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| KARSTEN |
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| KARSTEN SYLVESTER MOLLER ANDERSEN (D.O.B. MARCH 11, 2018) |
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| MY FRIEND, MARK CHANDLER |
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| JEFF AND SHAY |
Got to pay your dues if you wanna
sing the blues,
And you know it don’t come easy.
(“It Don’t Come Easy” by Ringo Starr)
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| THE UNKNOWN ARTIST STRIKES WHILST ON MY PEE BREAK:) |
And now for
my theme of this blog entry: It don’t come easy. BUSKING
DON’T COME EASY.
If you want
to be a busker you do have to overcome certain fears, the main one being the
fear of playing a guitar in public. This would
certainly be more angst ridden than Glossophobia, the fear of public
speaking. And for sure, public singing is cause for
more distress than public speaking.
This blog entry I will introduce my formula for guitar busking success,
for reducing the anxiety prior and during the actual busking experience. In a fight-or-flight response, this is my
fight formula, my
four point gradation for conquering your busking butterflies. I mean, really, should we not be the product rather than the prisoner of our life experiences to date!
1. In trademark
Nike fashion, JUST DO IT. Decide to go and sit somewhere and strum, but
with your guitar case closed. You are
not busking; you are just strumming.
Just the idea of sitting somewhere, perhaps in a public park, and
strumming your guitar will suffice to start.
2. Follow a
plan and EXPOSE YOURSELF. Create for
yourself a series of tolerable steps you can take to overcome your fear. Not in flasher fashion, it is necessary to
expose yourself. Start by strumming in a
public park. Move yourself to strumming
on some sidewalk elsewhere, some place that seems comfortable, preferably
somewhere in the mercantile section, downtown so to speak. Again, just strum with your guitar case
closed.
3. Endure your
DISCOMFORT ZONE. I know you will hate
strumming in the park or on the sidewalk will not be much fun the first few
times, but I can promise you will survive to tell about it.
4. REPEAT,
REPEAT, and REPEAT some more. Once
you’ve strummed a dozen or so times in public and your anxiety level is zeroth
or considerably reduced, ‘tis time to hit the road and strum with your and open
guitar case. Don’t sing – just strum. You do this often enough and your fear will
become a reflex.
SOME PHOOEY FOR
THOUGHT:
- BE GOOD AT WHAT YOU DO … and if you simply are strumming, essentially, you are getting paid to practice! You do not need a repertoire of any prescribed length. Just strum, strum, and strum some more.
- NO NEED TO WEAR A DUCK COSTUME. To dress for success is to dress in whatever you’re most comfortable.
- NOD IN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO YOUR CONSUMERS. When busking you stand out among your fellow plebeians. Always, always, always acknowledge paying customers with at least a smile and nod, though saying “thanks” aloud is certainly the best practice (pun intended).
Keep in mind
that when you are a busker, you are your own Kapellmeister. When you are a busker you get to do entirely
as you want.
Go where you want. You can go just out your door, or down the
street, or downtown, or even to another town.
I tend to thrum in my downtown neighborhood. I busk at Shoppers Drug Mart on Mondays, the
Italian Star Deli on Tuesday, and Value Village on Saturday. This is when I’m in my city.
As a busker
you never have to be blinkered into going to any particular place. In summer I love to travel out of country and
busk in places like the Dam Square in Amsterdam, the Temple Bar in Dublin, and
the Jemma el-Fnaa in Marrakech. (These
are some city main tourist areas where I’ve been busking; I’ve not mentioned
the hundreds of sidewalks and side-streets.)
Dress as you want. You can dress for comfort. When it’s cold, don in layers. When it’s hot, doff the layers. When it’s wet – don’t busk in the rain. Your choice of busking accoutrements is up to
you.
I always
wear the same costume. Cap-a-pie I’m
always hatless. In Americano folk
fashion, I’ve messy hair, a pair of shades, a long-sleeved white shirt complete
with a collar, faded blue jeans, and work boots. Occasionally, depending on the weather, I
might wear long cargo-shorts and sandals.
Play as you want. You can play instrumental covers or just
practice your own. If you want to sing,
then sing. You can even sing in the rain
if you want.
Rarely do I
sing. This is what I do when I
busk. I make up guitar riffs and match
them to my C or D or G or Am harmonica.
When I’m busking with my 12 string I am never without my harp.
Stay as you want. Time economy is totally up to you. Staying five minutes or five hours the choice
is yours.
I’ve been
known to linger in a busk-spot sometimes not longer than five minutes. And I’ve been known to linger a couple
hours. The choice of length of time to
stay is always mine.
It don’t come easy. BUSKING DON’T COME EASY!
Marching in
my CHAUCERIAN PARADE this week is my Grand Trunk Troubadour band-mate, CORY BALDWIN. This is Cory strummin’ and
singin’ solo and pro bono at a retirement community. He is channeling Hank Williams!
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| AN INSTANT INTERNET SUCCESS! |
