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What does it take to busk?
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flyeogh
Posts: 729
Joined: Oct. 13 2004
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 What does it take to busk?
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I find playing in front of even my prof, whom I’m paying to listen, quite difficult. How you guys do it in front of a paying audience I’ll never know. I’d be jelly.
Just before I turn up for a lesson, I sit on the station platform and, after checking no one can hear me (not tricky at Valdelagrana station), I run through all the bits we are working on. Then a 13 min train ride and a 15-minute walk through orange-tree lined streets of Jerez, brings me to Moises front door. He is a very friendly welcoming Spaniard. We catch up on last night’s La Liga as we pass through tiled patios full of massive green leaved plants. The setting is perfect. Tranquil. Peaceful. I take my guitar, tune, position foot stool, strum a few chords, a general warm up, and attempt to run through a few bits I just made a dam good go at on a wind-swept platform. Not only do both left and right hands fail to co-operate with each other; they decide to connect with entirely the wrong strings!
Moises, being the nice guy he is, assures me that he is the same when he has lessons from maestros. I try to believe him. It takes a fair while to play anything worthy of the time I’ve put in, but it is never how it sounded on the platform.
But in the future I’d love to be able to turn up in a bar and crack out a compas or two, possibly accompanying others. A friendly session over a few beers. That is my ultimate target if truth be known. But where would the confidence come from?
Some one suggested busking. You could do it in a town where you’re not known. You’ll never see the people again. You only need 2 or 3 things to play as no one is going to hang around long. Most are highly impressed with just a few rolling rasqueos. And what a confidence boost if someone tosses 20 cents in your guitar case 
Be interested hearing about anyone’s first busking experiences.
- Can you do it without amplification? Problem is I practise in a house with a family, so I spend too long playing quietly. But I guess I can get noisy with a Tangos as an example.
- Does busking help your playing?
To be honest without a lot more confidence I can’t see myself playing with others (unless I paid them) or doing anything in my local bar. I often see people recommending volunteering for a dance school but that would still be a step too far. Perhaps busking is a way forward. Any thoughts welcome.
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nigel (el raton de Watford - now Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz)
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Date May 1 2019 7:12:14
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El Burdo
Posts: 632
Joined: Sep. 8 2011
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RE: What does it take to busk? (in reply to flyeogh)
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God, the agony.
There are no real, valuable short cuts in my opinion.
You just need to put the time in but at the same time, allow your skill to develop under its own steam. In other words, enjoy what you are doing, enjoy your progress and your approaching your goals. You don't want to achieve them of course; we're always approaching, so you needn't test yourself, as it's a journey (sorry, clicheé alert but it's appropriate).
Next, chill. There is a young woman in London who is currently a massive alt/nu-jazz alto player - very much the flavour of the month. For a long time, she was not very good at all but it seemed she had no negative self confidence issues at all, that she allowed to surface (i.e. if they were even there). She wasn't embarrassed to 'go wrong' in front of peers at jam sessions, weak gigs etc. which I seem to remember was a lot of the time. Now she is fêted and deserves the respect she gets.
I often refer to kids learning instruments who are not concerned about 'going wrong' and playing badly in front of people. We should be like that, as it is what we are. Just keep on and relax and you will become a better and better version of what you are! If you want to play in public, find a gig where you can be the flamenco equivalent of 4th Spear Carrier and do some breathing.
Hope that doesn't sound patronising, but I'm also 66 and suffer still.
[ I did a lot of busking in the Paris Metro, in the square in Carcassonne and in various towns in the UK. Most were very supportive in Europe, but the UK? Business types would walk past and sneer and old women would stop in their plastic rain hats and open their clasp purses to give me a major % of their pensions as I protested that they shouldn't. But they wanted to. ]
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Date May 1 2019 9:33:01
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Goldwinghai
Posts: 215
Joined: Mar. 17 2015
From: Virginia USA
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RE: What does it take to busk? (in reply to flyeogh)
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I would like to tell you about my nephew’s and my own experience. When this kid was about 10, his father asked me to organize a dinner party and have the boy perform 10 pieces in front of my 20+ friends as a part of the learning experience. I had the program printed and made it sort of formal. The kid did very well in a “home crowd” atmosphere and every person asked him for his autograph on the program. From then on he has played with ease and confidence at wherever the venue is, even in Austria. Several years later we had a similar event for my niece, again the home crowd did help.
Now my own experience: when in college we has an annual program called The World on Parade where we had performances from the various international students. I played my level 1 Farruca with ease, confidence and received loud applause. Fast forward to last year, I played Paco Pena’s Farruca at a party and it was a terrifying experience. It was a more difficult piece and I told myself no problem. Then as my fingers moved up the fingerboard, I misplaced them. Suddenly my mind went blank, I was in a panic mode and could not pick up from where I messed up. A female voice from the home crowd “Don’t worry brother, we do not know anything about Flamenco.” Not sure how many seconds had passed by, finally I was able to play the last two pages of that piece. I plan to play at party again.
If you have the opportunity to play for the dance class, please do it. I really enjoy playing Solea and Farruca for the classes. It forces me to prepare, practice the materials and play in compas. A few times I missed or added a beat, the teacher and students just shrugged and we continued.
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Date May 1 2019 12:19:31
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Piwin
Posts: 3559
Joined: Feb. 9 2016
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RE: What does it take to busk? (in reply to flyeogh)
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Next time you're waiting for the train, don't check if there's anyone around before pulling out your guitar. That's one baby step you could take.
- dunno if it helped my playing. I'd imagine it would help you get used to playing in front of people though. The more exposure you get, right?
- I don't really busk anymore, but I do still play outdoors from time to time, especially at this time of year. I usually just go find a bench in the parc. When I do that it's just for my own enjoyment, so could my time have been better spent elsewhere? Probably, but same could be said about reading a book or any other form of leisure. Doing that there's not really an audience. Usually people just walk by, sometimes a few people will stop for a few minutes to listen or a small group will pick a spot to picnic within earshot, but I'm definitely not the centre of attention. So if it's just about getting over the fear of others listening to you, maybe something like that could help you ease into it.
- No you don't need amplification.
- Check the rules on busking in your area. In Madrid proper you have to audition to get authorization. If you don't have it, you can technically get fined, though most of the time it ends up just with police asking you to leave, no harm done. I've never bothered with getting an authorization but I don't think I've ever been fined for busking. If I have I just can't remember it right now. But I do remember plenty of times being asked to leave, usually by policia who were more apologetic than anything.
_____________________________
"Anything you do can be fixed. What you cannot fix is the perfection of a blank page. What you cannot fix is that pristine, unsullied whiteness of a screen or a page with nothing on it—because there’s nothing there to fix."
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Date May 1 2019 14:19:49
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Andy Culpepper
Posts: 3023
Joined: Mar. 30 2009
From: NY, USA
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RE: What does it take to busk? (in reply to flyeogh)
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#1 suggestion I would make is to just practice, practice, practice until you know the material so thoroughly that having some nerves won't throw you off too much. If you lose 25% of your playing ability when playing in front of people, starting at 75% isn't doing yourself any favors. You want to start at 100%, and at 75% percent people will still think it's fine. Gradually over time maybe you get up to 90% or better, and at a certain point, having an audience may even bring more out of you and make your playing better.
#2 is general advice for fear and anxiety. Spend some time sitting down and visualizing the worst case scenario. Really walk yourself through the horrible shame and embarrassment of failing in front of everyone, where your brain turns to mush and your fingers flail uselessly at the strings. Then take a deep breath, look around, and notice that life goes on, just as it would if that actually happened. Also start a meditation practice. There is no problem that involves thoughts or thinking that can't be cured by meditation IMO.
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Date May 1 2019 20:17:10
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Mark2
Posts: 1868
Joined: Jul. 12 2004
From: San Francisco
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RE: What does it take to busk? (in reply to Andy Culpepper)
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Mariano Cordoba told me study the music to 200%. Same reason Andy pointed out, but if you lose 50%, you still play at 150. He said 100% isn't nearly enough. Sounds a bit absurd until you are playing solo in front of an audience. I started doing gigs when I was 16, 44 years ago. I didn't play solo until I started studying flamenco in about 1983. First public gig was an open mike, probably in about '84, and I was so nervous my leg started shaking. I don't know how I managed to finish the tune.
Taking Mariano's advice to heart, five years later I did a solo gig at a sold out hall of about 1,200 people, including record execs and famous musicians. I remember it was nerve wracking but I played close to the level of my ability at that time. It remains one of the highlights of forty years of performing. Nothing rids stage fright like performing. Do it enough, and it becomes relatively easy, unless something goes wrong, which will also happen from time to time. I've never played in the street for tips. I know a great player though, a really top level musician, who had no qualms doing it on occasion. Personally I felt if I couldn't get a paying gig, I'd stay home and practice till I could. Since I rarely gig these days, if I had an opportunity to perform solo in front of a large audience, or a small one with better players in it, it would be difficult. Not sure I'd do it.
quote:
ORIGINAL: Andy Culpepper
#1 suggestion I would make is to just practice, practice, practice until you know the material so thoroughly that having some nerves won't throw you off too much. If you lose 25% of your playing ability when playing in front of people, starting at 75% isn't doing yourself any favors. You want to start at 100%, and at 75% percent people will still think it's fine. Gradually over time maybe you get up to 90% or better, and at a certain point, having an audience may even bring more out of you and make your playing better.
#2 is general advice for fear and anxiety. Spend some time sitting down and visualizing the worst case scenario. Really walk yourself through the horrible shame and embarrassment of failing in front of everyone, where your brain turns to mush and your fingers flail uselessly at the strings. Then take a deep breath, look around, and notice that life goes on, just as it would if that actually happened. Also start a meditation practice. There is no problem that involves thoughts or thinking that can't be cured by meditation IMO.
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Date May 1 2019 23:09:31
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El Burdo
Posts: 632
Joined: Sep. 8 2011
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 RE: What does it take to busk? (in reply to flyeogh)
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Hi Nigel - That's fine -I just thought I'd make a point about what underlies all of this - the confidence issue. I was saying that you don't need to react to the bad bright red demon on your shoulder, or for that, the good pale gold demon on the other (insert appropriate colours ad lib - I was thinking of the webdesign colour Pale Goldenrod, a better colour name not existing in the English speaking world). Do you know The Inner Game of Music by Barry Green? Some people like it.
But there seems to be another issue related to that forcibly made by the 150%-ers here, of which I am definitely one - quote:
and attempt to run through a few bits I just made a dam good go at on a wind-swept platform. Not only do both left and right hands fail to co-operate with each other; they decide to connect with entirely the wrong strings! - I assume that session is just a quick reminder, and not 'the practice'! If not, your problem might be there! (but I don't expect it is :-) )
I don't think busking really added anything tbh beyond an opportunity for anecdote, fun memory etc. You don't have to be at the peak of your game then, but you do in performance. 150%. In Carcassonne everyone was pinned to their tables as we ground out spirited and irrelevant Irish tunes, sitting on the fountain. Weirdly (and financially) they seemed to like it, regretfully the emotional inverse of me when I come across a busker in London sharing their Art wherever there are some passing tourists. St James Park - beautiful day - exotic birds - obviously needs an Ed Sheeran song.
Your life sounds great. Did you move for flamenco reasons, Spain reasons?
[sorry this post has a laughing man icon on its title - I was trying to insert an icon in the text and not judging the topic :-( ]
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Date May 2 2019 9:12:42
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Filip
Posts: 403
Joined: Apr. 23 2006
From: Paris
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RE: What does it take to busk? (in reply to flyeogh)
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When I started playing I remember talking with one teacher who said to me that there are two remarkable things about great players (we talked about Paco de Lucia but it was a general thought), the first is that they are incredibly good players, and the second is that they can go in front of thousands of people and still play incredibly good. And I did not fully realise this until I played in front of people (although I did it only a couple of times).
In my case everything makes a difference and my playing when I am alone in my room is not the same as when I play in front of someone (regardless who that someone is, friend or someone I don't know), it even is not the same if I am making audio or video recording (good advice Jason), or my window is open and someone might hear me. I get nervous, my fingers are shaking, they become dry, I miss notes, I have less strength so the volume is lower, I can't keep even rhythm because my fingers act alone...a nightmare. I never tried any strategy, but I think there are some pretty good advices in this thread, thanks.
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Date May 2 2019 11:42:31
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