I haven't suffered from "stage fright" for many years, but I remember what it was like. As a college student, I was a "closet" musician (more precisely, a dorm-rooom picker and singer) while many of my friends were performing at open mikes, coffeehouses, etc. I was eventually persuaded to make a few appearances as an accompanyist, then gradually began to emerge from the background by taking the "spotlight" for one or two numbers while backing up a friend on his set.

Once I was out of school, a couple of years of busking on the street cured me of that stagefright for good; I was able to develop a "take it or leave it" attitude, which is undoubtedly a much easier mindset to develop on the streetcorner than on an actual stage.

Now I'm dealing with a new problem, having recently joined up with a shanty-singing group. I have no problem at all joining in on choruses, even daring to try to improvise harmonies; even when these attempts go somewhat awry, I manage not to get too upset. I'm ablt back off, find my way back to the basic melody, and keep singing ~ just as though nothing too embarrasssing had occurred.

However, I find myself very reluctant, even frightened, of leading off an unaccompanied song. I'm so accustomed to playing a little intro, or at least hitting a chord on the guitar, to establish the key in which to sing, and I'm really lost when I have to pluck a note out of thin air upon which to start a song. I've make mistakes and gotten started in keys in which it's very difficult to sing (both for myself and for the group), and I find myself becoming increasingly uncomfortable about "leading" my share of songs when I feel as though I should be getting better at it, not worse...