Showing-up with your guitar at a gathering

[bobbyg67]

i like to at least have a good,adequate, tunable, playable, beater close by if i go somewhere. more than once i've been somewhere and asked to play when the only guitar available wasn't a beater but a junker! "come on, play something, don't be so picky." i'd reply," but it only has five strings that can't be tuned." now that's a nightmare. when in doubt, take one.

[Marshall]

It's when you stretch yourself that you grow as a person and that you really feel alive.

Well said.

[g6120]

I was exactly like you for about 30 years. I was an introvert play at home alone guitarist! When I was a teenager I was a more social player and used to play at parties and gatherings but as I got older and moved away I found myself just playing for myself! Then one year ago I discovered YouTube and saw people playing all those songs I used to play but hadn't in many years (some even decades). I decided to try it. When I started I truly believed I was not a good guitar player and that I could not sing so I started off timidly and got some great responses and made some friends. Through the support and encouragement I received there I built up my confidence and then I was finally able to attempt really singing with all my heart at the beginning of 2007. So for me singing is still a skill I am working on and I played my first open mic in June of 2007 to some GREAT response.

Just recently I showed up with my guitar at the IRF (International Rust Fest, an annual Neil Young festival) and played many Neil Young songs and folks were joining in and singing along. A good time!!
So I would suggest YouTube as a first step toward "coming out". I did it and it's a lot of fun and has made me a better player and singer.

[DBlanton]

Heck, I take two whereever I go - that way if someone forgot or didn't bring theirs we can still ahve a jam! Of course, most of the places I go, and most of the people I know, either play or are happy to have live music "in the house"

I say take carry it wherever you go - like has been said, better to have it and not play than to not have and have folks asking why you didn't bring it!

[Antonio Salieri]

+1 for take the guitar with you, & use your judgement depending on how things go.

[SMan]

I am often asked to bring my guitar to family functions. (Obviously they think more of my playing than I do.) My Cousin, who not so coincidently, is from Sedona, AZ, feels the performed music (of any kind) adds an "Aura" to the gathering. Many times my guitar is left unplayed and other times is has been a focal point of the gathering. Another cousins husband (who is a luthier) and I often play together and have played at family member weddings as well. Its certainly more about the music, people, and the celebration, than my playing or me.

[Bluelew]

I never go anywhere overnight without a guitar. When I go to camp, retreats etc.,I just go off under a tree or by the lake & play. Sometimes others show up, sometimes they don't. I always hope there will be someone to jam with. I don't think I'm showing off or bugging anybody, least I hope not.

[Giannini12]

Just bring it. If anyone questions why you did, tell them you need to play something EVERY day, even just for a few minutes, to keep up your skills. Then once you get there, find a suitable unostentatious corner and do so. If they listen, they listen. If they don't, they don't. Either way, it's good practice.

[dylanheeg]

personally i would not bring it along.....it would depend on your relationship with these folks.....which from what i gather you are pretty new acquantences......I think you could easily come off as 'show offy'.....even if it is completely not your intention.....we are all burdened by the section of the guitar community that ARE complete show offs, and believe that they are just soooooooooooooo cool cause they play guitar...and feel the need to bring it out all the time, just so everyone knows they play guitar ...cause they think it is like a social rank, and that all the gals will be woooo-ed....

Even though your intentions are completely not like that scenario, it could still come off that way...which is what i'd fear if i was in your situation....thus, i'd leave it if it were me....but i am also a flaming introvert type.

[Bobby1note]

I agree. Bring the guitar. If and when the right time presents itself, almost everybody enjoys paricipating in a good song.Whether it's playing along, singing, humming a tune, or simply sitting back and listening. It's never about "me". It's about sharing "the song" with friends. At get-togethers, I consider myself more of a "back-up" musician, not a centre-stage performer. I encourage participation. Once somebody breaks-the-ice, we're off and running.

Bob

[whataboutbob]

I agree that you should bring it but don't advertise. Personally, I won't bring one along to gatherings anymore unless I'm really harrassed about it. Over the years I've found/sensed that, even though a few people ask you to play, it doesn't mean everyone wants to hear it.

[PorkPieGuy]

Originally Posted by Chicago Sandy

I only bring a guitar if asked, unless I know it's a gathering of musicians at which a song circle or jam is likely to happen.

I was getting ready to write the same thing. I'm with Sandy.

[bjay540]

a range of responses. What kind of Grinch doesn't like some music?
I've been playing since the 60s -formal and informal-
allways postive feelings playing at parties and such;
ski trips, tent camping, party at the Boss's house, back yard grilling,
at racing events (bike, trail racing)
I even played for the guys in artillary battery inbetween fire missions
when I was in VietNam.

[Eracer]

Originally Posted by bjay540

a range of responses. What kind of Grinch doesn't like some music?
I've been playing since the 60s -formal and informal-
allways postive feelings playing at parties and such;
ski trips, tent camping, party at the Boss's house, back yard grilling,
at racing events (bike, trail racing)
I even played for the guys in artillary battery inbetween fire missions
when I was in VietNam.

Amen. Guitar playing is an introspective and personal thing, but it should also be a socializing force. Music is meant to be shared. I understand a good player not wanting to be thought of as "entertainment" at an event like a party. But if you want to bring a guitar, and you want to play, then by all means do so. I think most people (at least the ones I want to associate with) will greatly appreciate a musician who is willing to share his or her music.

[Akubra]

Maybe it's just me, but it would seem that a planning retreat for a relatively new job would indicate that your management would prefer that you utilize the atmosphere and environment to further business objectives rather than personal goals or interests. If it were me, I'd be showing up all-business, guitarless. Then again, I'm the one that never goes to corporate Christmas parties, because it seems to me that's where all the bad business impressions happen: outside of the corporate facility.