Stage Performance

Rating:
Summary: Humor, Compassion and Reality
Review: Excellent, engaging, compassionate, humorous, with lots of useful information on myriad facets of the music business. This material is the fruit of 30 years of experience, and is laced with gritty, funny anecdotes that bring each of Taylor's "lessons" to life. I'm buying another two copies for friends.

Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: I enjoyed Mr. Taylor's style of writing and the way he laid out the book like the course he teaches. I was surprised when it first arrived at how slim and small the book is. Great for carrying around and reading but I felt he could have told me more for the money :) Maybe that's just me. As a performer with 13 years experience, I thought he made lots of good points and I agree with most of them. Would be a great book for a beginner.

Rating:
Summary: Why is this book out of print? It is AWESOME !!!
Review: I have seen Liv live on a number of occasions. He is an amazing performer - not as technically proficient as, say, Vince Gill, but he never claims to me. One walks away from his concert feeling as though their emotions have undergone Ty-Bo.

He mixes grace, humor, and modesty in a way that few have managed to master. For the new (or experienced) performmer, this book is a great way to begin that Mastery process.

Highly recommended, to say the least.

Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: Liv Taylor's book is an excellent resource for all musicians and performers who engage in live performance or touring. As a writer, Taylor brings the reader into his Berklee College of Music Stage Performance Class, where assorted characters (based on real students) receive coaching and wisdom Liv has garnered from his 30+ years of performing and touring experience.

Taylor's primary message is one of cultivating a sensitive and attentive relationship between the performer and his or her audience. He also presents useful thoughts on stage presence, performance anxiety, audience interaction, life on the road, and the requirements for maintaining a viable performing career.

Though Taylor's book is primarily targeted at young, aspiring popular musicians at the beginning of their careers, more experienced artists, musicians from other disciplines, and even actors and public speakers can benefit as well.

-Doc Wallace, Faculty, the Juilliard School

Rating:
Summary: PRACTICAL AND INSPIRING!
Review: Loved this book ... finished it in two days. A wonderful reminder of what a privilege it is for any performer to have people spend both good money and valuable time to show up and listen. A timely and necessary antidote to the self-possession of our age (for everyone, but artists/musicians in particular). This book (along with Jimmy Webb's "Tunesmith") should be read and re-read by anyone who gets up on a stage with the intention to communicate truthfully through music. It's a fun and relaxed read ... but it'll sneak in the back door and before you know it, you'll be growing and asking questions you may not have considered before. Thanks Liv!

Rating:
Summary: Great perspective for performers
Review: This book is a fine tool for any individual who wants to enhance their experience of appearing before an audience. The focus on cultivation of an attitude of receptivity and attentiveness towards one's audience is supported by very practical suggestions as well as delightful anecdotes of a seasoned performer. I liked the tone of the book, as ideas were presented in a conversational, unpretentious manner. Its themes strike me as being relevant not only to those embarking on careers as performance artists, but to folks like me: a small-business owner who needs to communicate with strangers on a daily basis. Offers valuable insights on the qualities that are ingredients for longevity in any career.

Rating:
Summary: Required Reading for Anyone Appearing Onstage
Review: Written by the Instructor of the Stage Performance course at Berklee College of Music,this book should be required reading for all those contemplating performing or simply appearing before an audience. An articulate account of the art of performance and perseverance written by the thinking man's Taylor. A fascinating read with incredible insights into the music industry gleaned over a career of over 30 yrs. Also includes biographical info of great interest to all the Livingston Taylor fans worldwide.

Rating:
Summary: Liv's book in Ellis Paul's bathroom...
Review: Yep, I read a small portion of this book in the bathroom of Ellis Paul (a fine songwriter from Boston) while visiting and found it every bit as important to performance as Natalie Goldberg's "Writing Down the Bones" is for writing... the little I read was insight-filled and I just went out and ordered myself a copy!