JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Mentor Questions Forum Getting over the fear?

Hey Robbie,

Welcome to JPF. I can so relate to this post. I sing/play at church mostly but this summer I forced myself to take things a step further. I've been doing Open Mics since July. I've been doing a regular Wednesday night one at a pizza joint and started doing another one recently. Plus through my church "gig," I started getting requests to sing/play for other churches. I played/sang at several revivals this summer.

I was not only shy, but I would fall apart when I tried to perform. I would practice until the cows came home..know stuff inside and out so I could play it in the dark, in my sleep, on a train..(sounding like Dr. Seuss here)..but you get the point. But when I would stand-up in front of five people, I would literally fall apart. My fingers would not move, my hands would shake, my voice would get what I refer to as a "Dolly Parton sheep bleat." It was horrible. But I kept getting back on the horse. Just doing it, over and over and over is what works.

I am happy to say that I did a songwriters in the round "gig" just last night. It was an impromtu thing at the last minute. I was there b/c I was going to sing harmony with a friend who was the main act. The band did not show, so she asked me and a couple of other folks to sit-in the second half for a round. It turned out to be a lot of fun. I was scared at first, but after the first song, I recovered pretty well and by the end, I was enjoying myself. If there's hope for me, then you can do it too. So when you get out there, even if you screw-up, just keep at it.