So what motivates people to stand up a sing in a folk club? Is it because they want to sing? It will sound better in the bath. Do they want to feel more "involved" with the club? There are less stressful ways. Or do they want to put on a performance which they hope will be appreciated by their audience?

Of course everyone has to start somewhere. But there's more to it than just being able to hold a note and remember the words - you have to learn the techniques of performing. These include tricks for remembering elusive lyrics, or facing that familiar situation where the next verse is approaching fast and you've no idea how it starts ... moving smoothly into an instrumental break if the words don't come asif it was always intended, or making up the words convincingly on the spot. If you always have the words in front of you, you'll rely on that crutch and you won't develop skills to help you cope in these situations.

Nerves - everyone has them, the trick is to learn to use the energy positively. Again, practice brings confidence, but if you're always relying on props you won't gain that confidence.

Mistakes - everyone makes them. The best performers learn ways to disguise them so that most of the audience don't even notice, or they may have the confidence simply to laugh them off.

Not everyone can be a great performer. However many can attain a satisfactory level of competence, but to do so they need to learn the techniques of performing, which they won't do if they continually rely on props.