Such a great topic, can’t wait for this one!!
I don’t know anything about “playing ukulele like a pro” (not being a pro) but I have gained some insight into performing – from playing on some virtual Open Mics the last few months – something I never thought I could do, but my friend Gi Gi convinced me to. Thanks to her.
Here are just a few things I learned:
– As you like to say, Matt, the fear of performing never really goes away, but you do get better at being terrified – if you have performance anxiety. It’s so important to learn that you can be terrified, but still keep going and experience the fear.
– Even when I thought I absolutely bombed in my performances, when I watched them back, they were actually way better than I thought. A lot of the time, they were actually pretty good. When you mess up, it probably isn’t as bad as you think.
– The audience’s perception might be completely different from your perception. Even if you mess up, the likelihood that they will notice or care is slim to none. The audience wants you to do well and isn’t focusing on your mistakes.
There’s so much more I’ve learned besides that, but the most important thing about performing is to JUST DO IT. That’s the only way you’ll get better at it. But start small, maybe by just going to an Open Mic to watch. That’s what I did. But I also am fully convinced I never would’ve been able to do those Open Mics without all the practice playing and recording my playing through RC101.
These are just my thoughts as someone who just started learning to perform live for others. I hope it’s okay that I shared this. Really looking forward to this lesson! 🙂
