Busking Challenge Part 3: Where I Perform on the Streets of Melbourne [Episode 16]

I finally did it.

On Saturday 27 June, I took my ukulele, digital recorder and multicoloured party pants into the city of Melbourne in an attempt to woo the crowds with my musical prowess.

Yep, I became a busker.

In Australia, ‘busking’ is the term we give to ‘street performing’. A ‘busker’ is someone who engages in this activity.

Your goal as a busker is to entertain the general public, in return for gratuities. Gratuities are usually in the form of money, but can also be food, drink and gifts.

I talk more about why I chose busking as a comfort challenge in Episode 1, which you can find here.

Listen in to follow my journey through the exhausting but exhilarating two hours I spent singing my little heart out!

What was my verdict?

Overall, it was a really fun, positive experience. The scariest part was just setting up. Once I started, I was fine, and it was nowhere near as terrifying as I thought it would be. Thinking back now, all those excuses I made to not do it seem so ridiculous.

 

What helped?

I got lots of smiles from people as they walked past, which helped to boost my confidence. Having my friends and family stop by was awesome too. I originally thought that singing in front of my friends would have been even MORE embarrassing, but I got over it.

Huge thank you to Mum, Dad, Gary, Vinh, Kye, Aimie, Jon, Kahn and Pat for stopping by and adding to my coin collection. You guys rock.

How much money did I make?

I thought you might ask! Well, excluding the tips from my parents and Gary (sorry guys, you’re way too biased), I made a grand total of $52.95. Not too bad for two hours work, and my first time, at that! That’s $26 an hour! And tax free too!

(Of course, I wasn’t doing it purely for the money, but it was definitely a nice validation ;))

Your challenge:

So there you go, I am officially PROOF that you don’t need to be a professional musician to be a street performer. I learned to just have fun and be prepared for the unexpected – and this applies to anything new you try as well, whether it’s yoga, starting a blog, or learning photoshop.

Don’t worry about being GOOD. Instead, I challenge you to just have fun. And when something unexpected pops up or if you have a setback, take it in your stride. And “shake it off” 🙂

Do you have a comfort challenge in mind? If so, I’d love to hear what it is! Just tweet me @cjcanters, or send an email to cc[at]thecmethod.com. Rock on!