[Old Poseur]

I just completed my second open mic tonight where I played and sang 3 songs. The bar was jam packed, really loud, and the acoustics were horrible. On my last song, Joan of Arc, I was joined by two woman friends to sing the “Joan” verses as well as the choruses and another friend who is a jazz violinist who just jammed around us. My inexperience showed - not only facing the challenge of playing and singing at the same time, but the distractions of the venue, playing and singing with others, and throwing in a very good musician who I’ve never played with before (and who, truth be told, dazzled me). So guess what? I screwed up left and right, missing chord changes, forgetting lyrics, and forgetting even to sing my bits at times. And you know what? It still sounded glorious. What a thrill. So here’s my advice - just do it, play and sing in public. There are things you will learn there that you can’t learn from a teacher, a video or a book. And it’s the most fun you can have with your pants on.