Kaitie Sly shares examples in which introverted singers can find their way.

Kaitie Sly

Educator | Recording Artist | Bassist

This week’s Tips from the Team are all about the introverted singer! We asked singer, author, technologist and bassist, Kaitie Sly, to share her insights as a working introverted singer and musician.

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Can You Be A Singer AND Be Introverted?

Tips from the Team Transcript: The answer is absolutely yes. I would definitely consider myself to be an introverted and shy person, especially when I was younger and I first started out singing. The way that I got over it was to just take it one step at a time. At the beginning, I was definitely super shy to sing – I never wanted to sing around anyone. But I just started small. I would start showing maybe one friend some of my singing and I would sort of cringe as I’d wait for their reaction. Once I saw that the reaction wasn’t horrible, then I started expanding my sharing out a bit more. Maybe show some other friends, maybe show some family members, eventually maybe put some of my songs up online or perform a few gigs here and there. Start small. Perform for your friends, perform at a small coffee shop. Whatever you need to do to feel comfortable, but to still put yourself outside your comfort zone a little bit. And eventually you will get to the point where you’re singing and it’s not a problem anymore.

Can You Be Introverted and Still Be a Singer?

Kaitie on Making it as an Introvert in the Music Industry

Tips from The Team Transcript: How can you make it as an introverted person in the music industry? Maybe at first thought, if you think of being a musician or working in the music industry, you might think of examples like performing on a stage or maybe in musical theater, playing a guitar solo with everyone watching, or singing and having everyone watching you. The reality is that there’s a lot of different opportunities within the music industry that don’t require you to have to put yourself out there so much. For example, if you really like music and you want to be involved in music, how about trying the recording side of things? That’s a great way to get involved with the music industry where you don’t necessarily have to be in front of people or performing.

For myself, I’m also a bass player in addition to a singer. And one of the reasons I chose the bass back when I was a young kid was exactly because I was introverted and shy and I didn’t want to be the focal point of the band. I wanted to still be able to perform and be able to be part of the music-making process, but I didn’t want to be the focus of attention in the band. So I picked the bass, which for me, really suited my introverted personality and my level of shyness at the time.

How Can I Make It as an Introvert In The Music Industry?