Have you Ever asked yourself should I play in front of a paying audience? Am I good enough or not confident, butterflies in your stomach, audience shyness, etc,?.......I thought this would be a good topic of conversation to hear what players are thinking who haven't played in front of a paying audience.......or is your living room as far as you want to go?

Or for those doing it a long time when did you know you were good enough to perform & sing in front of paying customers, dancers, etc,..what's your confidence mindset before you go on stage in front of a familiar audience vs a Cold new crowd?

I thought I was at the time I started, but I was a part of a band. I now realize I wasn't very good. Same thing when I went solo. I thought I was doing things right, sounding good, but I cringe to think how bad I must have been. I played a lot of wrong chords because I was getting them out of fake books, and they weren't all there.
I KNEW I couldn't sing a lick. Had to work very hard for a long time to get decent. I was finally forced into singing if I wanted to keep a job we had. We kicked the singer out for being a jerk, and they shoved the mic in front of me. I have slowly learned a lot over the past 50 years.
Someone told me you have to bad before you can get good. I got the bad part right and still working on the good.

Well, first of all, if someone has heard me and is paying me to perform for them, I must be 'good enough', at least to their ears ...
When I was about 15 years old and playing High School dances, when the girls started hanging out around the bandstand and smiling at me, I figured I was 'good enough', at least to their ears ...

I still get 'butterflies' in my gut whenever I go to perform, whether I am familiar with the audience or not ... and of course even more so if I know there are other musicians in the crowd ...

It was easier when I was with the band ...

My first pay job was when I was 17 years old. I played in a band formed by a shipmate (not the Navy Band) and we were in Barcelona Spain. One of the guitar guys decided it was time to quit because he was getting discharged from the Navy that week and headed home. Like DonM, I played lots of bum chords, but fortunately, I had a good singing voice, better than anyone else in the band. And, that voice continues to save my arse to this day. I've never been a real musician, and never claimed to be - just an entertainer, and entertainers deserve to get paid for what they bring to the table. The only time I was a bit nervous was when I decided to go solo for that first time. I was scared to death for the first 20 minutes, and after that, I've never been a bit apprehensive about stepping up in front of a crowd, no matter the size. I've never been apprehensive about meeting strangers, and for the most part, I've probably never had more than a few jobs that didn't go the way I intended. I guess I've been very fortunate in this business, and I always tell folks I have the best job in the world. If I were not so damned old and crippled up I would still be out there every day of the week, but alas, I can no longer handle that schedule.

I think the only time I got butterflies in my gut was when we had the Syntzone Jam here at my home and I had to step up in front of some of the best musicians on this forum. That only lasted about 30 seconds, though.

All the best,

Gary

I don't know where to start but here goes,....many people think they sound good, have the latest and greatest gear or their friends, wife, or whoever told them they sound great, or they sing in the shower and convince themselves, or they just don't give a dam and just want the money,...some don't know any better, some, mean well but have never been taught or have had the experience to learn, play with a band, or how to perform in front of people,...especially people that are paying good money to enjoy themselves for dinner, dancing, drinking, or whatever,..and just what does "good enough" actually mean anyway? First off you gotta LOVE what your doing, second you have to want to be better then everyone else, third you have to have a BIG ego that says in your head "I'm better then all these other people" and let that give you the confidence & drive to go out night after night and kill the audience with 150% of your soul on stage & make them say WOW this guy is really good, and know your the luckiest guy in the world to be able to play Music,...and that's EVERY single time you perform, especially if you make a full time living at playing music,.......it's like a good restaurant, if the food is great you go back time after time and tell all your friends to go eat there too,....but, if the food Sux you do the opposite and tell them never to go there again, etc, same with your performances,.....this is a people business first and foremost and should be treated as such. Are you booked solid, phone ringing off the wall, do you have to beg for work or are people seeking you out because of your ability to give a great show every time and they want YOU?..or are you sitting home sulking and asking yourself why is that guy playing all the time and I'm not? Is your repertoire the right mix of songs for the audiences you play, is the dance floor empty most times, do you play what YOU like instead of what THEY LIKE? are you reading the audience properly watching how people react to different styles of music so you can steer your show in that direction, is your time between songs excessive?, breaks too long?, during breaks are you shmoozing the crowds, hugging the ladies, shaking hands with people, giving out business cards?, trying to book more work? when your in the crowd on a break is the feedback all "very positive" or are you hearing "hey When are you gonna play something we can dance to"? etc, you should be very proud and confident to walk out amongst the audience knowing they have enjoyed you,......I Know I have so much more on my mind...like maintaining a fan email list, maintaining a website, sending out emails, tweaking every single song you play to perfection, etc,.. etc,..people need music in so many different ways find your niche and make it happen and most of all HAVE CONFIDENCE IN YOUR MUSIC!...and most of all have FUN!! I hope to hear more from all of you and meanwhile I'll think of some more stuff to share...we learn from each other keep talking..

Donny,

I ask myself that all the time, never had a lot of confidence in my musical ability which is why i chose career(s) out of the music business. I'd hate to tell you how many times I said to myself. ah why do I even bother, especially when hearing the better musicians here. I've had my share of success in non-musical side of life, but music has been elusive. I was a late bloomer too, never played a gig until I was 54 years old, I got the gig because an old friend of mine a busy entertainer was double booked, the assisted living facility wanted a piano soloists to play all Christmas music and he threw the gig my way, that opened the door.

I usually don't get butterflies before a gig but when I do they disappear once I start playing. Yea, I spell my musical career if I can even call it a career F-R-U-S-T-R-A-T-I-O-N. More than once I though I'd just sell all the gear and hang it up, but I have never given up so I just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

After spending many years in sales I know I'm not being aggressive enough with marketing activity.

I suppose the part that came hardest for me was the schmoozing bit. I'm good at it now, but I hated going out there and talking to strangers. Over the years I've developed a lot of conversation-starters, or "lines" that I use.
Last night there were still some people in town from the Independence Bowl. One table was right in front of me and I started talking to them, found they were from Tulsa, which happens to be my home town.
I played Tulsa Time, and Take Me Back To Tulsa, and Oklahoma Hills, etc. The oldest guy came up and told me how much he enjoyed it and put two pictures of Ben Franklin in my jar!

Don as you know shmoozing is a Big part of any performance....when I was a kid 12-13,my dad put me in big bands playing accordion, keyboards, percussion, with 80+ yr old Jewish guys who taught me the ropes and tricks of the trade which I still use today,....you have to be confident and proud of what your doing on stage and know that when you go out there you will only hear praise 99% of the time,...and if not do something to make sure you do. They would always tell me when we take a break don't waste time smoking a cigarette outside, ....instead go out there and give out cards, hug, kiss, shake hands & get more work etc, and don't drink...lol....I still do it today on every break, in a club, dance, restaurant, nursing home, etc,... remember the people can make you or break you, for me only playing only in my living room would never be an option, seeing people happy in the audience because of my music makes me feel so good inside and thats where the magic lies,

One of the things I did right, from the very start, was never drink on the job, or before the job, or after the job (you have to drive home, right?). Maybe that's one reason I'm still working every night at age 72. One of the happiest days of my career was when they banned smoking in all places that serve food here.
Smoking is still allowed in bars that do not serve food. I refuse to work in them. Glad I don't have to, because I did for many years, including my own.
Interesting note, the VFW here banned smoking on weekend nights in their bar. Business increased dramatically!

We rehearsed in my studio for six months, then we finally landed a job. It was a wedding in a German beer garden. We gave all we had; on the way out the manager said we were the worst band he had ever heard. When I think about today he was right.
Starting at the age of 11 my father would play the piano player I would stand out front and sing. We had a musical family; there was always music in my home.

Schmoozing was not my thing. I believed that if the music was real good I did not have to do anything else. I was always ready to talk but not with purpose.

Was I nervous before starting? Yes, every time we started to play. I played a job for the Bank of North America; it was in a local park. There were about 2,000 people. After setting up a crowed of four deep completely circled the band. B3 with pedals, drums, sax, and myself on guitar.
I picked up my guitar and was about to start playing and I froze. Four deep, I was beyond nervous. I took a deep breath and we started. That was one of the best jobs I ever played; the crowd with crazy and so did we.

I booked a job In Manhattan at a high end hotel, as we entered the room that we were going to play in there was not a white person to be seen. Black people love music and they are great at what they do so was beyond nervous. My band never played so good – we booked six jobs before leaving.

OK, I writing too much. My last thought: I feel being a bit nervous always made us play better. AS a salesman we always wiggled our toes in our shoes before going into a home.
A good crowd and a touch of the getters makes a band play better.

John C.