I tried the drug last night...open mic, and I liked it...

[GB...]

Been playing for about 5 years starting at the age of 45...Played mostly fingerstyle for the first three years (very little vocals) and have since focused more on strumming and singing.

I've played for family and a few friends (very small groups of 2-4). Last night I played in front of about 80 folks at a community fund raiser. There were 12 performers, one song each. I did Back Home Again (John Denver) using cowboy cords with some runs, hammers...

Man that was scary...worse, I never sang with a mic before...did'nt know this until I showed up.

All went well, lots of good words after the show. I'll be back again, I'm hooked on the drug now.

[woodenstrings]

Very cool, glad to hear it went well and that you'll go out and play more..
It will keep getting to be more fun each time, just keep it fun and the audience will have the fun to ! Enjoy

[GB...]

Originally Posted by woodenstrings

Very cool, glad to hear it went well and that you'll go out and play more..
It will keep getting to be more fun each time, just keep it fun and the audience will have the fun to ! Enjoy

Thanks for the tip on keeping it fun. I heard a few of the other performers take a few jabs and such, the audience liked that. I threw out "I grew up listing to 80's music, but I promise to play any tonight"...

[oldhippiegal]

terrific! Always makes me high/giddy, too, to perform. Here's to many more fun such nights for ya.

[Irish Pennant]

Congratulations on your first stage performance Open mics are fun and addicting, keep it up and enjoy the journey.

[Moobox]

Respect. I've been playing about four years now. Been sighting an open mic for about two years but just not sure what to expect. But I've got a keenness to play performance of sorts.

[MaKaToM]

Nice one mate!

I've been playing for 3 years now (self taught) and in the past month I got up at an open mic night. Scary isn't it!

My right hand was shaking violently, my mouth was dry, I couldn't remember what songs I knew and anytime I thought about what line was next, I forgot that too!

Lots of kind words afterwards, got a few gig offers to play around my local area and to do a set at a school fund raiser and a Wakefield hospice night which were all lovely.

Played my first gig in The Hop and all of the above complaints flared up again!

Played an open mic night last night...and...dry throat, shaking hands etc...

DO THE NERVES EVER GO AWAY?!

Horrible!

Again, congratulations! My only advice is that if you enjoy doing it, keep doing it!

Tom

[JonPR]

Congratulations!

Notice how you don't look scared in the photo - although shame about the red eye. That's a tip about nerves in general; you always look more relaxed than you feel; so - er - you can relax! And you're looking at the audience, which is good - after 46 years gigging, I still find that hard...
(You don't have to smile or look happy, not unless you feel like it. Looking serious just makes you look... serious, which is OK. Unless you're singing a comedy song, maybe; or even if you are...)

Another tip: next time, make sure that other mic is closer to your guitar.... (or is there a pickup on the guitar, plugged in somewhere?)

[MaKaToM]

Great advice Jon! That's something I forgot to mention...

When I got off stage and told people I was nervous and made silly mistakes, nobody noticed a thing. They all is that I looked calm and relaxed...that really was far from the case.

I guess people will only know what you show them, so show them only the good stuff.

I admit that I'm not a very good guitarist...I know that...but the audience doesn't know that and its easy to trick non-players into thinking you're good.

[Gtrfinger]

I've been playing fingerstyle in public for about 8 years, mainly at local clubs. The nerves do not go away, right hand shake is the worse culprit, as it affects the music.

But....no one seems to notice.

And I've learnt ...never ever ever acknowledge a mistake when playing live.

Which is good for them, if they enjoy the music, but not good for you, because you really heard the music, and knew it could've been better.

However, there are occasions when everything falls into place, and some sort of magic occurs whereby you are totally immersed in both the creation and the experience of hearing the music. And that buzz is worth all the nervous performances in the world.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by MaKaToM

Great advice Jon! That's something I forgot to mention...

When I got off stage and told people I was nervous and made silly mistakes, nobody noticed a thing. They all is that I looked calm and relaxed...that really was far from the case.

I guess people will only know what you show them, so show them only the good stuff.

I admit that I'm not a very good guitarist...I know that...but the audience doesn't know that and its easy to trick non-players into thinking you're good.

Yes, it's about confidence - or rather appearing confident.

A bit like that old Sam Goldwyn quote. "The most important thing is sincerity. If you can fake that, you've got it made."


You can get away with all sorts of musical flaws and mistakes, if you just carry on confidently as if nothing's happened. (I mean, not ALL musical mistakes - but more than you might imagine.)

Audiences - by and large - are not interested in good guitar-playing (not nearly as much as you are anyway). They want to hear something they can connect with: a good melody, moving or entertaining lyrics, maybe a good groove.
Good playing matters, of course, but only in the service of those things. It's about the song, IOW. Not about the guitar technique. Not even about the singer (you). (Certain celebrities can make it all about themselves, because they have become icons, their persona is already part of the performance. I guess you're not at that stage yet... )

A good rule is that the better you know the song, the better it will go down. The longer you've been playing/singing a song, the more it becomes part of you, the more naturally and confidently you can deliver it. A song you just finished learning - even if you can do it perfectly - is always going to be a little dry, a little lacking in that extra expression you can put in once the technical side is automatic.

Paradoxically, perhaps, the less you have to think about what you're doing (what chord comes next? how did that little riff go? how does the next verse start?) the more honestly and powerfully the song will communicate itself through you, because your consciousness is not getting in the way.
The more you have to think, the more the risk of a mistake. But of course that does depend on knowing the song like the back of your hand.

[billder99]

Hey GB, I have a very similar story... Started playing 3 years ago @ 53, started with fingerstyle, moved on to flat-pick & chordal accompaniment for vocals.

The first time I played Open Mic, my knees were shaking (and I am definitely no a shaky dude). It went alright but I could hear so many mistakes... people didn't notice, or were kind enough not to say they did. Each time gets better, but not necessarily easier after 5 Open Mics and couple of party gigs.

I keep practicing and keep getting better, at some point I hope to be satisfied that my ability and performance meet my expectations for myself.... and the expectations keep growing... hmmmm.

[Jim_G]

I'm 53 and I only just started playing out about 2 years ago. I was a nervous wreck for a while, but I'm finally starting to settle down. +1 on the folks who said nobody is really paying much attention, at least not as much as you are. So blow through the mistakes, those used to throw me badly.

My worst train wreck was doing a band version of 'Liberty', with Steve James's finger arrangement. Halfway through the first A section I went completely blank. So I went around the A, the B, the A, Steve's C, and wrapped it up with the A, just playing the chords, hoping and praying that it would come back to me and it never did. And that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was, nobody noticed. Either they are very forgiving, or they're not paying any attention. It's the latter. Once you realize this, it really frees you up to make some good music. You know it, and one or two others pick up on it as well. That's all I need anyway. The next stage in development, I found, is that you start griping about the sound systems. They're never as good as what you do rehearsing at home. You get over that too.