Performance class complete

Tonight we had our performance class graduation by doing a show for our friends and family. It turned out to be a great event and it was very rewarding hearing songs that have evolved over the last 10 weeks. A few take home points from this class

Songs were three minutes in length - There were 27 songs during the performance, however, we move through it pretty quickly. The audience stayed engaged in large part due to the short duration of songs, you never had time to get bored with any song.

Practice makes perfect - Everyone in the class progressed and all the songs were pretty tight. The fact that folks were so comfortable with the material really helped compensate for the nerve factor. For myself, over these 10 weeks, I must have played each of my songs over 100 times. I didn't have to think about the words or guitar, I could concentrate on my singing (my weak point) and the performance itself. I still made mistakes but it was easy to rebound from them.

Feeling fresh before the show - I had practiced so much that I took the last two days off my songs, and didn't even play more than two lines in my song check. When I got to perform them they felt fresh. In my old sports days, I remember not performing well after practicing too much before the event.

Mix of songs - The overall show worked because of the variety of songs. For myself, I chose three very different songs, with the second being one I wasn't that comfortable with. I made it through and then ended on a fun blues tune. I was great knowing that the tough stuff was behind me, so that I could enjoy that last tune.

It was a great experience, that I got to share with some wonderful performers.