A while ago, after I'd performed a song at our local club, another member came up and complimented me on my performance.

"What I liked," she said, "Is that the guitar was secondary to your singing, you just used it to support the song rather than letting it take over."

I didn't mention to her that the main reason for that was that I can't do anything clever on the guitar, and that I'm possibly the least accomplished player at our club!

But after that, I started to notice how often, in folk club performances, the song is less prominent than the accompaniment. Maybe the lyrics are not easy to hear, or the singing is rather flat and uninteresting, while brilliant fireworks come flying out of the instrument.

It's not that I'm jealous of your skill on the guitar (well, maybe just a bit, haha!), but however good your playing, please remember that the song is still the important thing!