I went busking about a week ago for the first time in a while. It took a lot for me to do it. I often feel very anxious about going busking, I'm not really sure why. I have to practically force myself onto the bus in the morning to do it. Even though I know for a fact that it's fine and it isn't scary and I always enjoy it, I still get nervous. The last time I went I almost didn't go; in fact, I had planned to go several times throughout Easter/Spring break and every single time I changed my mind or conveniently found something much more anxiety free to do (such as revision.) Of course, revision isn't a bad thing but I started to go a bit stir crazy and definitely needed to leave the house. So I dragged my sorry behind out of my living room for the day and did some busking.
I always think busking gives musicians a bit of a bad name because it's assumed we all do it for the money. It's true, you can make a fair bit from busking. However, I think for me busking is more of a chance to do what I enjoy. I get to sit for hours doing what I love the most (which I'd probably be doing at home in my room alone anyway) and I might make £30 from it. It gives you performance experience as well as time to try out new material. In most cases, people find buskers annoying and I, more often that not, get filthy glances off people as they walk past ignoring what I'm doing. But the reason I manage to drag myself into Stratford to do it no matter how anxious it makes me feel is that it makes so many people smile.
The amount of little kids that walk past mesmerized by what I'm doing in incredible. Most of them just get dragged along by busy mothers desperate to get to poundland before the bus leaves them behind but the occasional few parents will just let them watch for a while. And they love it. It makes them so happy and that makes me happy because I was always inspired by music from a very young age and if I can pass that along to younger people then I've achieved something amazing. It isn't just small kids that enjoy it either. I had a lovely mother and her daughter stop and give me a large sum of cash just because I happened to play her favourite song. And there was even a man who watched me for a good hour just to listen.
It wasn't me that they were captivated by, it was the music.
Whenever I am out and about I will always give what change I have to a busker if I see one; I know what it's like to be sat there in the cold desperate to make enough cash to be able to afford that flashy guitar strap you've had your eye on. It makes them happy and it doesn't really cost me much. I think music that people can feel and relate to makes them happy, even if it's a sad song. Capturing emotions in something people can take with them and listen to is such an important thing to me and to be able to make someone smile just because they've heard a lyric as they walked past me that made them think of something is magical. It's all I've ever wanted to do. Even if you can't or don't wish to give 50p to a busker in the street, smile at them. If you smile at them it shows that you appreciate what they're doing which isn't trying to make money but to spread their passion.
Music is the most efficient way of storing memories that there is. I was listening to a whole bunch of old songs on my iPhone on the way into Stratford that day and I found myself spontaneously attacked by an army of nostalgic tunes that I had forgotten about. Songs that reminded me of old friendships or ex boyfriends or whatever it is. If you listen to a song or an album when going through a certain thing that feeling will always be echoed in that lyric or that melody. Sometimes it's inconvenient, for instance, if you associate your favourite song with a doochebag before you realise he's a douchebag... there's no going back. That song is ruined forever. But it's equally as magical. If you're lucky enough to capture the whole feeling of falling in love in a certain album or song, that will stay with you for as long as that album is playing. Forever. And that's what a musician wants. They want to give you a soundtrack to capture your memories in. That's what music is for us. So please don't glare at buskers when you walk past them. Smile and remember whatever lyric they're singing and then if you're to hear that lyric again you'll remember the 16 year old kid who woke up at 7am in their school holiday just to go stand in the cold and do what they enjoy. If that's not a nice feeling to remember then I don't know what is. It sound much nicer than hearing that lyric again and remembering the grumpy mood you were in when you were just to preoccupied with the thought of a latte from starbucks before you head back to your flashy office job.
If you don't want to give money, a polite smile costs you nothing.
Finally, I need to round this up in some philosophical way so I guess what I want you to take from this isn't just to be kind to buskers on the street but just to be kind to everyone. As previously highlighted, I myself used to think buskers just wanted money before I started doing it but now I understand it much better:
You don't know what other people are thinking or what they're trying to achieve. The one thing I hate is cynical people. No matter what's going on smile at people. They might smile back. And then they might smile at someone else because you made them smile. Not only is it a kind thing to do but it's important. You might give someone the only smile they have that day. People have complications and layers. You won't always know what's going on so just smile. Don't assume that someone is rude just because they don't want to talk. Don't assume a busker is greedy just because they've gone out to earn themselves some money. Don't assume that someone is happy just because they're laughing. Kindness goes a long way. Smiles work like dominoes so go and spread the love. Or the Nutella.
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