Playing Guitar In Public Will Help Your Playing
By Bruce Lamb
If you have been playing guitar for any length of time you have most likely thought how much fun it would be to play in front of a real audience. Now what I mean or my definition of a real audience is playing in front of people you don’t know. Many people find it is easier to play in front of people they don’t know rather than play in front of their own family and peers. Many times your peers and family can be very critical and brutally honest when it comes to critiquing someone’s playing abilities.
If you are one of those persons who has the musical skills necessary to play one or more instruments and have grown up around people who played guitar or other instruments you may have acquired the desire to perform in front of other people early on in your life. On the other hand you may not even know it because it is an unconscious desire. Many people don’t even begin to play guitar whether it’s from fear of embarrassing them selves or don’t think they cold possibly be as good as others in the household or the immediate area they are in.
Weather its an acoustic guitar or electric guitar starting to play in front of people will improve your playing each and every time you do. If have the desire to become a professional musician or work in a related field I encourage you to just do it and get over any fears that are holding you back. My intent here is to give you an insight into how you can achieve those goals and subsequently may even earn a comfortable living or at least some spar change. Its an amazing thing when your playing and someone drops a buck into your guitar case for the first time.
One of the most fun ways to get started playing in front of people is to pull out your guitar where ever you are and start playing. Now I don’t mean just anywhere, like indoors at public places like the library but outside in a park. I started playing at an outside car show where I had my 58 Desoto on display. You will find that most people will just walk by smiling and really won’t give it any thought anyway.
Playing in front of people should be done immediately. Don’t hesitate to start this exercise just as soon as you can put two or three chords together. It’s ok to have your music or song book open in front of you on the ground or on a music stand because people will know you are learning and quite frankly most people will feel envious of you because you are doing something that they only wished they could do.
Try and pick an easy song that is not too radical for the crowed or people you are playing around. This is your call and you have to be the judge. Don’t start out playing something that the people you are around don’t really want to here. It’s like when I go to the gym and they are playing rap music I don’t really want to hear it so it cuts my work out short and I get mad at my self. Just because you can play the song well it doesn’t mean you should be playing it.
One of the very first songs that I learned to play was the song Black Bird by the Beatles. As it turned out this song and many others is very easy to play and it really sounds difficult to the ear but once you find a cool song keep playing it over and over again. I got really good at it and it was the only song I played for a very long time. Most people just walk by and don’t stay around for the next song. Playing the same song over and over again will give your fingers the strength they need and flexablity to make changing from one chord to the next smoothly with a fluid motion. And another thing your finger tips will start to develop calluses that will help the soreness in your fingers to go away and you will be able to practice and play longer.
The most important thing here is to get over your fear of playing in front of who ever is in the area. Get over this useless emotion. I heard it said once that embracement is the least useful emotion so get over it and enjoy your guitar more by playing it in front of people. It will help you grow much faster at this beautiful hobby. And who knows you may earn some money at the same time.