First time open mic this wednesday...

I've been working on several songs on both the Uke and guitar and really thought I was "there", ya know? but tonight I practiced with my PA set up in the living room, microphone, instruments plugged in and my family as audience...

I got so nervous I forgot how to play and forgot the songs. So I started using lead sheets but then never really put out my best voice.

With friends, jamming or around the campfire, I play and sing all day long. I know the pressure is off in that situation, but I KNOW I can do it!

SO, how do I do it on stage amplified? Any tips? Practice Practice Practice? Any techniques that help any of you get prepared that you can bestow upon me? Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Plus, if I can just get through my first open mic two songs this or next wednesday, I'll have my wife video and post regardless of how bad it goes!

Thanks all!
Patrick

Practice, yeah.

Consider doing just one song so that you can get that one down better than if you're dividing your time between two -- unless it's more important to you to do two.

Consider doing something really simple as your first song just to get your first one out of the way, and then move up to #2. (Are you doing any of those campfire songs that you are comfortable with?)

Have something to say when you go up so that you're not jumping right into the song. It could be a little self-deprecating (if you're into that) to lower expectations (I've done this myself) and to make you seem modest (which not everyone at an open mic is). This might relax you a little.

Make the primary purpose to enjoy the experience -- not even to do well, but to enjoy yourself. That should help the audience enjoy what you do, too. And if they enjoy it, then you've done well.

Oh, and this thread might fit better in "Uke Talk" or "Ukulele Beginners," as "Gigs and Shows" seems to be for advertising shows.

Sorry, dangit, I thought that it meant discussions about gigs and shows. Maybe the moderators will move it for me! Thanks for the advice too!

The best way to combat nerves is to practice with purpose.

When football teams play in loud stadiums, they pump in crowd noise while they practice the week before. I've found that the same principle applies to playing out. We all know it's a whole 'nuther ball o' wax when we get up on stage as opposed to jamming in a circle with friends. Recreating the experience of playing out can help you immensely.

Since you've already been to this open mic, try to recreate it while you practice. Do you have a mic and/or mic stand you can use? Something that can double as a mic/mic stand? Were you standing or sitting? Were lights in your eyes so you couldn't see into the audience?

Once you have your practice environment set up, invite a few friends over to be your "audience." Nothing like a real living, breathing audience to get the blood pumping! After the show, ask them their honest opinions. What worked? What didn't work?

Looking forward to the videos, Patrick! Break a leg.

Nice advice Seeso! YES, I set up my PA (That was buried in my closet), speakers on stands and mic stands just like the place I'll be playing. I set it up just like they have it set up minus the floor monitor. IT helped BUT it also made me realize how much more "Purposeful" practice I need to do. I'm just not used to singing into a microphone, it's a little intimidating and gets in the way but.... that's the way it is, right? I'm going to practice tonight and tomorrow... Wednesday night's open mic may get cancelled from what I hear, so it may be next wednesday (whew! I need the practice!). I'll post when I can!

I find that my playing and singing gets much better after a bottle or two of cold malted "vocal lube".

If it's your first, don't expect perfection etc. just try to enjoy it.

If you have an ipad, phone etc.. try to video yourself a few times at home. the sheer act of recording can give you the same type of nervousness as an audience.

Play something you know a lot something easy and that you are very very comfortable with.

It takes time to get comfortable, and the more you do any kind of performance the easier it will get next time.

for me, I've found that to perform, the best thing is to have a uke with a good strap and pickup and I'm much more comfortable standing up, because I can move around a bit tap my foot whatever...

Also I read a book that helped me a lot when I started performing... It was Classical guitar and much more scary because with classical music every note has to be perfect... anyway the book is Effortless Mastery by Kenny Werner.

That helped me a lot in the beginning and since then I've performed in different settings including videos on youtube and I'm much more comfortable with being on stage. in fact part of me LOVES being on stage it feels warm and comfortable.

I look forward to your comments after your Open Mic. Good luck!

Thanks again all! This is all some great advice... they cancelled tomorrow night's open mic but next week I'll be going on... as I said, whew! I need more practice time.

I'll try doing a video this weekend after more practice as a test. I think I've finally picked my two songs, one on uke and one on guitar, although I may drop the guitar and just do the one song on uke unless I can work up a another song really well.

My biggest fear is that I'll hate it, being on stage that is. I've long wanted to entertain again, but it was easier when I was 19 or 20 (i'm 42 now) and with a group I could blend in with them (strength in numbers). Doing solo open mic is waaaay more daunting than that!

I think I have Eddie Vedder's "Without You" down cold on the uke and a song I've played on the guitar and sung since 1999 is Jimmy Buffett/Keith Sykes "Coast of Marseilles". I love the finger picking on that one and just need to work on remembering the lyrics when I get nervous on both!

Speaking of that, any tips for memorizing lyrics?

Regarding the lyrics, try to tell the story of the song. think about it.... understand the story and the lyrics will come.

I'm working on Mr bojangles, and the story is just there for me to tell.

Also you know the biggest key for me performing or posting on youtube, is focusing on the music itself. When we perform our mind thinks it's about US, but if you can quiet the mind and let it be about the music, it will be just like when you are playing all by yourself...

And the other key for me is that there WILL be mistakes they key is to make them part of the fabric of the music and move on. again it's not about ME or my mistakes it's about sharing the music in the same way as when you play by yourself...

If you are interested, please feel free to visit my youtube channel. you will see some of my videos and maybe see progress from my old to the most recent ones...My youtube channel is on my signature below...

And here is a video of a recent open Mic I did in front of about 75 ukulele players including Ukulele Bart, Jason Arimoto and Daniel Ho. It was a blast, mistakes and all http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?90947-quot-If-quot-by-Bread-my-first-open-mic-duet-and-arrangement-%29

And here is a good read from Penn & Teller about all the work behind the scenes of those "perfect" performances we admire. http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?92543-Penn-Jillette-article-about-all-the-struggle-and-work-behind-that-quot-Perfect-take-quot

Great! I'll try to remember that. It's hard to remove the "self" sometimes, it's a good exercise to remember to do so. The "it's not about me, it's about entertaining the audience".

Speaking of that, there was a dude at the open mic that was a bit full of himself. I know it's a good place to do open mic b/c they were even respectful to him. But he started his performance being picky about the sound man's levels, even yelling at him to "do it right!". Then he did the Elvis point at the sky thing with his back to the audience. He was playing some decent rockabilly and I guess he is working on his "show" but half way through the performance of his first song he quit singing the lyrics, admonished the audience saying "you ****ers aren't listening" and started replacing words with "blah blah blah". Then complained when the applause (and there was applause in support but not fervor) wasn't enough. But everyone seemed to really be good about putting up with it in an effort to be respectful.

flyingace said:

Great! I'll try to remember that. It's hard to remove the "self" sometimes, it's a good exercise to remember to do so. The "it's not about me, it's about entertaining the audience".

Speaking of that, there was a dude at the open mic that was a bit full of himself. I know it's a good place to do open mic b/c they were even respectful to him. But he started his performance being picky about the sound man's levels, even yelling at him to "do it right!". Then he did the Elvis point at the sky thing with his back to the audience. He was playing some decent rockabilly and I guess he is working on his "show" but half way through the performance of his first song he quit singing the lyrics, admonished the audience saying "you ****ers aren't listening" and started replacing words with "blah blah blah". Then complained when the applause (and there was applause in support but not fervor) wasn't enough. But everyone seemed to really be good about putting up with it in an effort to be respectful.

Click to expand...

Wow, he sounds like a grade-A turd. Ugh.

Here are a couple of tips from our uke group leader about open mic performances.

Tune up off stage.
Introduce the song and talk a bit. It will relieve your tension.
Keep going even after mistakes.
Never apologize or make excuses for a performance.
Thank your audience when you are finished.
Have fun.

Hope that helps,
Bill

Practice your songs as often as possible. When you are on a stage in a public setting, you have a hard time hearing yourself over the ambient noise. Practice helps you sing on pitch, in the absense of being able to listen to yourself. Microphone technique is of the utmost importance. It's a skill that most pros I know lack on stage. Here's some really good tips for two different types of microphones:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S26LCIvBO0U&feature=youtube_gdata_player

https://web.archive.org/web/20110702232426/http://pleasantvalleymusic.com/SingleMicArticle.pdf