What do you play when other people are around?

[Cowgirlie]

If I'm playing for people, in general, it's a paying gig...but occasionally some friends and I will do a "song circle" at a festival, (not a jam...we want to share new original songs, and listen to each other's new songs...and not with everybody playing along wiht songs they don't know )

At family things, I don't play. My relatives will buy tickets to see me play in venues, but will sit around an talk while I'm playing a song they've requested at a family gathering, so I just say "Naw, let's put a CD on, OK?"

[dgrose]

I like to learn unexpected songs and whip them out...

  I spent 10 years on the road in a band that played 60% cover material, and although I never had to play anything I didn't enjoy, now I play simply to enjoy myself. These days, once a week, I play with some friends who mostly play folk music and I play along and sing harmonies. When it's my turn to do a tune, I like to play a song generally not thought of in acoustic terms, like, The Wind Cries Mary, Burning of The Midnight Lamp, A Whiter Shade of Pale or Born To Be Wild. I also like to reach back into my memory banks and re-arrange old pop stuff like The Night Has a Thousand Eyes, Run To Him, or Hey Baby (Bruce Channel). Several people have posted that impressing people is no longer a priority, and I agree wholeheartedly. At this stage of the game it's about having fun.

dg

[NevadaPic]

What do I play when other people are around?  What I always play - blues, ragtime and gospel.  I'm way past the point of trying to 'impress' anyone with my guitar picking although sometimes I manage to impress myself.  Isn't playing music about self expression?  Isn't it about saying with the guitar and vocals what you can't ordinarily say?  If no one hears our music then what are we playing it for?

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[Tycho]

I brought my D-03R to a work get-together last summer and by far the biggest hit of the night was the Indigo Girls' "Closer to Fine," which I had to play at least three times.  That seems to have become something of a modern singalong classic, at least among people under 45.  Beatles, Dylan, Neil Young and Grateful Dead tunes ("Ripple" and "Uncle John's Band") went over well too.  And one of the senior partners at my old firm surprised me by knowing all the words to "The Weight".   

I'm bringing my guitar tonight to a party full of people who love '80s indie pop, so I'm expecting a whole different list of faves.  I didn't have time today to brush up on my Smiths and Cure, but I know a lot of the REM songbook, so that should work.

[aaronjnoone]

If no one hears our music then what are we playing it for?

If I play a song in the woods and no one's around, does anyone care? I personally love to play anything and everything. I love to play for people and get them involved. It's a passion. Performance is what I love, some people don't like it, some do.

[Caleb]

If no one hears our music then what are we playing it for?

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That's simple:  the love of music itself.  I don't see what difference it makes if anyone is listening.  I do art for the love of art.  I play music for the love of music.  I don't care if anyone else ever sees it or hears it, really.  Don't get me wrong, it's nice if someone likes it, but if a person is playing for the crowd, they're doing it for the wrong reason, in my view. It should start and end with the love of the craft, and whatever happens from there, so be it.

[Ghosting]

I'm probably not mature enough to be "over" wanting to impress people (or at least share the music with them).  While I really do enjoy playing all by myself, once I've got something down, I really want to share it with someone else.

That said, I'm notoriously bad a figuring out what other people want to hear.  It's made worse by the fact that I'm pretty ecclectic, playing stuff like Weezer, The Cure, Casey Chambers, some religious music, an Irish folk song, and then an original piece.  It works well if I'm playing at a block party, or the farmers market, but when I get with a small group and play something, it seems like I always choose the wrong genre.