I’ve been playing/singing in bands for years and love writing and playing music. Last weekend I decided I was going to go out in to my home town and busk for the first time ever.
Fortunately I live in one of the few towns in the country which doesn’t require a busking licence, which I’m really thankful for… how ridiculous is the idea of requiring a licence to play music?!
Why now?
Honestly – because of Steemit… posting original writing online and getting feedback about it has made me want more! I figured going out on to the streets would be a good way to get direct feedback about new songs I’d written.
How did it go?
It was amazing! I was so incredibly nervous when I first started, my heart was pounding away, and I began to play and sing relatively quietly. Once I’d had a few people drop some money in my hat, my confidence grew and by the end of the session I was belting my songs out!
It was really great to get a positive response from people. As I said, I’ve played in bands for years, but this was better than playing on a stage… when people stopped to listen to me, sitting down for a few songs it felt so great. I had several people take videos, 3 people asked for selfies with me (which I was pretty suprised by!), one person start dancing in the street(!) and lots of appreciative comments. A little boy (couldn’t have been older than 4) and his mum sat down and listened to everything I played. When I finished he came up to me and handed me some cash and said “I really like your singing” – I was beaming for the rest of the day!
I made about £15 in an hour and a half… can’t quite quit my day job, but it’s way more than I expected and I was absolutely buzzing to have made this much!
Why you should give it a go.
I think it is really going to help me progress as a musician/singer. It’s a really great way to see what songs people respond most to, and playing to people who don’t have to stop and listen (or give you any money) means the feedback is obviously more tangible and honest than when playing to friends/family.
I'm definitely going to do more this weekend, and I highly recommend it to anyone who’s a singer/songwriter.
The down-side.
There was only one down-side: I hadn’t realised how much more my fingers would hurt from playing loud! I didn’t have a mic or amp, so in order to be heard I had to strum and sing as loud as I could… I never use a plectrum at home, because I prefer to play with my fingers, and man did I regret not having one! I ended up taking a layer of skin off at the base of my nails on my strumming hand. I didn’t notice this until about half way through my session but once I did, the pain was too much to carry on, and I had to fashion a pick out of a friend’s business card I had in my pocket! Weird that pain always gets worse once you’ve seen the injury… I wonder if there’s a name for that phenomenon?
I’ll try to get someone to take a video clip of me busking next time I go out, so I can post it and have a go at online busking here on Steemit!