Open Mic Practice

Community Recordings Audio-Video Of You Playing
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As I mentioned in my Learning Log, I have a goal to play an open mic by the end of March. My wife and I attended an open mic back in December which was not very crowded - just the kind I need for my first go :wink:. Since it wasn’t very busy they allowed the performers to play multiple songs. With that in mind I have been practicing a half dozen songs that I would consider playing. I don’t know if the attendance level was due to the holiday, the cold weather or the norm so I am working on a “full set” that I can whittle down if time limited.

Last night I decided to practice and record the full set. It seems I tend to make the same mistake, just at different parts of the song. For example, a common mistake is forgetting to play E chord in the chorus of “Hurricane” and playing the Am instead. The thing is, I make the mistake at different times in the song, not the same spot, so it is hard to predict and fix. Another example is I often play the G instead of the C during at least one chorus of “Angel From Montgomery”. I don’t know what I did this time though. The mistake in this practice is not one I have made before - just completely missed it at the end.

Anyway, without further Ado, here is my full practice session. Be advised it is 25 minutes long and includes commentary when I messed something else. I also had some issues when I switched from my 12 string to my six string. My strap was all wonky (you can’t see it but it was twisted at the peg) which was messing me up.

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Hi Joe. First off, I’ve never performed at an open mike but have attended quite a few so my comments are from an audience perspective.
I didn’t watch all of your video but dipped in and out and from what I watched you’re more than ready to perform and all will go well on the night.

My thoughts.
More interaction with your audience/camera. You didn’t introduce yourself or your songs. No one expects a ‘professional’ jokes and anecdotes style but engagement is always good.
Don’t comment on your mistakes. It’s been mentioned here many times. Only you notice them.
Don’t set yourself up for a fall. You said something along the lines of “fingerstyle hasn’t been my friend recently” then got flustered with a twisted guitar strap and had to restart several times.
Is finishing with a mainly strummed song a good idea?

I certainly couldn’t perform live for 25 minutes so I take my hat off to you and please take my comments in the spirit in which they are intended.
Good luck on the night and please let us know how it all went.

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Joe @frito
Like Gordon I just dipped in. I have never been to an OM and respect Gordon’s assessment of your standard being good enough. I have performed in front of an audience as part of a group at the Guitar Club concert and advice I got as beginner was don’t worry about mistakes probably no one will notice as long as you keep the rhythm going.
Michael
PS only performed solo once, apart from community OM and looking at the video I made loads of mistakes.

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Thanks @sairfingers and @MAT1953.

Thanks for the idea about engagement. I wasn’t thinking along those lines for practice. My focus was more on getting the songs right vs. how I would interact with the audience. My comments regarding mistakes were more for my own benefit. I will refrain from them for the real thing. In fact, as I made a mistake Justin’s voice was going off in my head saying “Just play through it, only you will notice it.” :wink:

I have tried finger picking before strumming and found that strumming seems to serve as a good warm up for finger picking and I generally do better with finger picking after playing a few other songs.

The guitar strap issue drove me nuts as you noticed. It got all twisted at the pin and the guitar wouldn’t sit right. The good thing is it happened during practice so I now know to double check it before I start to play.

I am going to practice it a bit more and maybe toss up a follow up video. I will try to interact with the camera. It just seems so unnatural to me vs. interacting with a live person and then I also get so distracted seeing myself in the screen. That is totally a “me” problem I need to overcome.

Thanks for taking the time to watch and provide feed. I really appreciate it.

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HI Joe, nice work! I like your song selection and think you play very proficiently! I would appear to be in a similar age demographic as you, and I too have had the goal of playing open mics. I recently took the plunge and played at a couple different venues and had a great time! I know you’ll feel the same - it’s a wonderful feeling of accomplishment and very rewarding for the hard work you’ve put in. The advice given by others here is so on target! One additional observation I had from my own experience that may be of help: I usually don’t practice singing into a microphone and found it a bit awkward to have to do so at the open mics. So if possible try to get some practice hooked up to a microphone and amp. Also, and maybe this is just me, but I find playing through an acoustic amp is somehow more forgiving of my guitar mistakes. Not sure why. I also have a disability on my strumming hand which makes strumming and picking, particularly finger picking, difficult so this may be something peculiar to my playing. I’m confident you’ll do great at an open mic! You’re definitely ready!
Bob

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Thanks @Babacha Bob, I appreciate the feedback. The whole microphone thing has been weighing on me in the back of my mind. I didn’t enjoy talking into one at my daughter’s wedding a few months ago. I don’t know if was generally hearing myself over a speaker or a more fundamental issue that the mic kept fading out. Most speakers had the same fading issue.

My challenge in that regard is that I don’t own a mic. I guess this could be a good excuse to fall victim to G(gear)AS. :grin:

I also appreciate you sharing your experience. I am nervously looking forward to getting this first one under my belt.

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Hi Joe,

I recently started playing guitar again after 20 years and I have a similar goal to yourself, in the next few months to play at a local Pub in and open Mic.

I had a mid-life flip 20 years ago and had the time to go back to college and study Music on a 2 year BTEC course with guitar as my instrument. I was a not good at the start so a baptism of fire. The class was split into 5 small bands, 4 in each and we shared 2 drummers and 3 bass players. each week we had to learn 3 new songs of our choice and perform them after 2 weeks in local pubs, each person had to do a solo on one number as well. It was quite a challenge to say the least. For me I found the hardest think was terrible nerves. On our second week I opened up with the solo to ‘Black Magic Woman’, rhythm and then outro, it went quite well, we then went into the 2nd number and after 3 or 4 bars I was completely lost, I eventually composed myself and re-joined about half way through, I had to listen to the rest of the band and referred to the music sheets on the stand I front of me. I made more mistakes over the coming months as others did.

I mention the above to point a few things out which may help, performing live is not easy and our teacher told us that “You should have the music and lyrics in front of us to refer to as an aid memoir.” Her reasoning was we were not professional musicians and even if we were they nearly always have music in front of them. She also said that even the best musicians make mistakes, and when this happens, for what ever reason, they have several choices, drop out and rejoin as I did, push on and ignore the mistake. She said most people will not notice or will choose to ignore. If you are performing on your own and the mistake stops you, she said it was probably best to acknowledge this to the audience and either start again or restart from a good point. She said everyone has to accept they will make mistakes, playing an instrument and performing is not easy and there are many variables involved, sometimes it will be perfect, or near perfect and others it won’t. She also said that audiences where generally supportive to performers especially at open Mics. Her final words were to remember the audience is not there to test you, but to listen to you, and the majority will not be able to do what you can.

I listened to your video, your playing and singing is great, some lovely song choices. Forget the mistakes and run through each of the songs in your mind, if you get stuck visualising the next chord, riff/solo then refer to the music briefly and carry on, once happy play it through. Perhaps setting the scene at the start of your performance saying it is your first would be good, I think audiences will love your playing,

Good luck, but I don’t think you need it really,

All the best, Adrian

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Thanks @AJSki2fly Adrian. That is very helpful and encouraging. Wow, you aren’t kidding when you say you learn by baptism by fire. That sounds intense yet fun. I appreciate you sharing your experience. I did another run through last night minus the video and it went much better. A few mistakes but none that I would consider glaring or extremely noticeable.

I am reminded of a comment Jimmy Hendrix made, something to the effect of “People learn my songs so well that they also learned my mistakes.”

Thanks for listening and sharing your experiences.

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One thing I would add is that as Justin says in his lessons stuff you want to perform or have it in your repertoire you should aim to memorise it full, and be able to play it without referring to music/tabs etc. But I think the important thing is, as my teacher, when you perform especially early on in your journey as a musician you should anticipate and prepare for the moment you do make a mistake, and if you have material to hand to assist you to recover that is great back up.

By the way I am a big fan of Jimi Hendrix and I am trying to learn and play ‘Purple Haze’, I have watched various videos and listened to several recordings of it and I don’t think that any two are the same, always some variation, usually in the solos or subtly in the rhythm feel.

Neil Young is another very good example of this, just listen to the many recordings of ‘Heart of Gold’, from pure stripped down acoustic to near grunge renditions, and he plays around with the chords and feel, to fit his mood.

I hope you have a great Mic session, and share your thoughts it with us afterwards.

Cheers Adrian

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Are you gonna sing into a mic during your performance?
If yes - rehearse with a microphone in front of you.
Is it gonna be darker on that stage? Rehearse in a darker room.
I’d also try cold room, when your fingers can’t move comfortably, and dark room when you can’t see the fretboard.
Is your guitar gonna be amplified in the same way?.. etc. I would try to simulate the open mic conditions as much as possible.
I would also advise not to expect too much from yourself in your first public performance. My first open mic was a total disaster, the crowd was very supportive and I got through my set… but it was nowhere near my expectations from myself. I’d look at it as a workout, training for future performances, gathering data about your own reactions, trying to overcome issues this way or that way…

I’m sure you’ll do great. Have fun with it and good luck :+1:

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Thanks for the feedback @Alexeyd Alexey. Those are some of my challenges. I will be singing into a mic but I don’t own a mic or have a setup into which I can hook one up. My 12 string has no electronics so it will be played into their mic. My Taylor does have electronics and I plan to plug it in since that is what I am using for the finger style songs. I have an amp but it is for electric guitars and does not have an input for a mic.

The place I will playing is well lit and doesn’t have a traditional stage with stage lighting and all the other fun stuff so I think I am good from that standpoint.

Thanks again. All great things to consider.

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