Busking Report – Tottenham Court Road (Pitch 1)
When I started busking, Tottenham Court Road Pitch 1 (TCR1) was not accessible because of an ongoing refurbishment, but TCR2 was available. On the 15th of June, 2013 I had my most lucrative session: £44.12 in two hours. Four years later, at the same station, day of week and and time, I did not have as good fortune. Dear reader, this pitch was not quite as lucrative, but it helped me learn some valuable lessons for the future.
Today, at TCR1, over the course of 2 hours and 20 songs, I received £13.62 - the equivalent of £6.81 per hour. Not my lowest, and not my lowest since I started writing.
The first tip
During a jolly, upbeat rendition of Don’t Look Back in Anger, a small child asked their mother for money to give me, and then gave me 50p. Thanks, small child!
The biggest tip & best performance
In the last 5 minutes of my session, a large queue formed for the first time at an escalator. Just before it formed, I had decided to sing Fat Bottomed Girls by Queen, using a capo on one fret higher than usual. For non-guitar-players: a capo allows the guitarist to easily adjust the key in which they’re playing the song. Anyway, four or five people tipped me in total about £5 during this song. Pretty good for a single song. If I made that for every song I’d make £100.
So I was playing it in a slightly higher key than usual. I had already sung it twice in the session and both times it felt wrong and didn’t sound quite right. By playing it with the same chords on one fret higher, it allowed me to sing in a very, very comfortable key which sounded a lot better.
Perhaps this explains the sudden generosity of the people walking past the pitch. Or perhaps 2PM is the sweet spot at Tottenham Court Road on a Saturday. Or maybe it was a large group of tourists which all happen to be really big fans of Queen.
Who knows, but I’ll definitely be playing Fat Bottomed Girls at a higher key from now on.
It’s hard to say how much I got during that performance, but four or five people tipped me to the tune of about £5.
How to improve
Hunger
First and foremost, I had a pretty empty stomach, and craving for sugar. My first hour was shaky and unenergetic. But it wasn’t all bad: my voice managed to get through a whole two hours without breaking completely, and as I got through the hunger pangs I began to feel better.
I should take a snack in case I get hungry. Just something small would have been helpful. I usually have something, but I rarely need it. Today, I did need it. Never again!
Presentation
I also need a better way to put my sign up, as it was resting against my amplifier which made moving it around a pain. I shall attach some kind of stand to it.
I’ve also got a three-days beard today, which is awfully shabby. I didn’t feel particularly well-groomed, which isn’t helpful for confidence. I’ll make the time to shave next time.
Timing
As far as TCR is concerned, next time I go to this pitch I’ll do it at 2PM. I have a hunch that it gets a lot busier then, and people have deeper pockets, but I’d like to confirm this.
Songs
Finally, I didn’t feel very confident playing some of the more complex songs that I’m still mastering. I want to practice them safely in a live setting, but it’s tough. In the past, I have glanced at a little chord book lying behind me, but now that I have a microphone stand I can’t turn around whenever I like.
This curse is a blessing in disguise: next time, I’ll attach a tiny cheat sheet of some of these songs’ chords to my microphone stand, so I can glance discreetly at it.
Next time, incidentally, is tomorrow night at Westminster Tube at 8PM.
Heckle me on Twitter @basicallydan.