Please loop me in if such a conversation is setup. Not specifically in any formal Mod capacity, though would be helpful to enable me to share thinking and possibilities with the JG Team.
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A couple more thoughts âŚ
Firstly, FWIW, in the ârealâ world the club that run the OMs I perform at work as follows:
OMs are held once per month. They run on first come first served. Hosted by a Committee member who always breaks the ice with usually 3 songs. Performers have 3 songs or 15 minutes. It is all plug in and play. No backing tracks permitted. Once or twice somebody has played an electric, but that was also just plug in an play, not through any pedals.
Concerts are held twice a month. They are in a bigger venue with a proper stage. Participation is by invitation of the event organiser. A mix of solo performers and groups. Typically a 30 minute set. Anything goes there in terms of how you set up.
I imagine and aspire to being invited one day. And depending how I have eveolved that performance would certainly include my Play Acoustic and could be electric through other pedals as well.
Another idea for members to consider is a personal live streaming. I have not technically worked through the details, but based on what I know and think I understand, I thought it would be possible to live stream using OBS to stream to YT and you could share a link to the stream with the Community to reduce risk of unwelcome visitors.
The advantage of a virtual meeting is being able to hear audience reaction between songs, not just via a chat. But depending on your aspirations, a live stream may be something to explore.
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Wow, interesting! I would definitely struggle at an OM without a backing track! 
Although would force me out of my comfort zone! 
Yes, of course, that would be great to have you there, David! Will do 
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Wot? Tagged by the Mad Man of La Manche?
Hehe, my words were
Not much difference between that and sharing outside open mics or collaborations that we post on the site.
Not everything needs a badge 
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Is it not still the case that any participant can be assigned as host of any particular meeting? So anyone accepted for the role can run an OM.
At this level of detail perhaps the length of the songs should be factored in! George has done 3 songs at 3 minutes each but Brian() did one 12 minutes long.
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You might need to play⌠Acoustic! 
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That is a very good point. As an avid watcher of the Community OMs, I find it refreshing to see a different line up each month. Whether a performer has done a handful of OMs or just a few makes no difference to me. Like Brian said the main attraction to me is following the progress of a bunch of folk that actively participate in the forum and supporting them on their journey.
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Well if only Jeff had this idea a few weeks ago we could have been treated to a live performance in the park from @jkahn and @nzmetal
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Oh, the cruelty, John! 
That was the âoldâ me
It does remind me of how useful a learning experience the OMs are.
As the events have grown, I have learned to curb my enthusiasm and cut the waffle
It was a fun process for me, and I am grateful to the community for putting up with my guff 
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No waffle is dull, a bit of waffle is tasty, too much gives stomach ache
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Sounds like a good idea, we should do that session some time.
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Aw the horror!
I think that would have only been worth viewing if Iâd been the one on the camera filming
Cool! Iâll PM the four of us to see if we can all find a time that works 
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What David describes is not unusual but that itâs totally dependent on what type of OM it is. Many in the UK are more focussed on acoustic (even though all usually have a PA to plug into) than electric/bands so most are just playing acoustic songs and no backing.
However plenty here also support solo singers (who always use backing tracks) and bands. A full backing track for an electric guitarist would be a little unusual although even we have used the trio+ for drum backing when our drummer isnât available. I would say long term you want to aim to play without a backing track and look for others to play with OR find OM events where there may be at least a drummer who can support you (our drummer often supports others at live OMs). Obviously Iâm talking real world here and generally online anything goes.
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Come on Jeff, now that youâve started down the path forged by Led Zeppelin, more acoustic guitar is a must. After all is that not part of what makes Led Zeppelin different to Sabbath or Purple ⌠the fact that they had the folksy acoustic mixed with blues and heavier rock n roll? But Jimmy Page may be quite a demanding role model when it comes to acoustic guitar, even if he himself may be challenged to play like his influences eg Bert Jansch.
I think a lot depends on what oneâs aspirations are. I donât aspire to become the lead or rhythm guitarist in any kind of band (genere or cover/original). I do enjoy dabbling a bit in lead and rhythm on the electric, usually towards producing an original song (watch #community-recordings:originals-not-covers my next is getting close to release, with an extra treat, after the usual lengthy âpregnancyâ and âdifficultâ birth). But if I did then my path would be quite different, my needs from an OM quite different, and I am sure Iâd find suitable opportunities.
As @Rossco01 said, for our virtual Community OM, we have the freedom to accommodate all manner of approaches. The essence is about people having an opportunity to progress their playing and ability to play live.
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Alright, alright, I promise I will do an AVOYP with my acoustic sometime soon 
Will have to retrieve it from the lounge where it just sits looking pretty
Good points about Zeppelin, their acoustic tracks are actually some of my favourites so plenty of inspiration from Page there! (not that Iâll be replicating anything like his playing anytime in the foreseeable future! 
)
Good point, aspirations make up a huge part of what path we choose to follow with guitar, itâs always so interesting to discover what direction others have chosen and how theyâre choosing to navigate it 
Ooooh canât wait! 
The Community OMs are so brilliant for those reasons! I certainly wouldnât want the new concept debated above detracting from that in any way. They are a real treasure 
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Iâm surprised how few people list playing live as an objective in their intros or learning logs.
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@rorystrat
Peter, I think for many people playing guitar is a personal hobby/pasttime done soley for personal benefits. So I canât say I am that surprised that most coming to JustinGuitar arenât aspiring to play live in that moment.
It was certainly not something I aspired to or imagined when I started. At the moment I picked up the guitar again for one last effort to make meaningful progress, all I hoped for was that maybe Iâd make just enough progress to keep me engaged. Rather than previous attempts that began with enthusiasm and faltered in frustration when I felt I was not really making progress. And I told myself I lacked necessary âtalentâ.
And later as I achieved that first aspiration I aspired to more. Kind of like following a path in the pitch dark with a flashlight to guide one. One can only see so far ahead, but as you move forward on the path so more is revealed.
I know we have discussed in another Topic the motivations that drive one to want to record, perform at a Community OM and indeed go on to live OMs. And without re-hashing, some of what motivates me is more general, not specifica to guitar playing. I enjoy the energy of being âon stageâ for an audience, whether that is teaching a class, delivering a speech in my Toastmasters years, or now performing at a live OM.
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Hi, good that members of the community are throwing ideas on how to enhance the experience of being a member of Justin Guitar Community. I see very positive that weâre having full house with the OMs even that means that every performer can do only one song. I see reasonable revisit how to handle when there is more members interested in performing than spots available as not doing so could private some members of enjoying participating because their previous but maybe not so recent participations. One idea is to have spots available for JG Team and OM team should they want to participate and if they are not used they could be available for the rest. The main issues I see for community organized mini concerts where members that want to perform live a set of songs are the availability of audience for it and possible overload of work for the OM Team and JG Team. The audience availability is not because thereâs no interest on watching community members performing, but can be a different story to book a Saturday every six weeks than dedicate time for more frequently scheduled live performances. Of course it also depends of how frequent the mini concerts would be. I think it wouldnât hurt to give it a try and see what happens. I guess the OMs were un experiment at some point.
Andres
Some good points but Iâd like to clarify some points, in respect of the OMs. Naturally these mini-concerts will be a different beast and thereforw do not have to follow the existing model.
We already have a process in place, should one of the JGC OMs be over subscribed (as detailed in the How They Work Guide HERE. This uses a count back system, whereby priority will be given to those who have played at the least number of OMs. Yes we keep a record of everyone who has played since day one !!
Additionally, many of our more frequent performers sign up with a proviso that they are willing to move aside if we run out of spaces. This is yet to happen but as you can see, we have this covered in more ways than one.
In respect of the JG Team, apart our mods, appearances by the âteamâ at the OMs is pretty minimal, as such they would be very unlikely to be cut as a result of the count back system.
Personally and I know folks have suggested otherwise, I do not think the folks that organise the OMs should get preferential treatment. If someone takes on the role of Host/MC they will get an automatic slot but I see the rest of us, as just members of the Community. And therefore we should be bound by the same ârulesâ as everyone else. My personal 2 cents.
So maybe some of the OM framework could be use to build a âconcertâ guide but I do see these and Justinâs Livestreams, as separate entities. I think the idea of a group of members setting up their own concert and inviting folks to attend, is likely the best way forward, without the need for rigid protocols.
Letâs see what happens.
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