Trying New Things, Part I - Courage

When I started writing this blog, I said I’d be trying new things and I even made it my tagline. So…what have I tried?

I have a list!  

So what? We all try new things every day. Let me start with 
what didn’t make the list

new job    

new friends

new foods

restaurants  

places    

clothing

What did make the list

Blog

Playing music in public

These two things took some courage. I’m shy, you know. 

Blog
What started as weekly cheery notes to a very sick friend turned into a blog. Sadly, my friend didn’t make it but feedback from you and a prompting from my kids encouraged me to continue. The prospect of public writing is daunting. I never was able to keep a journal. Would I be able to keep a blog going?  Would anyone read it?  I don’t exactly know who reads it. I see no statistics except a count of page views. I don’t know who subscribed to follow by email. If everyone gets an email, there are no page views. So I could be writing to an audience of zero! 

I’m happy to say that writing has been therapeutic and has kept me connected to so many people I normally would not have heard from. I hear from people by email or in person. I’m astonished to learn who reads this!  

I learned that reading blog posts is less burden for friends and family, even though it’s less personal. Replies or comments are not necessary. You read at your leisure and that’s it.

Playing music in public

Performing at piano recitals or in front of any audience during 10 years of lessons in my childhood caused me complete panic. I play decently if I think no one is listening but the minute I know someone is listening, I get the worst stage fright, forget all the notes and completely bungle the piece.

Fast forward to age 45 when I took a few lessons and joined a banjo band. Strumming chords in the rhythm section was one of the most fun things I ever did. Being part of a group of musicians and watching audiences sing and dance to our music made me very happy. But the banjo was not my passion and strumming chords when playing alone wasn’t interesting. 

Then I began to fall in love with Irish music. I discovered that there are “sessions” - informal Irish jam sessions in pubs and restaurants all over the world. You can just show up and join them with your instrument. I chose to learn the tin whistle. I was ready for something new, portable enough for my purse, and that played melody. I also wanted to learn how to play tunes by ear and not be focused and dependent on reading notes. 

The most challenging part of playing the whistle in a session is that when it’s your turn to choose a tune, you need to start playing it solo - until the others join in. SOLO strikes fear into my heart. But I decided I *absolutely had to* overcome the fear. New instrument. New group. New brave me. 

And I did it!  I’ve played at sessions at the Redwood Cafe in Cotati, California and the William Barnacle Tavern in New York.  I’ve also managed to play piano in some public spaces a couple of times as background music. I’ve played on a piano next to a baggage carousel in the Rome airport, on the main street of Santa Cruz during a Ragtime Festival, and in a guest house in Mendocino while people were eating dinner. It does get a tiny bit easier each time. I’ve found audiences in these informal venues very encouraging.  

Trying new things is adventurous and uplifting. Please tell me which new things you've tried. That inspires me.