Marion, you say "I wouldn't dream of playing so badly in church or at an open mike, ..." What churches have you been frequenting? Goodness! Some of the most atrocious (technically) renditions of anthems I've ever heard have been in church! (As for open mikes, well ... .")

Don't you think that a lot of "pickin' and singin' on the porch" involves, from time to time, mediocre caliber musicianship? How about camp sing-alongs? Sometimes the POINT of the music is the community, the participation.

Activity directors in nursing homes tell me their residents get much more from a so-so musician who involves the residents than from a virtuoso who just plays in the same room with them.

Pete Seeger comes to mind here. Note: I am NOT saying he's a lousy singer or instrumentalist. I am saying I don't think he's on a par with Les Paul, Chet Atkins, BB King, or Andres Segovia when it comes to playing, or Harry Belafonte, Enrico Caruso, Pavarotti, Ronnie Gilbert, Joan Baez or Jim Reeves when it comes to voice. But what Pete does par excellence is get the audience INVOLVED!

Besides, if your musicianship is TOO awesome, folks are intimidated about singing along with you!

Jeri hit that ol' nail right on the head --did the residents ENJOY your music? A friend once remarked to me at an open mike that "There are musician, there are singers, and then there are entertainers. A lot of the good singers and musicians are NOT entertainers!"

(Remember Tiny Tim, BTW?)

Personally, I have a bad habit of apologizing for my lack of perfection, either before or after I do a number that's not up to my standards. I KNOW BETTER, but it's hard to break free of the compulsion to let my audience know that I KNOW I sucked, when I feel I did! Seriously, though, if the audience enjoyed the "substandard" performance, why spoil it for them by telling them how lousy it was? Aren't you kind of insulting their taste by doing that? And, even if you don't "share" this evaluation with them, are you not kind of disparaging that audience by thinking that it is inappropriate for them to have enjoyed your less-than-perfect performance?

George Ward, you've got a good point there! ;- )

Keep on playing, Marion! Folks will tune in to the joy you bring to the music. If it's technically perfect, that's just icing on the cake!

Genie