First time out doubts

Hey there.

Sorry that this is a bit of a long-winded question.

So my first open mic was last night. Not the first time I've ever sung in front of people (I do that on a weekly basis with cover songs at a local bar), but the first time I've ever played my own songs on guitar in front of people. It was my first time, I was nervous, rushed through the songs a bit and made some mistakes, blah, blah blah. Mistakes I would NEVER make in private or jamming with friends, but for some reason the adrenaline brought out last night. I didn't totally suck, but it could've been a lot better.

(Didn't help either that for some reason, unlike most weeks at this particular open mic, EVERYONE there was a professional-grade guitarist who happened to be playing in the area and decided to stop by. Most weeks there are a lot of really bad guitarists who play really bad songs ... so you can count on always being better than at least a few people. Unlike last night where everyone was polished and great ... and the person everyone was better than was me.)

I am not a great guitarist - never have been (only been playing 2 years), and probably never will be: it's not a huge goal of mine. I am primarily a singer and songwriter and devote most of my time and energy to this: I've gotten a lot of good feedback on my work. As far as guitar goes, I just want to be good enough to play rythym to my own stuff so I don't need to rely on a "real" guitarist for small things like open mics. Plus the fact that I'm moving across the country in a few months, so it would be a waste of time to try to find someone anyway.

As is probably true for most of you, I am my own worst critic. It's frustrating to no end to know that my songs are solid and catchy, I have a good voice ... but guitar is not my forte, and I'm not used to publicly performing an instrument in which I have limited confidence of my abilities.

I don't want to stop performing at open mics: I want to feel more comfy w. guitar on stage and am thinking that this is the best way to go about it, espec. since I'm moving soon - what have I got to lose? But should I stop being so hard on myself about guitar? Or am I not being hard enough on myself? I don't know ... just wondering if anyone here has been in a similar situation and can offer some feedback.

Thanks,

SL

Perhaps being out of your usual element is creating some extra anxiety, that not only came out in your playing, but in the self-doubts.

Freudian {censored} aside, open mikes are, for all intents and purposes, meant for you to hone your skills. My guess is that few industry execs hang out at local open mikes waiting for the next big thing. That give you a great opportunity to challenge yourself, in a way that can only help your music in the long run, without real danger of career suicide. Keep doing it, at least until you move.

Who cares if a few shredders were there when you played, really? You're a songwriter, not a guitarist - you said so yourself. Hope this helps.

Hey, I feel your pain. I'm a pretty decent acoustic guitarist (with my own CD out now) -- but I'm more of a studio guy, and lack experience playing out in public. It's a totally different ballgame when that adrenline kicks in, and all of sudden your fingers refuse to move the way you know they can. Did my first open mic a few months ago at a gathering, and it was not a pleasant experience. I really didn't have a chance to warm up but thought I was fine. And I was fine up until the time I took a seat out front and opened my mouth. That's when the adrenline hit me. From then on it was such a blur of events that I have trouble remembering any detail at all, other than my fingers just would not work. I quit after one song. The only things I can take from that experience are I now at least have a reference point from whence to improve, and I know a little about what to expect the next time I do this. Next time, I'm gonna try my best to (a) find a quiet place and warm up; (b) start out with my most confident number...or something a little easier to pull off to get me over that initial hump. I know if I can just get over that first hump, I'll be fine.

Two years isn't very long on guitar -- I've been playing (off and on) over 25 years -- so give yourself some leeway on time. If you know the right things to practice, and do so, you'll get better before you know it. It ain't length of time -- it's what you do with it! If you can take the bruising, and it ain't easy, stick with it.

Rick

That's some good advice from the above posts. I'll add my opinion too.

I'm thinking the biggest difference in your confidence is as simple as playing covers as opposed to playing your own tunes. Seems too simple doesn't it? Well it could be just that simple. When you're playing your own songs...of course you're going to feel more vunerable and the "God, I suck" meter kicks into overdrive. I'll put money on the fact that you probably didn't witness a rare night of great guitarists all in one place...instead I think you just convinced yourself that your originals just don't cut it. Whether or not that is true...it all has to do with how confident you are in your own music. I'm not saying it's a breeze playing covers, but being up there all alone, presenting something new to a bunch of strangers and hoping for acceptance is so much more of a task.

In short, your own worst critic yadda yadda. It's the truth and it fits. Don't quit though, that's the worst thing you could do for your songwriting. In fact, do as much of it as possible and get comfortable with yourself being 100% in the spotight.

I would suggest just to simplify your guitar

parts until they come more naturally and your

confidence level goes up -- people react more to

good vocals. Keep at it - being able to

write great songs rules over being able to play

fast legato runs, IMO!

I am in a death metal band which is ALOT differnt than an open mic type thing but this will still apply:

don't worry about "simplifing" parts to a song. Thats not the issue. What the issue is, is that you aren't used to playing to people in that setting.

In one of my old bands we played parties EVERY weekend. After that band broke up and we started a new one we were out of the loop for nearly a year. We had some friends over to watch us play a few weeks before the show.

Damn, none of us had ever screwed up that bad before!! I screwed up stuff that I normally wouldn't bat and eye at!!!

I was tripping out because I was sooooooooo used to playing live before!!!

THe issue was that 1. We hadn't played out in awhile. 2. It wasn't the normal "party" surroundings.

So what we did, and my advice to you is, get some friends to come over and check it out. GOod friends at first. People you are comfortable with. Then bring over some other people that you aren't used to playing around.

We did that for 4 practices and there were NO screw ups at the show. We all did great. It really helped. But it also helped that we realized that there WAS a problem BEFORe the show.

So just invite some buddies over and jam in front of them. THe more comfortable you get playing in front of them the better off you are.

Good luck next time!

Just like a fear of heights you have to confront your fears in order to conquer them.

About 2 years ago I remember playing an open mic that I was really nervous about, I hadn't played out much and it had been a long time since I had last played for a crowd. Since then I've been averaging 2 gigs per month, at first they were all intimidating. The big ones still make me a little nervous, but in a good, controlled way. Tonight a bandmate and I are going to do an acoustic open mic just for fun and I very well might fall asleep during the performance I'm so underwhelmed. Not that it won't be fun, it's just not intimidating any more.

Keep at it, make yourself do it and soon it will be second nature.

I bet you just need to do more of these ...

I also bet that the first gig ( out of your weekly cover gigs)

wasn't all that comfortable and easy.

But you got used to it and it got steadily better.

My third bet is that your open mike thing will be similar within a few months.

Everything needs time