So, as mentioned in one of my earlier posts, one of my New Years Resolutions is to play an open mic at some point this year. I’ve only ever done it once, in University, and I’m pretty sure I was so nervous that I dry heaved into the microphone for half of the time and sucked largely the rest of the time, so I don’t really have high expectations. HOWEVER, to ensure that I don’t completely embarrass myself, I thought I should at least practice for a couple of months prior to my big debut.

I shelled out a whole bunch of cash to get some lessons at the Toronto Institute for the Enjoyment of Music. They seem to be pretty professional, and they are spitting distance from my place, so they get my business. My first lesson is tonight, and I’m already feeling like a total poser – the instructor asked me which types of music I like and what I would like to learn, and I’m already self-conscious. I mean, I’m thinking that someone who is a music instructor by profession would have pretty wicked-cool and sophisticated musical taste, so I am totally nervous that my musical taste will suck and he’ll go into the back break room or whatever with all the other musical instructors and says “That poser-y chick wants to learn how to play XYZ”, and they’ll all laugh.

Plus, my “on-sale-for-half-price-in-1994-at-Sears” guitar is totally out of tune and is probably the worst instrument that this guy has ever seen, and he’ll go into the back with all the other musical instructors and say “That poser-y chick is playing on a guitar from SEARS!”, and they’ll all laugh.

BUT, I’ve decided that this is Natalie’s year of ‘not giving a ball-sack what other people think’, so I’m going to trudge down there with my Sears guitar and my horrible musical taste and learn the hell out of this shit. Then I’m going to perform a mediocre open-mic at Starbucks or some junk like that, and I’m pretty sure I’ll feel AWESOME about it. Even though it will likely be embarrassing and the musical instructors in the audience will be like “That poser-y chick has horrible taste in music and I’m pretty sure that guitar is from Sears.” And laugh with their friends.

I WILL say that my awesome friends have been very supportive of my mediocrity, especially my super-awesome friend Neal, who reads my blog regularly (*blush*) and who, upon learning that I was picking up the ol’ guitar again, made me a gift.

Essentially, he found all the guitar tabs he uses for all his favorite songs and complied them into a, like, 200 PAGE library of awesomeness.

And, to make it even more tear-jerkingly awesome, he put on a blog-themed title page that definitely makes me smile:

While I’m practicing, I’m going to be imagining Hayden being all acoustic and romantic and shit, teaching me how to play guitar: