My first "gig" was an open mic at a cafe in New Zealand. I'd been playing for about a year and had a handful of songs I could play from memory. Since that time, about 5 years ago, I've done nearly 50 open mic type of performances.
Each one tells me I need to do more and more.
The first one taught me I need to be able to finger the chords without looking at the fretboard. When I turned my head to look at the fretboard, the directional mic didn't pick up my singing. I remember faking a C chord very badly. Thankfully the audience was kind.
As my playing improved, my nerves got worse. It was because the fancier fingerstyle I started playing was harder to do and with the pressure of playing in front of others I started to make mistakes that weren't happening with the older / easier songs. Initially I didn't have much problem with nerves but when the did finally hit, they were a big challenge to surmount.
That taught me to always start with a slower / older favourite.
Now I try to do an open mic whenever I can, each one helps with my confidence levels and nerves. Some I do quite well (from nerves/confidence point of view), others not so well.
It's well worth doing!
|