Is anyone else shy too?

Paisa

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Well I've had a guitar for about a year now (never took lessons tho) and I'm really shy when it comes to playing at home. It's like I dont have self confidence or whatever. I barely play loud or without my headphones. It doesnt happen with friends tho :) But it's still annoying :D

I dont want it to be the same when I get my Uke. Anybody gone through the same or has any tips to fight the shyness? :D Lol thanks :p
 
After struggling with teaching myself guitar for a while, I felt very much the same. I certainly wouldn't ever want to play around anyone else.

For me, there is something about the ukulele that defies self consciousness, encourages expression and dares you to make it heard. It sounds good when you just strum it, even without making the simplest of chords, so you are more inclined to keep at it and find other sounds that it can make.

Unlike a poorly played guitar, a poorly played ukulele still has joy in its voice.
 
Well I've had a guitar for about a year now (never took lessons tho) and I'm really shy when it comes to playing at home. It's like I dont have self confidence or whatever. I barely play loud or without my headphones. It doesnt happen with friends tho :) But it's still annoying :D

I dont want it to be the same when I get my Uke. Anybody gone through the same or has any tips to fight the shyness? :D Lol thanks :p

I think you're worried because family are more likely to tell you if you're annoying them. Guitars are a lot louder though and almost demand attention when played in the same room as others. You can generally play the uke in the corner of a room without putting anyone off.

If you're still concerned then maybe look into learning some songs that you know your family likes and might even sing along to - that would be sure to go down well and help you get over the shyness :)
 
Unlike a poorly played guitar, a poorly played ukulele still has joy in its voice.

Wow, thats beautiful man :D

And I agree, there is something happy about even the most untuned bum note uke.....
 
Thanks for the tips :p It might also be that I'm not half decent with the guitar yet.. I thought I was the only one.. :p
 
shyness, or more acurately in this case self conciousness is caused by giving a damn what other people think. the solution - don't give a damn. belt it out, go on, bang it, hit it hard, loud, scream a bit, don't worry about being rubbish, we were all rubbish once, some of us still are, liberate yourself from your own hangups
 
You are not alone in this. We've all gone through this when starting out. One thing that will help is to find other players to jam with newbie's seasoned veterans and the rest. You will find a lot willing to help and guide you there.
After 30 years I still get shy when I've just learned something new.

Ukulele though is one instrument that always brings a smile to almost everyone I've ever played for.
 
This is supposed to be fun! Dig in! Enjoy!
 
Man I still have a tough time playing in front of someone.....but then again I have no desire to play in front of anyone....It's my secret dirty lil habit....Special time for me.....but I do dream about playing in front of others....Maybe even starting my own YT channel someday..lol..but for now I'll jus kick back with my coffee & uke on a sunday morning & be totally satisfied.

If you have the desire to play for/in front of others....DO IT! After awhile Im sure you'll become a pro at it...imho..Its just a matter of finding your comfort zone.:D
 
I'm very shy because I'm just starting out and can't sing. I think it's one of the reason I put my uke on the shelf for a bit. The thing is, I love the uke and can't get away from it so I'm at it again. I think maybe with more and more practice the shyness goes away.
 
What Seeso said: dig in and enjoy! :D

But I know that's a little easier to say than to do.

I play ok at home, but as soon as I get to a jam or gig, or switch on a camcorder or audio recorder, I suddenly find that someone has grafted a bunch of rubber sausages on where my fingers should be.

I'm known in the band for ducking solos whenever I can. :D :eek:

At the jam last night I played a couple of hornpipes on mandolin while a lady backed me on guitar. I thought it was a quiet lull during which most people had gone to refresh their drinks. No one will pay any attention, I thought. To my horror it dawned on me halfway through that I was getting a rapidly growing audience.

Eek! Nothing to do but grit the teeth and carry on. Naturally, the pressure turned my fingers to rubber. BUT IT'S FUN REALLY! :)

Try to work your way through the shyness. It can be a little excruciating, but it's always a good feeling afterwards.
 
I think part of the problem is worrying about making a mistake while performing. If you can get over that, and simply accept you might (probably will) make a small slip here or there, and not stress over it (who cares?), you will be able to play more boldly, and that will add a level of energy to the song that will improve your performance. If you play too carefully, in fear of messing up, you might just sound tentative, instead of sounding inspired by the power of the music. Practice like crazy a few songs that are pretty easy for you, until you can play them in the dark and at fast speed. It takes that kind of familiarity with the song to play it with confidence in front of a camera or audience.

It is supposed to be fun. If you don't want to play for others, playing for yourself is just fine too. I find though, that other people really enjoy hearing it, even if I am still learning a song (moms and dads, spouses especially). It is kind of a cozy, homey feeling to have live music in the home.

–Lori
 
shyness, or more acurately in this case self conciousness is caused by giving a damn what other people think. the solution - don't give a damn. belt it out, go on, bang it, hit it hard, loud, scream a bit, don't worry about being rubbish, we were all rubbish once, some of us still are, liberate yourself from your own hangups

Lol, that made me laugh. I always knew it but really never had someone say it :D You are right, who cares. What? you play better than me? No? Then?! :p

I'm very shy because I'm just starting out and can't sing. I think it's one of the reason I put my uke on the shelf for a bit. The thing is, I love the uke and can't get away from it so I'm at it again. I think maybe with more and more practice the shyness goes away.

I think I can give some advice here. When I started singing and playing I was a complete mess. But it takes practice to get the brain used to do both things. Maybe get along with the chord progression first, then whistle the song, and then start playing and singing. You'll do better each time :D

I think part of the problem is worrying about making a mistake while performing. If you can get over that, and simply accept you might (probably will) make a small slip here or there, and not stress over it (who cares?), you will be able to play more boldly, and that will add a level of energy to the song that will improve your performance. If you play too carefully, in fear of messing up, you might just sound tentative, instead of sounding inspired by the power of the music. Practice like crazy a few songs that are pretty easy for you, until you can play them in the dark and at fast speed. It takes that kind of familiarity with the song to play it with confidence in front of a camera or audience.

It is supposed to be fun. If you don't want to play for others, playing for yourself is just fine too. I find though, that other people really enjoy hearing it, even if I am still learning a song (moms and dads, spouses especially). It is kind of a cozy, homey feeling to have live music in the home.

–Lori

Yes. Like I said, for some reason I dont have that shyness when I'm with friends. It's just with my family members. And since I have other friends that play I was feeling bad for not being able to do the same :p Thanks a lot guys. Keep them coming :p
 
Got to come in on this -

You have to do more of one thing - jam with friends (what the heck jam with anyone!) The easiest single way to improve nerves, shyness and improve technique and repertoire.

I play regularly with friends (guitar) at local pub. A while back we set a sunday night spot up as a "drop in" session where people could come along with instruments - if they wanted to play, that was fine, if they wanted to just sit and hold the guitar, that was fine too.

What we found in a couple of cases was a pair of people who both knew very few chords, and had terrible terrible nerves. Those two people are now playing regularly, one of them solo, and one of them for money!
 
I know what you mean. I've only been playing for a few weeks but sometimes feel self concious if my other half comes into the room while I'm playing/singing and often stop singing or just sing quietly. Which is completely daft seeing as I sing around the house all of the time but I guess because it's "performing" time instead of just singing while washing up it feels different.

Although I'm a beginner uke player and an average (she says hopefully. lol) singer I normally tell myself that it won't sound as good if I'm not projecting my voice properly or not playing properly so I might as well just belt it out and sound at least halfway decent. Otherwise your not doing your skills justice no matter what level you are at.

It's hard because you care what your family thinks but you might be surprised. My other half often keeps quiet about things so it was a nice boost when he told me he'd mentioned to a workmate about how I was doing. It gave me a nice boost.

My Achilles heel is playing for people outside of the family unit so I envy you there. :D
 
Yeah, and I think a lot of it has to do with your personality. I think one of the reasons I started playing bass was so that I could just blend into the background when I played in bands. For the most part it worked, but even then I got nervous everytime we got on stage. It's probably the same reason I haven't been able to bring myself to post a uke video.

Some people just have a natural ability to not give a damn what anyone else thinks about them. Sometimes I wish I was one!
 
Yeah, and I think a lot of it has to do with your personality. I think one of the reasons I started playing bass was so that I could just blend into the background when I played in bands. For the most part it worked, but even then I got nervous everytime we got on stage. It's probably the same reason I haven't been able to bring myself to post a uke video.

Some people just have a natural ability to not give a damn what anyone else thinks about them. Sometimes I wish I was one!

Lol, I envy that ability too when it comes to dancing :D Haha.
 
i was hell shy when i was younger, till i got a job that required me to make announcements infront of 100+ eyes every 5 minutes, and was in the eye of everyone... shyness has alot to do with your selfconfidence, if your not a confident person ofcourse ur gonna be shy. What i suggest is to not think about it when your playing and just get into it, i ididnt wanna play infront of anyone when i was palying ukulele till people heard me and said how good it was, now i bring it out when anyones around.. Just do it... just play it loud as you can, dont be so worried about what other people think, and people like confidence
 
I'm very shy because I'm just starting out and can't sing. I think it's one of the reason I put my uke on the shelf for a bit. The thing is, I love the uke and can't get away from it so I'm at it again. I think maybe with more and more practice the shyness goes away.

I've met very few people who CAN'T sing. I've met many more who THINK they can't sing. In all honesty, I have met one or two who really can't - but they have no ear for music whatsoever and would take no joy in an instrument.

But...back to the topic, I am extremely self-conscious of my playing. I wish it weren't so. But the gang here is so positive and encouraging that I am very slowly coming round. Baby steps...start by recording Elephant Town and moving up from there!
 
Play everywhere. You'll meet all kinds of people when you start carrying your Ukulele everywhere and you learn to grow tolerant of the haters and love the ones who come up to you and say "That was great".

Especially the ladies. Male+Ukulele=Boyish Charm.
 
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