If you've been around festivals for 24 years, skipy, you must have heard one or two songs you particularly wanted to join in with. I'd go along with many of the suggestions others have already put but there are some caveats I'd offer as well.

Most of us probably learned the art of singing along with others from a very early age at church, school, camps, family gatherings etc. Some of us were lucky enough to escape the "critical audience" and may even have been encouraged to keep on singing or even to take on leading roles in the respective group(s). Most of the people posting have learned and know their limits or have pushed themselves beyond any limits and can offer useful advice.

Others weren't so lucky. My first wife always claimed to be tone deaf and, whenever she sang along in my company (at my encouragement at parties, bushwalking trips etc), she'd go through at least five unrelated keys in a four line stanza. One day during our courtship I returned home through a back door (and unobserved) while she was at the kitchen sink, washing the dishes. She was singing to herself and had a really sweet voice; I was gobsmacked when I realised she was perfectly in tune for the whole length of the song as I stood listening, unobserved.

She wasn't tone deaf at all. I figured she'd been told "You can't sing!" from an early (and formative) age. Sure enough, one one occasion when I was visiting her parents' place, I was singing to myself when her mother walked in. "Can you whistle?" she challenged, in a rather hostile manner. On another occasion I was whistling and she challenged "Can you sing?" with the same hostile tone. Then again, she never actually liked me.

So, sing to yourself, well away from critical audiences until your confidence builds. While getting alongside other singers in a group is a tried and true technique, it's helpful if the pitch range they're singing in is within your own range. Sometimes you can be a bit fooled, when singing to and by yourself, into starting a song too low; it seems OK when you start but you find out into the melody that it wants to go lower than your voice can handle. I've lost count of the number of singers I've heard do this; it disappears with experience (read "practice").

If you're in a session of shanties or harmony choruses, try standing near someone you reckon has got it together and humming under your breath. It may be that their vocal range is beyond yours; if so, find someone singing a different part and hum their line under your breath. With repetition (trad. folksongs are great at repetition) you'll gradually get confidence to sing (softly at first) rather than hum. If someone notices you and looks askance, shut your eyes and keep on going with your ears and your voice for company.

When you say you can't face going inside and being part of a group session, I get the impression you feel afraid of being the centre of attention. All I can suggest (if this is the case) is that you go inside and place yourself 'on the sidelines' so to speak and just keep your eyes shut while you're listening/humming/singing. If you have a friend you can trust to keep others from disturbing you while doing this, take them along.

But, as Rapaire says, lose no opportunity to have a go.

And, Sandra, I never knew you had experienced such trouble; I always thought your singing was wonderful!

Cheers, Rowan