I’ve figured out the live stream situation, at least the bare bones to get started, and made myself a venue where I can be heard: isekaiukulele.com/live
Tentative streaming schedule is M-F 2:30-5:30PM HST
I have been taking singing lessons for a little under a year now, and I’m quite happy with the progress. That’s been a(n expensive but) very good time. I’ve learned so many things that I never even imagined before under the guidance of an experienced professional.
While I plan to continue improving my skill, I feel like I’m at the point where I need to start gaining more experience performing in front of people. I actually think I’m quite ready yet, but I’m not sure that I’ll ever actually feel “ready” as I might imagine it.
Until now I’ve been mostly playing for my four bedroom walls, or for the camera where I can retry until I get a good take. It’s quite different when someone else is in front of you and listening intently. If I were a normal person I’d play the busking game and go outside to sing on a street corner where strangers can keep walking if they don’t want to hear. Unfortunately that’s not so easy for me to do.
Fortunately it just so happens we live in a day and age where there is a practical method to share one’s music across the world without taking a step outside of one’s room. So why not turn the camera on?
Well, unlike a busy street where people are walking by anyway, the digital attention economy is extremely crowded. In this era, music has become entirely commoditized. All the world’s music is available at your fingertips with a simple search. AI spits out music that is increasingly becoming indistinguishable from artists with decades of experience. Why bother listening to an amateur stumble through their catalog?
If you turn the camera on, there’s no guarantee that anyone will come watch. And if people do click on you to watch, how can you deliver something worth their time? I feel like I need to do more than just show up. I need a strategy to gain attention, a reason to be heard.
Well, that’s the game isn’t it? If I figure out how to win, I’ll share it here. Until then, I’m happy to be mostly ignored while I continue to hone my singing skills. Give me another year or two, and hopefully I’ll be somewhere good by then.