If you plan to play your music live using your laptop, there are a few elements you should consider including in your setup.
Performing live implies specific difficulties, regardless of the instrument you play. But using a laptop will take your show to a whole new level. So you should definitely give it a go. In this article, we will examine how to perform electronic music live.
Buy a separate audio interface
It might not be the best idea to take your studio interface with you when you play outside your home studio. First of all, when you give a show, you have less gear, and therefore you don’t need so many inputs and outputs. Second of all, it might be really annoying to plug and unplug all your home studio gear to take your audio interface with you on the road. So, if you plan to perform live, consider buying a separate audio interface.
Have spare cables at hand
You want everything to go as smoothly as possible during your show. Make sure that you are prepared for any disaster. You never know when something can go wrong. And you definitely don’t want to find out during soundcheck that one of your cables is broken. So to avoid this unpleasant situation, always pack a few extra cables just in case.
Use an uninterruptible power supply
This goes along with the previous point. It's impossible to predict what may go wrong. During electronic music live performance, there are many cables lying around the stage. Someone may accidentally trip over the cable and cut off the power supply. To avoid this problem, bring a UPS. It doesn’t have to be huge, some power strips have UPS built into them. You can buy one of those.
Recommended articles:
- How to Remix a Song
- How to Mix Electronic Music Loud and Clean
- 1-minute trick - How to Master Music Louder
- ADDING DYNAMICS TO A MIX IN 1 STEP
Wear headphones during soundcheck
Soundcheck is a lot of repetitive work. You tweak the sound, trying to perfect it. For you, it is a normal working process. However, for everyone around you, these repetitive loud sounds will get annoying after some time. So if you don’t want to bother your colleagues, carry out a sound check wearing headphones.
Bring your own MIDI controller
Usually, the venue where you perform will provide you with equipment or gear, including a MIDI keyboard. But you can’t expect that the equipment your venue provides will satisfy all your needs. It is a good idea to include a MIDI controller in your setup. It has buttons and faders, which you can map to the important features that you need to access quickly during your performance. You can control the volume, effects, switch to the next sound using your MIDI controller. So you won't be dependent on the gear you are provided with.
We hope that now you understand how to play electronic music live, and we wish you luck on your journey to performing live!
Any specific topic that you'd want to learn about?
Any other questions?
Feel free to ask - I'd love to help!
