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May 21st, 2010 admin Leave a comment Go to comments

Contact Mic

How to Make the Most Out of Open Mic Nights

If you are a new musician and you want to advance your career one of the best ways to do it is by taking advantage of the open mic nights that are held in music venues throughout the USA and England. In this article I will share some tips that I have formulated after making the rounds of open mics in New York and other major U.S. cities.

First of all, you should be very enthusiastic about performing at an open microphone evening. Even though you don't get paid for it, it is still a lot better than sitting at home and waiting for your phone to ring with an offer from someone. The experience that you gain whenever you get a chance to perform before a live audience is extremely valuable and will pave the way for your future success.

The next thing you need to do is to locate the best open mic events in your locality. Look in local newspapers and entertainment magazines and you will find listings in the events calendar section. Or go online and type open mic, and your city and make a search or even better go to the website openmikes.org and you will find a comprehensive listing.

Before you go to any open mic it is best to confirm that they are in existence and what time they are starting. "Call before you haul" is a good slogan to remember, because online listings are sometimes not up to date or an open mic evening may be canceled for one reason or another.

Rehearse before going there. Treat it is seriously as you would a paid gig. Select the songs that you are going to play (don't try to select while you are onstage) and then practice them. The amount of time you are going to get will vary according to local conditions. Two or three songs is a normal open mic quota, but if there are very few performers you might get more time onstage. You can ask how much performance time is allowed when you call up the open mic organizer.

When you are onstage let people know who you are and where they can find out more about you. Bring along some business cards with your name, address, contact information and the url of your website or social media site (My Space, Facebook).

Stick around and listen to the other performers after you are finished. This is a very important point for two reasons. First of all, it is a matter of courtesy. Other people hung around to listen to you, and you should reciprocate. Even more important is that by remaining at the venue you have more chances of meeting and talking with other people. Meeting people is what open mic is all about. Maybe you will find future collaborators, or people who can help you get a paid gig or you will deepen your connection to your future fans.

Open mic evenings are a great opportunity and if you follow my recommendations you will not only enjoy yourself but will certainly improve your musicianship, make lots of contacts and friends, and gain more confidence in yourself. So, get out of your bedroom and start performing before live audiences as soon as possible.

About the Author

Dada is a singer-songwriter performing as "Dada Veda", a meditation teacher and the director of an
online radio station
, RAWA Radio, http://www.rawaradio.com