G'day Catters I'm Pete the person who posted the original thread back in March 1998. (Was it really that long ago!). Well I can't speak for all, but my tale is worth telling. After the info I received from the regular contributor's back then, I went away and taught myself to play the guitar and started to practice singing. I now sing in a band doing skiffle, country and green grass (as we call it) along with Celtic material certainly not settling on one particular genre that's for sure. But without doubt my greatest pleasure is the home sessions with friends sitting around and singing till the early hours or until the Guinness runs out. Sure beats putting on a CD. The hardest thing I found was to actually sing solo in front of others for the first time. A very daunting experience and for me at least, it took a lot of nervous tries to actually carry out. But once you do it, you're on the way. When you progress and get into the band thing the buzz of playing to a live audience is an unbelievable. You want to come back time and again.

I said in another thread recently music is a platform to a higher ground. I say if you want to sing, go out and do it! forget about the embarrassment the nerves etc (most of it is in the mind) and most of all enjoy.

Regards Townes