It all depends on how well it's done.

I love Vin Garbutt's singing and playing, but I'd happily pay to hear him do just one song in each half - his patter's that good.

There are other performers who keep their intros to a bare minimum, and are very wise to do so!

If you're wondering how good your intros are, record a gig and count the 'um's. There shouldn't be any at all!

Certainly it pays to spend as much time thinking about intros (and sequencing) as about music - it's just as much part of the performance, and if you make aim to keep the audience's attention as tight when you're talking as when you're singing or playing you'll not go far wrong.

I feel I'm booked as much these days as a storyteller as a singer, and get as many positive comments about the intros as I do about the songs. So I'm not ashamed of doing about 7 in a 45 minute slot. That said, not all the songs have long intros. Some are just a few words, and there are times I go straight into one with nothing said.

Intros don't have to be funny, but like jokes they rely on punchlines and



















timing