How to Improve Stage Presence as a Guitarist: Practical Tips

Los Angeles has one of the most active and varied music scenes in the U.S. In fact, it's one of the most interesting on the planet, specifically because so many incredible musicians perform in LA because they hope to attract the attention of label reps or just grow their audience. 

But for anybody out there who's still new to playing live, this makes LA gigs more intimidating than most. After all, recording some guitar parts in the studio is one thing, but taking to the stage is a whole other ballgame, no matter how big the crowd is. 

Aside from stage fright, guitarists have to contend with the fact that there's this massive precedent of famous musicians having this incredible stage presence. 

It doesn't matter what genre you're playing, people are going to be watching you, the guitarist. So what can you do to keep their attention? How can you wow crowds from Santa Monica to Frogtown? 

Well, we'd like to help you out by offering some tips for how to improve stage presence as a guitarist, and we'll even share some advice from veteran guitarist Lio Mori. 

Be prepared 

This motto isn't just for Boy Scouts. One of the most important things you can do to look good on stage is to know exactly what you're doing. 

You don't need to be the best player in the world to captivate an audience, but when it comes to the tunes you'll be playing, you should know them backwards and forwards. 

If it's clear that you're nailing your parts, then you're going to have a much easier time getting rid of that pesky stage fright. 

Also, it doesn't hurt to have some gigs already under your belt. Don't expect to be some kind of rock god from day one. You'll learn tricks over time, as well as what kind of stage presence works best for you, which is something we'll talk about more when we get to personas. 

Dress to impress 

Over time, audiences have come to expect a certain amount of fashion sense from musicians. Even the fellas back in the rockabilly days knew how to look good, and the glam rockers took things to an interplanetary level a few decades later on. 

These days, almost anything goes, as long as it fits with the music you're playing. The more simple and stripped-down the music, the more simple your look is likely to be. 

Folksters can get away with a farmhand outfit. Punks can stick to a t-shirt and jeans without getting any complaints. 

What kind of look do you want to pull off? More importantly, what are your bandmates planning to do? If you're too far outside their orbit, it might make the band look amateurish, which isn't ideal. 

It might take time to find a style that you want to stick with, and you might even change it down the line, but when you find something that clicks, putting on that outfit can put you in the right mindset, too. 

Create a persona 

Musicians are no strangers to the concept of stage personas. Bowie will always be the go-to example here. He was a different person on stage, and from year to year, that stage persona might change completely. Best of all, it served the performance. Audiences were excited to see which Bowie they were going to get. 

When you're looking to improve your stage presence, you don't necessarily need to go to extremes. Like your outfits, a persona should fit the music and fit your personality, too. 

What's going to make you feel the most confident? What's going to get an audience amped up? 

Are you going to be the strong, silent type, or are you the outlandish rocker who's running around the stage and throwing yourself into the crowd? 

If you want a crowd to generate some energy, then you need to put some energy out there. Music is about communication, and a persona can make that communication easier. 

Be confident, have fun (advice from Lio Mori) 

Lio Mori is an artist with an untamed career. A producer, composer, and crypto-musician, Mori has created music in almost every major genre, and sometimes his musical experiments even combine genres in ways that haven't really been heard before. 

Mori has been playing live since he was 15 years old, and he's almost always been on stage as a guitarist. 

At first, he tried to impress crowds, which was all well and good, but when he stopped focusing so much on the crowd and started focusing instead on his own experience on stage, that was the breakthrough moment. 

"People can tell when you're enjoying what you do, and if you enjoy it, they'll enjoy it, too." 

As for personas, Mori doesn't really use them. Instead, he tries to connect with the essence of the music, letting it speak for him, exorcising negativity. 

"Playing an instrument, for me, is a way to relieve all the bad things and responsibilities I have to deal with in my life, transforming those into good vibes. I try to be the same guy on stage that I am in my daily life."

Most important of all is how Mori prioritizes confidence when he's playing live, and that ties into his single biggest piece of advice for any guitarists out there who want to improve their stage presence:

"Being confident about what you do is essential, not only for stage presence, but for everything in life and. Listen to what you're doing. Do you like it? Do you enjoy it? Are you making it from your heart or just trying to please others? How does it make you feel?" 

If you can really stand by the music you're playing, both what it sounds like and what it says to audiences, then people will be able to tell. 

Closing out 

The way you look and feel on stage is incredibly personal. It's something you discover over time, with plenty of experimentation and creativity. 

The tips we've mentioned here are all worth trying out, but you get to decide which of them are really going to work for you. 

No matter what, just do your best to give audiences an intense and enjoyable live performance. 

And when it comes to attracting the attention of record label scouts and other musicians, doing your own thing is the best way to go. People respect when you have a strong vision that speaks to the music and who you really are as a musician.