How I Cram When I Don’t Have Much Time Before A Performance
These past few weeks I have had a few performances where I didn’t get the full set list or all of the charts/arrangements until days before the performance was set to take place. Now, this can certainly be stressful, and I remember having much more nerve wracking experiences with these exact scenarios a few years ago when I was trying to find my footing after college. Now, I’ve come up with a system that works for me and allows me to cram without it spreading into other aspects of my life.
DISCLAIMER: This is merely what works for me when it comes to cramming for a gig. This is not prescriptive advice and each person is different. What works for me may not work for you, and that’s okay!
Before we even start I also have to acknowledge that part of the reason this has become less stressful for me in recent years is because my repertoire has expanded over time from performing different types of music. This now makes it a little more likely that I am already familiar with some or most of the songs for these more short notice gigs. This is also what I do if I’m the vocalist on a performance since I find this was the most stressful and hardest to do on short notice. If you would like me to do a post about how I approach doing this on piano or guitar, please let me know!
So, the first thing I do is make a playlist on my preferred music listening platform (youtube) of every song on the set list and every specific version if applicable of each of the songs so I have an accurate reference. I then divide this set list into 3 categories: I’m familiar with this song and feel confident about performing it, I’m familiar with this song but I do not feel confident about performing it, and I am not familiar with this song and do not feel confident about performing it.
After I’ve divided this I can intentionally listen to the songs that I am not confident about performing. My main concern when I am intentionally listening to these songs is to get the general form of the song and the melody line. Some of my tricks that work for me are printing out lyrics and marking notable notes or lines that are really distinct, and determining what some of the melody cues will be from other instruments. Some examples of this would be: my first note for the next verse is played by the guitar during this interlude, or, the bass does this really unique line right before every chorus.
Doing this with songs I’ve not performed before or I’m not comfortable with gives me landmarks through each song, almost like a cushion, that I can fall back on if I get completely lost. And, this gives me some reassurance and something to listen for if I do get lost instead of scrambling and trying to hold onto anything I can hear (which just makes me even more confused and stressed). Having lyrics printed is also a safety net that I can use to make notes to learn songs I’m unfamiliar with, but also, these lyrics and notes that are personal to me and my tough spots with these songs most of the time can be brought on stage with me.
Once I feel at least somewhat comfortable with every song on the setlist I’ll start more passively listening to the entire setlist while I’m going about my general daily routine. Things like: my commute to work, doing the laundry, going for walks, doing housework, etc. This is when I start to incorporate those songs that I am comfortable with just so I can get a refresher and I don’t pass by any spots in those more familiar songs that may unexpectedly trip me up onstage if I’m not prepared for it. This step also allows me to just start singing or humming the songs in the setlist for fun while I’m doing other things which can also be a great way to really solidify the melodies that I’m not as comfortable with.
My final step is to print the music if it is available to me to bring onstage and to switch my playlist out to a playlist I make of instrumental tracks of the songs I am least comfortable with. It’s usually pretty easy to find an instrumental version or karaoke version of a song on youtube. And I’ll start singing along with these, focusing on the melody line and making sure it is lining up with the other instruments. If I am able to I’ll go through and really zone in on the lyrics but in some cases that is not possible. And, personally, I am more comfortable improvising syllables or lyrics if necessary than the melody itself. If I have time I’ll run through lyrics and try to test myself using those same instrumental tracks and either the lyrics in front of me or using voice memos so I can reference afterwards which words I missed and which spots I’m most likely to not remember the correct words so I can target those.
Most importantly, before I go onstage, I try to take a number of deep breaths and try to lean into my body and trust my instincts as a musician. I found that when I go onstage and I’m tense or nervous I am way more likely to mess up melodies and words to songs I don’t have as much muscle memory for. And, I’m more likely to perceive small mistakes as larger than they actually are and let them get in my head and affect the rest of the performance, which isn’t helpful for me.
So, that is how I cram when I don’t have much time before a performance (as a vocalist). I do hope you’ve been enjoying these posts and this website as I continue to become more comfortable using and updating it. I’m hoping as I move into 2026 that this will become even more familiar and efficient at updating and creating for this website. Thank you for sticking around as I’m going through this learning curve. Remember, the world is better with you in it!
Sarah
