Other differences....

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Songleading: I'm relaxed, throat open; I can sing through unpretty vocal problems and not care if I sound right, but just SING.

Performing: I had better be in my best range, in a song that flatters my technically quirky and somewhat unreliable voice.

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Songleading: I am actually singing along just as much as are the people I am leading. I am singing along with them, listening to and responding to them. I am also, I realized one day, singing along with the version stored in my head that I heard when I first learned the song. But although I am accepting a leadership role, and aware of what that will entail, I am singing along just as much as are the people around me or in front of me. It's just that I happen to be the one with the mic, or the hand gestures that cue them for their parts, or the big posterboard with the chorus hastily scribbled for them to read.

Performing: I really care how I come across, and I don't really WANT anyone else to sing along, because I am going to offer a particular phrasing that matters to me, or a particular pronunciation that affects meaning, or I need to be in MY best key that others will have some trouble with. If they want to sing it my way, that's OK-- harmony, etc. are welcome.

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Songleading: I am transmitting something, passing it along, aiming for an experience for the PEOPLE that has THE GROUP PRESENT's stamp on it.

Performing: I am showcasing something, aiming for a quality version that has MY stamp on it.

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Songleading: I am willing to make a fool of myself in the efort, do another song even if half-prepped, and come back again another time.

Performing: I can be easily embarrassed, skip half the verses to end it quicker, sing only the one piece, and not rush back to do it again!

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Songleading: I learn best from other songleaders, like Pete Seeger. I know that if Pete were present, he'd happily sing along when I lead, and lead the next verse or song himself, most likely. I'm paying attention to the effect their leadership brings to the singing-along, and what they have done to result in that effect.

Performing: I learn best from other professional singers, and I am paying attention to their stagecraft as well as their vocal technique.

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Songleaading: I think I can do it when called upon to do it. I am still learning, but I think I can pull it off somedamnway or other, no matter the prevailing conditions of the moment.

Performing: I don't thnk I will ever feel like I can "just do it."

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YMMV. Tell me!

~Susan