Hi all, our next Open Mic will take place Sunday July 30th 3pm ET / 12pm PT. Both students and teachers are invited to share their music with the community in a friendly and welcoming environment. Sign up at https://www.lessonface.com/openmic. Share the link with your family and friends so they can enroll as audience members and hear you play!
Lessonface Open Mics are always free.
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Check out thoughts and comments on previous open mics below to get a feel for what it's all about:
Share Your Reflections on Open Mic Nights - original post from our first open mic nights
Thanks so much to all the students and teachers who took place in Lessonface’s Open Mic Nights last Thursday and Sunday : ) I enjoyed hosting Sunday’s event and hearing musicians from various genres share their music. The event was such a success that we’re considering making open mic nights ongoing and regular, and we would love your feedback.
What did you get out of the experience? Was it helpful as a motivator to practice? Have you ever shared your music in another environment before, or was this your first time?
How did you feel about your playing? Did your piece come out as you hoped? Did you enjoy it in the moment, or did the satisfaction come afterwards?
Did you get nervous? What was it like? What did you feel physically, and what was going through your mind? Was the satisfaction and learning experience worth the discomfort of the nerves? For first-time performers, stage nerves can be a shocking and unexpected obstacle to playing. Even if you get a bit nervous in lessons, having more eyes on you can be much scarier and may trigger your fight-or-flight response (a rush of adrenaline in response to perceived danger). Common symptoms are sweating, racing heart and rapid breathing, shaky hands and general feelings of panic. The flight-or-flight response a biological instinct that can save our lives and enable us to outrun or deal with an actual physical danger. But it sure doesn’t help us in performing, where the threat is perceived, not real! It takes time and experience to learn to handle these sensations on stage.
Would you participate in future open mic nights? Also, would you like to have a recording of your performance made available to you?
We would love to hear your thoughts and reflections on the experience! Also, I’d love for participants (students and teachers alike) to be able to discuss their experiences with each other. Please jump in and share your thoughts : )
Hey Leah,
I thought it was great! I loved seeing the other students and teachers play. It was motivating for me. I was pleased with my performance, but I was really nervous. My hands were shaking as I played my bass guitar. I'm glad I actually hit the notes. I would do it again. This was the third time I played. Twice in the fall recital. I definitely would like to see more of these in the future.
Mike Chahbandour
I loved this ... another chance to perform and see what others are doing, get inspired by other styles and instruments... I'll definitely do these in the future!
Michael, what was the Ghost song you played? I really liked. Also... Emily tells me you have Shecter basses... do you by chance have a 5 string? I'm looking at somepoint to try one with a longer scale length and she mentioned that Schecter has longer lengths (really want to play that low B string for the first time!).
I missed saying a few things... first yes, performing gets me to practice my song and also work out new songs faster... I get less nervous than I used to but I still feel the jitters at some points :) And I'd absolutely love to have recordings to see what I can improve, both in playing and in my sound setup!
Hello Ms. Leah,
I was definitely nervous, but the best part was listening to other people play. Next time I would love to hear people my age play as well.
Thanks,
Nandita
Hey Alexi,
The song is called Cirice. I don't have a 5 string. I have three Schecter basses. They all have longer scale lengths. They are also receptive to down tuning as well. Ghost plays in D standard, so it sounds creepy. I loved the second song you played. Fantastic!!
Hey Alexi,
The song is called Cirice. I don't have a 5 string. I have three Schecter basses. They all have longer scale lengths. They are also receptive to down tuning as well. Ghost plays in D standard, so it sounds creepy. I loved the second song you played. Fantastic!!
Hey Alexi,
The song is called Cirice. I don't have a 5 string. I have three Schecter basses. They all have longer scale lengths. They are also receptive to down tuning as well. Ghost plays in D standard, so it sounds creepy. I loved the second song you played. Fantastic!!
Hi Nandita! Thanks for sharing your thoughts : ) I'm glad you liked listening to other play . You handled your nerves really well - maybe open mic night helped you get your nerves out the way before your school performance : )
Any age is welcome to sign up for open mics, though I imagine that younger students tend to sign up for the 'Recitals' (which we had in December) and that adults like the sound of 'Open Mic Night' better. I'll keep spreading the word to all ages about the Open Mics and hopefully we can attract all ages to future ones.
Here's a brief article about the open mics on Lessonface's front page, for anyone who hasn't seen it yet : ) Nandita's performance is there as well.
I attended the Saturday Open Mic and I'm really glad I did. I had no idea what to expect, and I was nervous. I had no idea how many people would show up or how formal the event was, so I made myself a stage! I played two pieces and am really glad I did. I have performed Open Mics before, but never online. The online part was very liberating for me, because it means I can participate no matter where I am. I've already signed up for the February 29th event, and I'm looking forward to it!
Thanks Michael! Is there a Schecter model you recommend for the low tuning or is it any of theirs? I was looking some time ago and couldn't really figure it out online. It mgith be a bit though to buy one as I'm going to be traveling and just bought a Traveler bass that should be arriving soon. And thanks for the complement on my song! Hope to see you soon on another one of these :)
Alexi,
Schecter Riot 4 or Schecter Stiletto. Nice thin neck. Riot 4 has active EMG's which are sick!! Riot 4 is lighter in weight. Riot 4 is a bolt on neck. Stiletto is neck thru.
Mike C.
Thanks Michael, going to check these out!
Hi, Folks.
I am really looking forward to the open mic this coming Friday (7pm in central time). We've still got plenty of openings if you'd like to join us. If you've already signed up, then I look forward to your performance.
Emily Z
Emily,
I had signed up and put the date in my calendar. I thought it was Saturday the 29th? I looked at 'My Classes and Events' and clicked on Open Mic Nights and neither Friday or Saturday are listed. Are you sure it's this friday?
Hi Ammon, sorry for the confusion about this! I'm not sure if the date of the 29th was mentioned at some point, but the dates that were decided on for February were Sunday Feb 23rd and Friday Feb 28th (yesterday, hosted by Emily). I think the open mic page reflects that now, and if there was an error at some point, sorry about that!
How did yesterday's Open Mic night go, Emily and other participants? I wish I could have attended!
For all students and teachers, we're curious about what's a good frequency for the open mic nights. Monthly? Quarterly? Something else? What does everyone think?
From my understanding, my students who participated in the first open mic had spent several weeks preparing, and weren't quite ready to share again yet. But on the other hand, if you can avoid a sense of pressure to play something finished and polished, it's really nice to be able to share works in progress. I can't imagine a friendlier and more supportive learning environment than the Lessonface community. Both students and teachers alike can benefit from relaxed opportunities to share what we're working on. For example, in the Sunday Feb 23 open mic night, Mike shared a bass piece that he finds relaxing to play at the end of the day. I improvised a solo, which is something I'd like to get more comfortable doing on stage.
Let us know your thoughts when you can : ) Thanks!
Leah
Hi, Ammon. Looks like Leah answered your question about the open mic. Sorry for the date confusion. If you still want to get in on tonight's open mic, we'd love to have you. Just sign up here, it only takes seconds: https://www.lessonface.com/apply/open-mic-night
Hope to see you there
Em
Hi, Leah.
We are getting revved up for tonight's open mic. I can't wait to hear what these amazing students and instructors have been working on. I love the idea of monthly open mics (sort of like a music venue would do, but a little more forgiving than weekly), and I will provide more insight after tonight.
Cheers
Em
Hi Leah,
I had a great time on Sunday. I love the open mic concept. It was disappointing that we were the only two there. I would let the open mics go as scheduled next month and then reevaluate how often to have them.
Mike C.
I'm not sure my reply helped clear things up, because I got my days confused (sorry!) Thanks for clarifying Emily - hope you all enjoy tonight!
Great, thanks for replying Mike : ) I enjoyed it even though it was just us. We'll see how tonight goes, look forward to hearing about it later.
Leah
Hi, Leah.
Just wrapped up tonight's open mic. The only participants were Mike C. and myself, but we had a great time and a chance to talk about the open mic experience. I keep saying "Let's do them monthly," but now that I'm looking at the schedule I see that they're already monthly, ha ha! So... what about quarterly, like Mike suggested? More prep time is great, especially since this is a learning environment.
It would also be great to somehow remind students that it is a learning environment, so our open mics tend to be a very kind and forgiving crowd to play in front of. Maybe that takes some of the pressure off.
Just a question - Are you wanting these to be limited to Lessonface students only, or could they perhaps also be used to entice others to think about taking lessons through Lessonface? For example, what if we opened up one open mic per year to a limited amount of non-Lessonface account holders (in other words, they wouldn't have to create an account to sign up), and give them some kind of deal on lessons if they participate? (assuming they would create an account and book the lessons after the open mic date.) One of the most difficult and expensive things I've had to do as a teacher is reach out to the public to advertise my lessons. Perhaps something like this would help with general outreach.
I think it would also help to mention the "original sound" feature on Zoom, and the link to the instructions for adding that to Zoom accounts, maybe in an email to open mic participants beforehand. If someone is performing at a louder volume level, I'd hate for their performance to fall victim to the Zoom noise gate.
Well, it was my pleasure hosting the open mic, and I'd love to do it again any time.
Thanks, and have a great weekend!
Em
Hi Em (and all!), I think quarterly does sound like a good idea. Yes, they are currently scheduled for monthly, but that's an easy fix. I did have one of our first event's participants ask what he might play for another open mic, and another student of mine considered jumping last minute to last week's (even though she decided not to). The interest is there for ongoing open mics, for sure, we just need to find the right intervals.
And yes, it's great to emphasize that things don't need to be perfect. Works in progress are welcome! In fact, if a performer wants it and asks specifically, it'd be cool to be able to offer advice or impressions - both from students and teachers. When I was a classical guitar student I got together regularly with peers to play pieces we were working on. It served as both performance practice and sort of a peer review. Players could ask questions like, 'Can you understand my lyrics when I'm singing?' 'Are my interpretive ideas coming across?' 'Can anyone suggest how to deal with this tricky passage?' Things like that.
Also, I like the idea of opening it up to non-Lessonface students. Logistically I'm not sure if they could do it without having an account (I'm not sure how that works!!) But I imagine it could be done easily without signing up for lessons . I have kind of a similar puzzle to what you mentioned about reaching out to the public to advertise your lessons. I teach a lot of in-person flamenco lessons to students who visit Seville. They often seem eager to continue online when they return home. But in the end, very few convert to regular online students. Maybe offering the open mic as an incentive to polish and share what they learned in Seville would help ease the transition...
That is a good point about original sound. It would be a good idea to mention it.
Leah
Hi Leah and Em,
I personally like the idea of monthly Open Mics, but can understand why quarterly would be better for some. Unfortunately I didn't make this last round, but will be signing up for the next one!
~Ammon
Hello,
My son has signed up for the open mic this Sunday - is there a link I can send to family members so that they can watch? Or is there a recording I can get afterward?
thank you,
Uma
Hi Uma,
Your family member can sign up for free to watch the open mic, and we're also happy to send you a video of just your son's performance.
Best,
Olivia (Lessonface Support)
thank you so much for the open mic night that was my first performance and it went really well i will keep writing more song for the next open mic night :) -oscar
that was very fun and enjoyable but at first i was a little bit nervous but when i was done i felt very comfortable :)
Hi Oscar, that's great to hear! I loved hearing you play and sing, and I'm really glad you enjoyed it. Keep up the great song-writing, and we look forward to hearing you next time!
Leah
I'm sad to have missed this round! I look forward to the next one.
So, now we're waiting for October, huh? Would be my first, also, I hope that my student will be prepared to perform!
I'm looking forward to the October Open Mic!
Hi Ammon and Elijah, yes, the next open mic is set for October 25th. We'd love to have you and your students : ) Our July 26th one was fun and laid back, a nice mix of all guitar genres and several songwriters as well.
If your students don't feel ready to perform or are nervous about it, they can also sign up as an audience member. We had a nice sized audience last time, and it was nice to have so many people clapping after each performance.
Thank you Leah,
I will pass this along to my students.
Hi all! In case any one hasn't seen it yet on Lessonface's front page, here's the link to this Sunday's open mic night. It's very relaxed, students and teachers alike should feel free to sign up to play or be an audience members.
FYI, some students of mine were audience members last time and said if they'd known it would be laid-back, they would have played too.
Hope to see you all there!
Leah
Hi, guys! I wanted to ask if there is an option to sign my performance for the setlist? Or it will be available only in the room? Also, I wanted to know does a student need to pay for this event?
Hi Elijah! The open mic is free for all students and teachers, all your student needs to do is sign up from the link.
I make the 'setlist' on the spot -- at the beginning of the zoom meeting, I ask everyone who wants to play to write their name in the chat. Usually players tell us about what they are going to play, but if your student would rather I speak for them, s/he can send me a private message in the chat and I'll introduce them and their song.
If anyone has any particular order requests they're welcome to let me know (ie, if they have a time-constraint or something like that).
One more detail - anyone joining from a European country that just changed time for fall might want to do a quick time conversion (use the link in the open mic email). (Things are a little confusing this week regarding time zones, because the USA changes one week later).
See you all soon!
Leah
Thanks so much to everyone who joined us in tonight’s Open Mic night! We had a nice variety of performances, including Loog guitar, classical guitar, flamenco guitar, bass, Native American flute, singer-songwriters, and jazz guitar. It was great to have so many encouraging audience members, and thanks to all for creating such a friendly atmosphere.
We’ll keep you posted on the next recitals and open mic nights. Meanwhile, feel free to post any thoughts/reflections or questions about how these things work here in the forum.
thank you for the opportunity! it's always good to have audience. it was the first time for me to try tokto all the sound through zoom. can't wait for the recording to watch and learn how much of the quality reduced. too bad that I couldn't start with everybody.I hope that I could prepare my student for the next open mic night! thank you all, guys!
Another awesome experience!! Everyone here on lessonface is very supportive and thoughtful. :) Look forward to the next open mic. I took something new from everyone again!!:)
It meant a lot that I was able to sing at the beginning of my performance in memory of a family friend Julia Meza she passed away yesterday to cancer and meant a lot to have sang that for her! Keeping her family and loved ones in prayer.
Again thank you to everyone that participated and Leah for hosting the open mic it means a lot to everyone to be able to share! I really appreciate what you do and the time you gives us!!THANK YOU!!
I feel that as musicians part of us is practicing and learning and big part of it is to share and not keep it to ourselves but for others to enjoy the music as well, to make others happy and/or moved by the music we hear, feel and create. :) look forward to what the next open mic brings!!
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Is it a crocus?
sorry I don't know that much about flowers but I really like taking pictures of landscapes, trees and flowers!
This is what I found on it:)
I think this one might be a frangipani flower or also known as plumaria (champa) yellow plant.
nice!
:) glad to share!
:) glad to share!
Thank you for having these events. It was great to see such a variety of musicians. Well done.
Hi Carmen, I'm so glad you could make it and share your music in memory of your friend. We were really happy to have you : ) I agree it's important to share our music. We're really glad to do the open mics, and I love all the positive energy and encouragement.
Looking forward to hearing you play next open mic!
Leah
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