I mean that literally but also figuratively. My main instrument is guitar, and I've written a bit of singer/songwriter material, but I couldn't fathom playing any of it in front of people. Live performances terrified me, but in college a friend asked me to play bass in his band, and I went for it. It turns out this was the best introduction to playing on a stage. I got to just hang out with the drummer, focus on rhythm, and just assume nobody was paying attention to me because all of the showmanship was happening up front. From there, I played bass in other bands and got more comfortable with performing and started chipping in on harmonies. Eventually I'd step up to sing a cover or two on guitar (which seemed less intimidating because it wasn't original material). Last year was what I'd consider the first real solo set I played. It was a long road to get there, but I'm proud of it. If it's something you really want to do, there's a way to get there.
So if playing literal bass is a possibility for you, try starting there! I don't know what that looks like for other mediums, but basically: hang back, get into the groove, and someday you'll step in front of the mic. Maybe for podcasting, that means being a guest on other podcasts, maybe for poetry it's immersing yourself in that world and helping emcee an event to get used to being at the front of the stage. I think it's mainly a matter of slowly training your brain to not go into fight or flight mode.
Other things to consider:
Start small - Try in front of a couple friends first and work up from there
Find your people - It's way easier to do the thing when you don't feel judged or rushed
Practice the hell out of whatever it is you're doing - So even if your mind starts to panic in the moment, your muscle memory can carry through it without getting tripped up too much
The universe is chaos - Nobody will remember the mistakes that feel huge in the moment, but they're totally insignificant and can even be charming/funny
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i only have an associates degree in illustration and had to further my skill set on my own and i taught myself how to play [mediocre] bass and the most important thing is consistency. i’ve always been told practicing something five minutes a day regularly is better than once a week for two hours…and it’s true!
for visual art, try doing a self portrait every day, a plein air painting or sketch… really anything! even if you don’t like it you’re learning and growing. don’t bombard yourself with fancy supplies and remember you have to learn the rules to break them. art history and foundational drawing practice are very important. hone in your skills with line and value and once you master that explore some basic color theory. drawing observationally (still life, models, landscapes) will help you immensely no matter what you decide to do with your talent. if you’ve got the budget for it, see if you can take a class at a local arts council or community college. digital art is just as valid if you’re worried about going through materials and a great medium for quick warm ups and practice. you’re really interested in painting, try doing master copies, that’s where you copy an existing work to kind of get a feel for the techniques the artist used and it’s completely fine and dandy to do so. i had a professor who would make us do weekly pencil self portraits in the style of various artists and it was extremely helpful in terms of problem solving. art is basically just problem solving with form and color.
as for instrumentally, i had no background in music and no schooling or guidance to help me. i also decided to play bass with no background in guitar which i am told is slightly blasphemous but i just really enjoy a juicy bass line! i’m def not perfect, in fact i am quite a wonky bassist, but i’m having a good time ☺ research different styles and models of the instrument you enjoy along with basic maintenance and caretaking. do you need any additional materials for this (pick, amp etc…)? sort of like the master copies, find a few players of said instrument that you really look up to. i taught myself VERY basic music theory via youtube (that site will be your best friend!) and scales and warmups there as well. once you’ve got the muscle memory for all that you can begin to emulate the music you look up to. i would teach myself the bass tabs of my favorite songs, and once i got the hang of them, sort of dissected them to see what makes them work, which helped me develop sounds of my own invention.
hope this didn’t sound like too much! it’s hard to comprehensively give advice on this sort of thing as being self taught isn’t a linear thing in my experience. i hope this helped some and best of luck with your creative endeavors and remember having. fun triumphs over all else <3
Jul 31, 2024
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One of the most consistently fulfilling activities in my life. If it wasn't for their encouragement to be less embarrassed about it when I was younger, I would have been too shy to enjoy this simple pleasure and eventually get to play shows (something I could never have fathomed doing at first). It deepens your relationships, makes you a more confident player and person, and it's just a cathartic experience. To anyone out there that literally shakes too much to play in front of other people, I was there once. Try to find your people - there's always someone out there that will help break out of your shell!
Mar 15, 2024
I've been writing/playing/recording/releasing my own music since around 2016. Music's been one of my passions in life since I was 10, all I wanted to do was write songs and play them. I had this purple notebook throughout middle school that I would write song ideas down in, mostly lyrics that I had a tune in mind for. But as with a lot of things in my life, I felt insecure and lacked confidence in my abilities and that led me to pursue the visual arts, which is a passion I'd had since I can remember and I got a lot of praise in growing up.
I've been trying to make music for the sake of making it and not for the pipe dream of making a living off of it. To me, doing things like art and music for money is a will killer; it strips all the passion and creativity from the work and it becomes solely about money. It would be nice if some day I luck into making enough money to support myself via my art, but I don't think that's going to happen and I'm not going to play the systems available to me and sell my soul in the process. Going to art school was a bad idea. Anyway, I have been daydreaming here and there about making some instrumental work and making a portfolio, try to get composer work maybe. Don't think my style lends itself to that but you never know. It's less personal that way too, with no words.
The words are the hardest part. I don't know what to say, don't know what I should put my voice behind. I want to be honest about myself, my life, my experience since that's the only thing I would call myself an expert on. And I've been trying to build that up like a muscle, trying to get myself comfortable with writing and singing what I've written. Singing in general. Trying to improve my playing too. I'm not sure if I'll ever get to a point where I'd be playing in front of an audience night after night, that's not really something I want. I believe in the power of performance, something I've been wanting production wise is to keep it simple. Vocals and me playing whatever instrument at the same time, a live recording. I think having to perform the same song every day kills that.
I've been listening to a lot of different music to learn from it, appreciate it. This started with the blues and folk, and where the name Sam the Wayfarer comes from. A lot of folk and blues musicians have names like that- First name the something. Rambling first name, Blind first name, etc. I'm going to switch to a different name, more of a band name than my first name being involved. Not willing to do my first and last name. Not sure if I should make it its own project or just put it over top the wayfarer stuff. But it'll be more of the same.
I don't have a big sound and I like to experiment, play around, do what comes naturally. I'd love to make louder music, but I don't have the space to scream and yell and thrash just yet. I just want to be me.
Jul 10, 2024
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The perfect lil snack for when you don’t want a big snack
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We're long overdue in thrusting "What do you do?" into the sea forever. It's time we collectively get down to what people are interested in instead of minimizing their vibrant existence by asking how they make money.
Mar 22, 2024