5 Tips To Improvise to Live Music

Dancing to live music is just the best! Feeling the music and getting out of yourself becomes so much easier comparing to recorded music. If you are to perform with live music and you know which music will be played, here are my tips for you:⁣⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣1. Do not choreograph. You never know how it will be played and it may set you for failure – just embrace the moment and let the movements come with the music. In order to feel comfortable doing so you must practice improvisation in your daily training (with live music or recorded music).⁣⁣⁣⁣

2. Listen to the song several times and of different versions so you feel comfortable improvising to it (if you are dancing a tarab/classic, listen to the original version). Try to find the music played live by different bands on youtube - you can even practice improvising to them so you can see how well you do it.⁣⁣⁣⁣

3. Study the work of the band by listening to several songs of them. That way you can have a feel of how they interpret songs and what instruments they use the most.⁣⁣⁣⁣

4. Be calm throughout the dance, breathe and don’t rush. I suggest you to do more arm/hand movements if you are not sure of what is coming next as they fit all instruments and are also easier to change quickly and smoothly if you need to. Better always to move slow which can fit any tempo than making strong or/and fast movements which only fit in strong parts of the music. Remember also that walking and stopping is always a great option if you are not sure what to do or what is coming next.⁣⁣⁣⁣

5. If you start a movement, keep doing it and do it with confidence, even if you see that it doesn’t fit the music perfectly. It’s better to keep it and show you aimed to do it than rushing to a completely new movement.⁣⁣⁣⁣

⁣Hope this few tips can help you preparing for your next live music performance. How do you find them? Would you add any?⁣

And if you want to know more about the benefits of improvisation, read the post Choreography vs Improvisation!