” appeared relatively recently and is often misinterpreted. Let's find out what falls under the definition of "live music" and what does not.
Initially, any music is live
Up to a certain point in the development of technical thought, any music was live - music that was performed by musicians. There was no other way to hear the music than to invite musicians for this.
How did music come about without musicians?
The first "lifeless" alternatives that did not require the participation of musicians were music boxes and hurdy-gurdies. One of the pinnacles of mechanical musical devices was the “mechanical piano”.
With the advent of sound recording devices, the need to resort to the services of musicians has disappeared every time. A person has a choice - to listen to a sound recording or live music. Today there are several variants of live performance: live sound, fully live performance and partially live performance.
Live sound
Playing music live (sometimes called "acoustic composition" or "playing acoustically") is both the most difficult and the most natural way to make music. With this design, no electrical devices are used. The beauty of the sound of instruments, loudness and balance, ensemble coherence and expressiveness - absolutely all aspects of the performance are regulated exclusively by the musicians themselves and depend only on their skill. This sound is close to the human voice.
Live performance - one of the options for live music
The advent of electronic instruments, electronic means of sound amplification and sound processing has greatly facilitated the process of performing music and expanded the possibilities of musicians. Today, the quality of the music performed depends less on the skill of the musicians. Electronic devices regulate the sound volume, the timbre of instruments, provide the performance of various techniques and means of expression. It is no longer a living, close to nature, sound. But this is also a living process of performing music by musicians, requiring skill and talent. This is also live music.
Partially live performance - performance "under the minus"
It appeared quite recently. Part of the musical material (for example, the rhythmic basis, bass line and harmony), and sometimes the entire musical material, is pre-recorded in the studio on an electronic medium. During a concert performance, part of the music is performed by the musicians, and part is played from the media. Sometimes only one vocal remains from the entire composition of musicians, and all instrumental parts are played in the recording. This performance can be called "partially live". And yet, the presence of a musician, at least one, allows us to classify this version of the performance as a category of "live music". Its undeniable advantage is a significant savings in the budget of the concert program by reducing the number of musicians and a technical rider. In the field of musical accompaniment of holidays, such musical groups are most popular.
Performance of music under the phonogram
Playing music is not just making sounds. Artistic performance has a powerful visual effect. The performance of a symphony orchestra, a rock band or a popular singer is a colorful performance, a show that is pleasant to watch. With the development of technical means of reproducing, processing and amplifying sound, it became tempting to imitate a live performance during a concert. Even professionals cannot always say with certainty whether musicians perform to a phonogram or work “live”. We will not touch on the moral and ethical side of the issue of performances to a phonogram. There are objective circumstances in which the work "under the plus" (to the phonogram) is the only possible option for the performance of the artists.
Musical accompaniment of the event - what to choose?
So, there are two main types of music we hear - live (performed by musicians) and inanimate (played from the media). Performing music with live sound and playing a recording are two opposite poles. Between them there are intermediate options: live performance, partially live performance, performance to the phonogram. What to choose as the musical accompaniment of the event - a live musical group or DJ services with a set of sound equipment and a standard set of audio recordings, it's up to you. We, Maestro Art Studio, will qualitatively implement any of your ideas.
This article is about the live performances of musicians and the tricks they go to in order to give the listener the maximum pleasure from the concert and ... to deceive him as much as possible.
The article is aimed at people who are not versed in concert sound, and is designed to help them understand the process of live performances.
In the last article, we already wrote how the sound is formed at concerts and by what principle the sound is built. Here we learn how artists perform at concerts. For clarity, I will show the performance models in the form of a list and an algorithm:
1. Performance under the soundtrack
Sound check is absent or short. The musician or band takes the stage. The musicians have instruments in their hands, the vocalist has a microphone. The equipment on the stage is a dummy, used only for the picture. The sound engineer is at the console and plays a key role in the artist's performance, as his mistake can cost the artist's reputation. In this performance, his task is to turn on and off the phonogram in time.
Only monitors work on the stage so that the musicians hear the sound and move to the music. The musicians pretend to play, the vocalist pretends to sing, but they do not make sounds
Everything is clear here: the audience hears the sound and see how the musicians play, it's more of a show than a concert. Face deception. I think a quarter of those present at the concert guess that they are being deceived, but they are being deceived beautifully. Therefore, such artists for the most part have their own audience.
2. Performance under full plus
Sound check is absent or short. An artist or group takes the stage. The musicians have instruments in their hands, the vocalist has a microphone. The sound engineer turns on the music and mixes the sound of instruments and voices into the phonogram signal.
All the equipment works on the stage - these are monitor lines, guitar and bass amplifiers, a drum set, all the equipment is sounded. The musicians really play, the vocalist sings. But they play from above to the same phonogram. That is, they repeat what was recorded in the studio, only they do it live.
You can't call it cheating as such, but it's still there. Such performances are common these days, as the sound quality is greatly improved compared to a live performance, and the cost and speed of sound setup is reduced. The convenience and benefits of such performances are visible to the naked eye.
3. Live sound
The concert is preceded by a long sound check. Musicians appear on the site long before the performance, the instruments and voices are being tuned. After the start of the concert, the sound engineer fully performs his function, unlike the previous paragraphs. In this performance, all sound comes from the stage, so only the sound that was set to the sound check is relied upon.
This is the complexity of live sound, in contrast to the performance with substrates and phonograms. You can not hide behind the record, the listener gets only what is here and now. But that's the thrill of live performance. The musicians, although they play the same thing, but each time is not like the previous one, there is a moment of improvisation.
Well, the listener gets his pleasure, because he hears not a recording created in the studio sometime, but the sound, performance and emotions of the performer that are born before his eyes and he becomes a witness to this.
4. Performance under minus
Minus performance can be roughly divided into two categories:
- In the first algorithm is similar to the previous one. Only the live sound of the group is mixed with a recording that the sound engineer puts on. It features backgrounds, effects, backing vocals, instruments that are not present or cannot be present on stage. This is not a phonogram, since everything is performed live, and the recording only adorns the performance.
- In the second, the performer, whether it be a vocalist or an instrumentalist, performs his part live, and the recording (backing track) on which he plays plays in the background. Sometimes you can find a live performance of a soloist under a minus, and musicians standing in the form of scenery depicting the performance of this minus.
Possible other options for speeches are the interpretation of the above or their partial confusion.
Of course, each performer chooses how to perform. It all depends on the funds invested in the performance and the subsequent return, on the skill of the performer, on the technical equipment of the site, on the reputation of the performer and his abilities.
Group Orange VINIl performs exclusively live! We only have live drums, bass, guitar, keys, vocals and saxophone. We come to the corporate party in full force and perform the most popular songs!
Each sound engineer experiences certain difficulties when recording live sound, especially if it does not take place in the walls, but, for example, at a concert that will be shown on television.
Today, quite often in the corner of the TV screen you can see the caption "live sound". Basically, it means that we are talking about musicians playing without a phonogram. In some cases - recordings of theatrical performances, concerts, where a choir or a symphony orchestra performs - the phonogram is not used in principle. However, since the 70s of the last century, the phonogram has firmly become fashionable among most performers, and this continues to this day.
Partially, the performance to the phonogram was due to the peculiarities of filming. In order to make a good record, it was much easier to persuade an artist to bring a phonogram and perform, opening and closing his mouth in sync, than to work with him for a long time on the perfect sound. The phonogram also has its advantages: the dynamic and frequency range is corrected in advance, which makes it possible to develop high levels of sound pressure in the concert hall.
Musicians who perform live, on the other hand, often encounter misunderstanding and even resistance from television people and other performers. First, there is a lack of basic equipment needed to record at this level; secondly, the "live" sound completely betrays unscrupulous colleagues singing to the "plywood". But the plus of live performance more than makes up for all the minuses, since the energy and impact on the listener are simply invaluable.
Fortunately, Western masters of sound have found a qualitatively new approach to recording live music, and we have someone to learn from! Basically they shoot like live; the quality and visual power of the musical number are almost completely preserved, only slightly yielding to the real sound. We hope that the traditional approach to music will gradually disappear; in the meantime, it remains to enjoy the magnificent concert discs of the best musicians in the world, which are released by the leading
The situation when a client, other things being equal, prefers an institution with a variety and entertainment program, is quite typical. And the presence of such a program at wedding and anniversary banquets, friendly or corporate parties often becomes an absolutely necessary condition.
A matter of technology
So, you have decided that your restaurant will have live music. Where to begin? Of course, with stage equipment. Its height should be at least 40-50 cm, and the area should be such that it is possible to arrange three microphone stands, speakers, amplifiers, a mixing console (of course, not forgetting the musicians themselves). It is desirable that the stage has some kind of, albeit conditional, fence.
Artists should illuminate the light, attracting the attention of guests. The market for modern lighting devices is huge - color and music equipment, light guns, smoke machines, etc., but I will say from my own experience: you will definitely need a spinning mirror ball, invented in ancient times and creating a "magic" glare effect, and that's it. the rest is up to your taste and budget.
As for the sound equipment of the restaurant, there are two options. The first - the restaurant itself buys sound equipment for the ensemble. The second - the team brings its equipment. What is the difference? The equipment you bought is designed by specialists specifically for your institution, both in terms of power and sound quality. This, in my opinion, is the best option, because the equipment provided by the musicians themselves will not necessarily correspond to the acoustic properties of your room.
I recommend the following sound equipment for a restaurant with an area of 100 sq.m:
Amplifier + mixing console + voice processing + equalizer;
speakers with a total power of at least 1000 watts;
active subwoofer for improved bass sound quality;
voice equalization compressor;
auto-pause mini disc player, anti-shock CD player, laptop with a good sound card;
stands for keyboards and microphones;
microphones;
connecting cords.
Such a set of equipment from well-known manufacturers will cost about 90-120 thousand rubles. You can, of course, save money and buy equipment from "cheap" companies, but ... As practice shows, it sounds unconvincing, often breaks down, annoys guests with unpleasant frequencies, does not "turn on" the dancers and interferes with the conversation of those who sit at the tables. By the way, a distinctive feature of professional Hi-End class equipment is that against the background of a loud sound, the speech of the interlocutor is clearly audible.
We must not forget that many restaurants are located in residential buildings, so it is important that the sound does not disturb the neighbors in the house. This, in general, a simple question will have to be solved either by soundproofing work, or by the selection of suitable equipment by acoustic specialists. They will "calculate" your room and determine the optimal sound and volume in the evening and at night.
Personnel decides everything
In the ever-memorable "Soviet times" there was an attestation commission at the Lenconcert, which gave the musicians permission to work in restaurants in Leningrad. All artists had to pass certification once a year and have at least a secondary professional musical education. There were few restaurants then, and getting into, for example, the Neva or the Metropol was considered a great success. Now, in the era of karaoke, the image of musicians has devalued somewhat, since the voice can be “made” on a computer and, in principle, it is not necessary to have a musical education in order to create a simple arrangement. Under these conditions, many pseudo-singers appeared who rushed into the restaurant music business. For the most part, they do not know how to sing or play, but they confidently portray it to the soundtrack. When you hire musicians, be sure to ask about their education, look at the documents confirming it, find out where they worked before.
The standard and sometimes optimal composition of the restaurant ensemble is three people: a keyboardist-vocalist, a guitarist-vocalist and a singer. The saxophone or any other live instrument (violin, accordion, etc.) is also perceived very well by the public. There is another version of the work of a human orchestra, when one musician sings and plays all evening. By the way, guests also love pianist performances - this creates a salon atmosphere in the institution.
On average in St. Petersburg, the prices for one musician for 3 hours of work - from 20.00 to 23.00 - are approximately 3000-5000 rubles when working for 40 minutes with 20-minute breaks. Banquet performances tend to cost more.
And do not forget about the "carp"
The high-quality and varied repertoire of the ensemble is the key to the success of the institution among visitors. Good restaurant musicians should play and sing, if not everything, then almost everything that guests want to hear. And in the overwhelming majority of cases, these are the “golden” hits of the 80s, Beatles songs, blues, rock and roll, “old songs about the main thing” of the 1930s-1970s, Russian chanson, folk songs and romances, instrumental and jazz compositions .
Sometimes a guest may want to perform a song himself, and then the musicians must play along with the “freelance” singer, give the lyrics, preferably in large print.
Ordering a song in a musical environment is called "crucian" (when orders go, it means "carp"). Earn "crucian" - this is the main incentive for restaurant artists. On average, "crucian" costs 200-500 rubles per song, depending on the class of musicians and the restaurant. It happened (and restaurant musicians usually exchange legends by phone after work at night) that some cool client paid even $ 100.
Their manners
Musicians do not really like it when the administration dictates to them which songs should be sung and which should not. It may happen that you don’t like some songs, but your guests are delighted with them. Here you need to have a good idea of the restaurant's musical policy and the audience of visitors you would like to see. It is necessary to specify in advance the repertoire of your ensemble, and it is desirable that it has a “zest”, a feature, that is, a certain distinctive feature.
The stability of the work of the ensemble is very important, as regular guests want to see "their" favorite singers, singers and musicians. But if the policy of the restaurant is to rotate a variety of teams, then try to pick up groups with the same professional level. You can't do without an art director who will help you make sure that your restaurant plays the best live music in the city.
Approximate prices for musicians, musical groups and artists of the original genre in St. Petersburg
| REPERTOIRE | COMPOUND | RATES FOR PERMANENT WORK (per person per evening program) | BANQUET WORK (hourly) |
| Russian pop song of the 1980-1990s, foreign pop music | 2-4 people (keyboards, strings, vocalist, vocalist) | from 3000 to 5000 rubles. | from 3000 to 5000 rubles. |
| Orchestra Man (keyboards, strings, vocals) | from 2500 to 4000 rubles. | from 3000-4000 rubles. | |
| Instrumental music | 1 person (saxophone, keyboards, strings) | from 3000-5000 rub. | from 3000 to 6000 rubles. |
| Folk groups | 2 people (folk instruments: button accordion, balalaika, etc.) | from 3000 to 5000 rubles. | from 3000 to 6000 rubles. |
| Original genre (striptease, illusion, "rubber", animal trainers) | 1-2 people | from 1000 to 3000 rubles. for going out | |
| Group of authors with original repertoire | 1-5 people | from 7000 to 8000 rubles. per person per concert program | |
Note
Many groups and performers can significantly reduce the prices for their work if it is customary to pay serious tips in an institution. At the same time, these prices rise if the artist often "flashes" on radio and television and is considered popular.
Many people enjoy listening to music live. And it does not matter at all whether you go to concerts that gather an audience of many thousands, or prefer a cozy jazz club. It's very easy to explain. After all, live music makes us happier. We propose to find out the reasons for this phenomenon.
Opportunity to meet new people
Modern man has not so many opportunities for dating. This is especially true for those of us who work not in the office, but at home. When you come to a live music concert, you immediately find yourself in a friendly environment where people have something in common. Here you can easily make friends. After all, love, for example, to rock and roll is the glue that can bind two strangers very tightly.
In addition, live concerts attract interesting people from the art world. And meeting with them will always be an amazing event in the life of any person. 
The ability to clear your mind from the daily routine
Some people become jittery and irritable if they fail to attend live music concerts regularly. It's easy to explain. After all, being at a concert, you are completely immersed in the music. At these moments, you are no longer disturbed by phone calls, incoming email notifications, text message sounds, etc. Your mind is cleared from the daily routine and rests. At such moments, people, as a rule, feel infinitely happy.
That is why it is very frustrating when during a concert someone starts scribbling messages. After all, this does not allow you to enjoy what is happening and free your brain from things that are not important at the moment. By the way, some compare the feeling of a good concert with the effect of meditation. After all, a person feels renewed, rested, relaxed and full of energy.
Opportunity to discover the world
As you know, a variety of music festivals and events are regularly held all over the world. Moreover, they are visited not only by musicians and those who are directly related to this industry. So, at any major festival you will meet people from all over the world. After all, many people use music events as a good reason to travel to a country where they have never been before. So why not plan a trip to some interesting festival during your next vacation? This will allow you not only to enjoy great live music, but also to visit new countries, get acquainted with the unique culture and local people. 
You can improve your mental health
There is no end to the list of books and scientific studies on how music can affect a person's mental health. People have long composed melodies and constructed various musical instruments. After all, this is how they tried to convey their experiences, feelings and emotions. This is exactly what you need to fight depression and just a bad mood. And if you listen to your favorite songs in a live performance, then there will be no trace of melancholy, because your soul will be overflowing with positive emotions and a feeling of happiness. 
You will get a unique life experience
If you spend time in clubs and concerts, you will get invaluable experience. So, you will have the opportunity to become your own in a new interesting community. In addition, you will get a chance to get to know the performers better. Maybe the guys from your favorite band will even tell you what it's like to be a professional musician. In addition, you may be a witness or even a participant in crazy events. After all, concerts are often attended by creative individuals with extraordinary thinking. And if you are open to new experiences that you cannot get anywhere else, then feel free to go to a club with live music of your favorite direction.
You have the opportunity to grow as a person
Summing up all the points listed above, we can say that they all allow us to develop. And this is exactly what is ultimately the meaning of our life. After all, a person will feel happy only when he sees that he is growing as a person, learning something new, making new friends, etc. All these opportunities are provided by live music.
