Twelve


YES. Of course.

When I first started out performing years ago filling in at a local piano bar, I only knew 10 songs well by heart. The rest of the evening I played with the assistance of a fakebook. I was admittedly very nervous at the start of each set, but luckily my audience was extremely supportive, and in no time, both my confidence & repertoire grew quickly. The point I'm trying to make is that the only way to becoming a successful performing musician is by gigging. You can memorize all the songs you want in the comfort of your home, but until you 'get out there' playing for an audience, you'll never develop the onstage confidence needed to really sell your talent. I learned long ago from the pro's, that the best way to become a successful performer is to get out there 'right away'. If you only know 10 songs, go ahead & book yourself for one set somewhere. In no time you'll have 20, 40, 80, . . . 100 under your belt. The other important thing about this biz is developing the ability to 'take a few risks'. When starting out, I was frequently worried about not playing or sounding good enough. I had to always make a conscious effort to forge ahead on a new tune even if I was insecure about showcasing it, yet found, after taking that (high dive) plunge, and performing it successfully, as evidenced by wildly enthusiastic audience response, that it's 'the audience' that inspires us to perform even better the next night (or week), and with yet more new songs to showcase.

Scott