Worry
It’s several weeks into lockdown and I could easily sit here and write a 10,000+ word post on all my insecurities and anxieties; how they manifest and delve into the origin stories of each and every one – but I feel like that might be a bit intense?
Instead, here’s a list of everything you can (and I do!) worry about when you’re singing that has nothing to do with singing.
There’s no stage – where exactly are you allowed to go? How do you not be in the way? What if people think it’s karaoke? Will people try and talk to you in the middle of the set OR A SONG? Children could get hurt. Is it a pub that allows dogs? What if they wee all over the equipment?
There’s a stage – how do you get yourself and everything onto the stage? How easy is it to fall off the stage? Are people going to take photos? That’s a very bad angle to take a photo from
Asking for/discussing payment – Terrifying.
Using a backing track – everything can go wrong with backing tracks. And if the audience aren’t into it, you just look lonely.
Playing with a band – I’m terrible at ending songs and I am sure every instrumentalist is remembering all the other singers they’ve worked with before, who are better at ending songs and signalling and improvising and singing than me, constantly through our set.
Using someone else’s equipment – it might not work properly and you don’t know how to fix it. It might work REALLY well and be super good quality and you don’t know how to use it and you look like an idiot.
Using lyrics – if you use lyrics, you might look unprofessional. If you don’t use lyrics, you look a bit too prepared and don’t seem like a casual, breezy person AND you don’t have anything to set up, so you’re stood like a plank. ANNDDD you might forget the lyrics.
Wearing clothes – the age-old ‘overdressed/underdressed’ dilemma.
Talking. to. the. audience. – you don’t want to impose on people’s leisure time, you also don’t want to seem unfriendly. Does it make any sense to introduce Valerie and discuss what that song means? How many times in a set can you say ‘thank you’ without being annoying? Is it a problem that you just apologised for that burp in the middle of the last song because you realised you should probably say something other than ‘thank you’?
**disclaimer again – I realise that so far, I’ve come across as severely neurotic, but I promise I have legitimate, tangible advice and opinions on the way and that this blog isn’t just my personal counselling experiment.