How to start a guitar group/club?

[Br1ck]

Find a venue that will support hosting an open mic. Ideally you want a mix of abilities. Or just find one where the vibe is good and keep participating. When someone is better than you, but not by a lot, ask them if they'd like to get together. An open mic will expose you to a lot of styles that might point you in a direction you may want to go.

Any senior centers in your area? Ukulele classes are popular. Even that might lead you to musical friends. Being a geezer myself, you will find folks who just want to play what they play. It's common to not want to leave a comfort zone. Others have forty years of experience and just want to gig the standard bluegrass songs. You will find the whole gamut. Hopefully you find a good fit.

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by Chas007

I only know about 12 cowboy chords. A couple of which I'm not sure of their names. Asus4 and some kinda weird F7 thing, I think. I also know the F bar chord and how to move it up and down the neck to get the G, A, B and C chords. Can play parts of songs, verses, but not a whole song. I had envisioned a few beginners at varying levels of skill getting together and taking turns playing....

Cowboy chords and a capo is the way I play. I don't actually need more than that to pull together a song accompaniment.

Do you sing Chas?

[Chas007]

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

Do you sing Chas?

Lol, I believe I could sing some songs. I need to learn more about singing. My throat wants to tighten up when I try to go too high on the notes. If I'm in the car by myself I actually "think" I sound pretty good on some songs. Big difference singing with the actual recording artist and doing it solo. I will add that when I sing to my little female shì-poo I seem to put feeling into it, it feels more real and I get closer to what I can do in the car. I do not understand any of the why some settings are better than others are. But it is rare that I think I do anything well.

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by Chas007

Lol, I believe I could sing some songs. I need to learn more about singing. My throat wants to tighten up when I try to go too high on the notes. If I'm in the car by myself I actually "think" I sound pretty good on some songs. Big difference singing with the actual recording artist and doing it solo. But it is rare that I think I do anything well.

I'm not a good singer. But I am getting better. About 5 years ago I decided that I wanted to sing and play guitar just as an amateur at open mic's and local concerts and the like. I had no idea what to do to progress. So I talked to a friend's daughter who studied singing at college. I persuaded her to give me one lesson.

Well, it was really worthwhile. I think that the best bit of advice she gave me was that singing was very much a skill. Yes, there are folks blessed with beautiful natural voices, but pretty much everyone can get quite a lot better simply approaching singing as a skill. The more practice you have the better you get. And you can learn how to deliver an engaging performance without having a great voice (think Bob Dylan and others!).

In terms of you starting a guitar group of folks to play together, don't undersell the part you can play. Learn a few songs so you can sing and play them. Others will then have something to join in on.

It's difficult to explain if you haven't experienced it but the person who knows a song is the lynch pin for a jam. I have got to play with some fantastic musicians - not because I'm a great player or singer but because I knew some songs. I played some basic cowboy chords and sang the song, and they did their stuff around me!

You really don't have to be a good player or great singer to be part of a jam. But knowing some songs you can bang out is really useful for everyone.