Woody, Most audiences will be more entertained by good singing than by fancy instrumental technique. It kind of depends on what you're singing. If you're singing jazz, you'll need a good knowledge of jazz chords. If you're singing blues, you'll need a few riffs but the presentation of the song is more important than the sort of guitar pyrotechnics you'd get from an electric blues band.

The great majority of the memorable folk singers and singer-songwriters have always just relied on a few simple chords and patterns, just as you do. You might want to think about working up some two or four bar intros that change with the song but don't worry about playing an instrumental chorus between verses.

Back in the '60s some folk singers used to lift their guitars high up so the sound hole was right at the vocal mic and just bang chords into the mic—the same chords they'd been using for accompaniment. I always thought that was pretty cheesy but their fans seemed to like it.

      - Mark