the audience. Sometimes the anticipation can make the next part of either the performance or the song itself feel much more important to the listener.

Well, I am not talkative. However, silence is a great strategy. People gradually realize I am silent. Pauses are also effective. Sometimes, in the middle of a tune, I might be able to have a short break and then resume again. That will attract people's ears. I also like to stop the tune in the middle. Maybe, during my next live performance, I will stop in the middle and then ask the audience to clap their hands since I have never asked them to do so except for my blues harp session.

How you could utilise silence is via perfect cadences to create tension and resolution - See how long you can stretch either a dominant to a tonic note or a leading note to a tonic note before you give the audience huge amounts of anxiety and have to resolve the cadence! How long can you sustain silence for until it's too long? I've always wondered how long you can hold a fermata for!

Outwardly actually, I find silence helps with mistakes! If you make a mistake in a Performance... pretend you've intentionally transitioned into a silent part to end the phrase - then pick your self back up on the accent or 1st beat of the bar once again! You'll find too that that space is really powerful and very important - it adds contrast!

My top tips for a singer or instrumentalist: - avoid abundant adlibs and fills (this will allow you to utilise finishing the phrase with silence) - keep your pronunciation clean, crisp and clear - don't slur or glissando sounds (which will cause a legato, lingering and sustained sound, which is fine but we are aiming foe silence) if you do use them, follow it by at least one bar rest or Tacet

You can cause real tension by pausing and making lightly of your presentation. Your audience will become very agitated and if it continues they will start leaving. They will not believe in what you’re saying in your presentation.