In Praise of Porches

The house where I currently live doesn't really have a porch. It's more of a stoop, and not much of one at that. I do sit on it from time to time, but it isn't the same. It's mostly just where I hang out with the neighborhood cats.

 

Of all the places that I have lived over the years, only a few of them have had great porches. I played a lot of music on those porches, and I miss having one.

 

As a musician, I tend to think of settings like this as bridging the gap between public and private spaces. There is a slight performative aspect of playing songs on one's porch or back yard, but to me, it's more about expressing and sharing my love of music. In my experience, most of the time, passersby could hear me but not necessarily see me, and very rarely did anyone ever approach me in that space. Personally, I find that music in unexpected places can sometimes feel almost magical, and I sincerely hope that others share that sentiment. 

 

I haven't always been comfortable singing in front of people, and playing on porches helped with that as well. That said, I don't recommend engaging in the very early stages of practicing any instrument (including vocals) in a semi-public place such as this, because frankly, no one wants to hear that. Sorry. It's the same reason I turn down the volume when I tune. However, once you have a song pretty well worked out, playing it on the porch is a good way of easing into the performance part. It's also an opportunity to share your artistry with anyone who cares to listen and happens to be walking by. 

 

Of all the many, many times that I have played music on a porch, no one has ever booed or yelled anything at me. Or maybe I just didn't hear it. Either way. If you have a porch and some songs to play, I encourage you to put those things together and spread some much needed magic in world.