In this video
Ready to take your guitar playing out of the bedroom and actually perform? In this live lesson I share my practical tips for getting ready for your first open mic night — choosing the right songs, practising vocals and guitar together, recovering from mistakes, changing keys to suit your voice and building a small set you can confidently perform.
Plus plenty of real song examples from Eagles, Oasis, CCR, Radiohead, Hendrix and more.
Chapter times
00:00 – How to Get Ready for Your First Open Mic
04:59 – Why Performing Makes You a Better Guitarist
12:20 – Getting Your Songs Performance Ready
15:15 – The Road From Bedroom Guitarist to Playing Live
18:53 – Performance Skills Are Perishable!
22:38 – Choosing Your 3-Song Set
24:10 – Lyin’ Eyes – Eagles
26:06 – Recording Yourself & Getting Feedback
28:41 – Making One Guitar Sound Like Two
31:03 – The Problem With Lyrics!
32:31 – Hard to Handle – The Black Crowes
34:27 – What Happens When a Song Goes Wrong
36:23 – The 3 Songs You Need in Your Live Set
37:16 – Easy Songs You Can Play Under Pressure
38:13 – Choosing a Song You LOVE
39:15 – High and Dry – Radiohead
40:21 – Always Finish With a Crowd Favourite
41:00 – Take Me Home, Country Roads
42:06 – Knowing a Song vs Being Able to Perform It
42:32 – Have You Ever Seen the Rain? – CCR
43:56 – Change the Key to Suit YOUR Voice
47:09 – Finding Songs That Suit Your Voice
49:23 – Practise Your ENDINGS, Not Just Intros
50:14 – What to Do When Things Go Wrong Live
53:58 – Final Open Mic Tips
Songs played, demonstrated or substantially discussed:
Lyin’ Eyes – Eagles — main acoustic performance example at ~24:10.
Hard to Handle – The Black Crowes / Otis Redding — Andy works through it from memory and discusses the groove, stops and arrangement.
Hey Joe – Jimi Hendrix — easy “back-pocket” live song example.
Live Forever – Oasis — another safe live-set example.
Songbird – Oasis — another simple performance example.
Save Tonight – Eagle-Eye Cherry — Andy specifically calls it one of his go-to open-mic songs.
High and Dry – Radiohead — demonstrated as a song Andy feels suits his voice particularly well.
Fake Plastic Trees – Radiohead — briefly compared with High and Dry.
Take Me Home, Country Roads – John Denver — crowd-favourite example and discussion of the bit performers often fluff.
Just the Two of Us – Grover Washington Jr. feat. Bill Withers — mentioned as another song from an acoustic set Andy saw.
Have You Ever Seen the Rain? – Creedence Clearwater Revival — substantial performance example used to demonstrate changing key for your own vocal range.
Common People – Pulp — Andy sings a little while explaining why some songs naturally suit his voice.
Rock ’n’ Roll Star – Oasis — real gig story about a forgotten capo and recovering from mistakes.
All the Small Things – Blink-182 — referenced as the song immediately before that gig mishap.