Analytical Blog

Essential question: How does a musicians stage presents effect their overall performance.

When reading Herbie and Miles' biographies, I learnt a lot about what they had to say when it came to stage presence. Miles had a whole three chapters on how he thought about the ways that he held his horn and what clothes he wore. At first I thought this was a little bit silly, but Miles validated this topic quite well. He told a story about when he was part of Charlie Parkers crew they stopped wearing ties with their suits. Now this does not sound very exciting by todays standards, but back then this was huge. They made a name for them selves by how cool they dressed. Miles' whole thing was being dressed as sharp as he could be. He did this so that he could look cool when he played jazz to his audiences. I got to learn about how this effected the listener through Miles' eyes too. Miles described listening to a few of his home town bands as well as Dizzy and what they were wearing. He always talked a lot about how well put together the bands were due to their clothing choices as well as their music. When it came to Parker, Miles would go on about how his gross physical appearance and messy clothing ruined the experience of listening to him play.

Later on throughout Miles' career, his clothing strayed from smart to wild and artistic. This is personally my favorite periods of Miles as watching him was like watching and listening to art. It is a magical experience. It also adds depth to the listening experience. The reason for this is because I find myself trying to figure out the colors and angles of the clothing that he wore as well as the music that he was playing. It almost made him seem like a different type of being. Something of a god or some sort due to the way that he dressed. It certainly made him different than your average joe. I now realize that having this is really important if one is to pursue stage performance as a lifetime thing.
Related image
Here is a picture of Miles' clothing. It is awesome that i found this picture because it actually comes from one of my favorite videos at the moment! Check this out!
Kenny Garrett and Miles Davis

This relates to me as I follow a lot of musicians around watching them play. My favorite musicians are always the best dressed in the most unique way. For example, a friend of mine and a huge inspiration Matt Schofield. He always has the slickest jackets and shoes! It adds so much to the performance. Because not only is he pumping out awesome music, but he is doing it in so much style! I love it! I personally try to dress as sharp as i can when I perform. I am always looking for the most killer shoes and ties to go with what I am wearing. I think that it is important to make it look like you have genuinely made and effort into how you dress when you perform. In general too!

Comments

  1. I love the music topic! I always listen to your music on insta it is so amazing. I feel a strong connection with music, not that I could ever play but the emotions it makes me feel and seeing people perform on stage and being so passionate about it is one of the best things in the whole world. I cant wait to look through all your posts!

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