tuscadero
Well-known member
Last week I posted that I would be playing at a friend's luau Saturday night. I had not played in front of a large group of folks like that and I asked for your advice about playing in public and you all gave some great advice.
1. One thing that jamin9306 mentioned was that "if people are singing along 90% of the time they have the tempo wrong" and he was SO right. But I went to the music store on Friday to get extra strings and they had a cool set of bongos. I remembered what jamin9306 said and bought them on the spot. I also picked up some shaker eggs and a cow bell and handed them out during the singalong and it helped everybody stay together and get involved. It also sounded awesome.
2. When we did Suspicious Minds, by Elvis, we got to the bridge, where he slows down, and I wasn't sure how to play it, and most of the people didn't really know how to sing it, but my cousin is an Elvis freak, so she just took over and sang it acapella. It was an accident, but it worked so well everyone was giving us both props after the song ended. So, my advice is to listen to the other people around you and embrace the accidents.
3. I learned that my little book is great for the singers, but it's really small and hard to read by firelight when you're playing. Luckily, we had a flashlight and one of the guys held the book for me. Very helpful. But I will probably make a larger version in a binder for myself for the future. And I'll definitely keep my eye out for some kind of lighting solution.
4. You can never have too much cow bell.
Thanks for all your support.
1. One thing that jamin9306 mentioned was that "if people are singing along 90% of the time they have the tempo wrong" and he was SO right. But I went to the music store on Friday to get extra strings and they had a cool set of bongos. I remembered what jamin9306 said and bought them on the spot. I also picked up some shaker eggs and a cow bell and handed them out during the singalong and it helped everybody stay together and get involved. It also sounded awesome.
2. When we did Suspicious Minds, by Elvis, we got to the bridge, where he slows down, and I wasn't sure how to play it, and most of the people didn't really know how to sing it, but my cousin is an Elvis freak, so she just took over and sang it acapella. It was an accident, but it worked so well everyone was giving us both props after the song ended. So, my advice is to listen to the other people around you and embrace the accidents.
3. I learned that my little book is great for the singers, but it's really small and hard to read by firelight when you're playing. Luckily, we had a flashlight and one of the guys held the book for me. Very helpful. But I will probably make a larger version in a binder for myself for the future. And I'll definitely keep my eye out for some kind of lighting solution.
4. You can never have too much cow bell.
Thanks for all your support.
