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Beth Fridinger
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7/10/2008 5:17:00 AM
---- Updated 7/12/2008 9:07:49 AM
Busking News
PLEASE READ THE POST ON PAIN IN FINGERS AND NUMBNESS BELOW NEED ADVICE
Well last night (Wed) I tried to play in the street....first my favorite spot was taken...this drummer got there 5 mins before I did...picked another spot, set up, and I was immediately kicked out. Moved down to the corner....set up...played for a few mins...made about $4, and thunderclouds came...I packed up....it started to rain just as I finished packing...hard rain...got into a protected area with my umbrella and got the tarp over my stuff...got to the subway....first two places were taken...finally found another spot to play in...played there till 10pm....some dude hung out with me and we chatted a bit and he noodled with my guitar as I played the mandolin...I only made about $23 on a night that I could have made $50+ had all this crapp no happened. I finally started to relax and have FUN....I played Mona, that Bo Diddly tune, for the first time...it's not memorized totally yet....had the paper on the music stand...but I was pleased I could sing and play that rhythm...took a bit of practice to play that rhythm while singing...that rhythm really rocks!! some woman and her daughter came by & said they heard me before and loved my music and my voice...said they were from the south and they miss it...when I sing Ramblin Man I sound like I'm from Georgia...ha ha..someone else came by and gave me $5 and said I was fantastic...she moved up here from Georgia!!! .I had someone else ask me if I was from Texas...so depending on the song I can get a good drawl in there....now if the forecast says thundershowers I should just try to play the subway but gee I love to play outside...what a waste of time breaking down and setting up twice....I am so sick of these thundershowers! I gotta add more tunes to what I do...I have about 20 on my list now....someone asked for Neil Young...I'll have to think what Neil Young tune to cover....want to do All My Loving but not sure of the rhythm on that one...Lennon used these fast triplets...so again...something new to learn unless I think a different rhythm would be more appropriate for me to do solo. Any suggestions on good cover tunes for me to do? Some of the tunes I wrote do very well...I sold CDs because folks like my Pearly Gates song....also got some tips on the cat song....ha ha...People also like "Look in the Mirror" so I mix a few of my originals in with the covers....want to add more songs so I don't go totally nuts playing the same songs over and over...I am looking for some easy to learn/memorize songs to quickly add to the repetoire.
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Conversation Suicide
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7/10/2008 6:46:16 AM
Geez beth! It's hard to believe your new at this! You've got busking down. now you just need to build your repetoire. $50 a nite for doing something I love? Hmmm.. Maybe I should switch day jobs? -phlegm
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The CODE
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7/10/2008 7:25:57 AM
Nice One Beth! - Starting to sound like one of Sam's stories!
Good Luck choosing a Neil Young song, he has so many good ones!
Hope the rain stays off!!!
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Vincenzo Pandolfi
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7/10/2008 3:51:22 PM
You sure you shouldn't move south??
..Just kidding. It sounds like you are learning fast. Just try and remember what people ask for. Write it down in a book if you have to, and learn each song. Even one song per week and you will soon have a fantastic pool to draw from.
Keep it up Beth, you are very good at this!!
Vincenzo
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The Man With No Band
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7/10/2008 4:15:59 PM
Keep scrappin' Beth ! .... Sounds as if it is becoming fun for you ... Good on ya !
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Steve Ison
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7/11/2008 3:15:36 AM
---- Updated 7/11/2008 3:20:02 AM
Glad things are working out for you Beth :)
I play All My LOving with the fast triplets on the guitary bit,then go into a half-time rythm for the singing part..Its too much/distracting to do triplets all the way thru for the rest...
Learning the words is a pain..'cos i'm lazy
Working out the tunes is easy and fun..If i like a song enough, i'll often just blag the words for it like on Lay Down Sally or Rock THe Casbah.I sing anything on the verses-adding in the odd phrase i know 'Don't you ever leeeeaave'.People don't seem to notice..
Heart Of Gold's a good Neil Young one...Out On THe Weekend too-but the chords are very samey (same with America's Horse With No Name) so you've gotta use some skills on the rythm to change the dynamics abit..
Fever's a great one to do..Very dramatic-specially if you can roughly play the bassline while singing-guaranteed to get attention..
King Of The Swingers or Bear Necessities from Junglebook..
These Boots Are Made For WAlking..
Mellow Yellow,Season Of THe Witch or Sunshine Superman by Donovan
I love doing Bowie songs like Space Oddity,Jean Jeanie,Starman,Five Years and Man Who Sold THe World-but maybe they wouldn't be your thing...and some arn't easy to learn..
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the kozy king
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7/11/2008 9:32:47 AM
I always got a good response from "Billy Austin" by Steve Earl (with a dropped "D").
I love reading about your busking adventures. Go girl!
TT
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Beth Fridinger
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7/12/2008 2:12:36 AM
---- Updated 7/12/2008 9:07:01 AM
This morning I noticed my fingertips really hurt, esp. my middle finger...the fingers are flattened from playing the mandolin...I picked up my guitar today to try to work out Working Class Hero, and my fingers HURT...my FINGERS ON LEFT HAND WENT NUMB. has anybody had this happen? I met another singer/songwriter who said his hands ache all the time and fingertips sore from a lot of playing...not my middle finger really hurt today, but when I went to play....numbness...Does anybody know what this is? I want to keep playing but maybe I have to take a rest....playing in the street is rough on the hands...
Oh I am getting to know all the other buskers too..it's funny...you see them out there...yesterday one was waiting while I was packing up...I left early Thurs night to meet a friend from out of town for dinner....funny...this is quite exhausting though....albeit fun.
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Beth Fridinger
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7/13/2008 8:33:16 AM
Well now I have to rest my hand...can't play so many hours without a break....so when I resume I will have to split up the time to when it's most profitable and stop and rest...stretch...so now I will memorize some songs & maybe learn some new rhythms without fretting....I hate this...I could also find a guitar player and just sing.....
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Beth Fridinger
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7/14/2008 7:09:21 PM
I haven't played my instruments since Saturday morning..oh the Friday night in the subway was such a good night and at one point I had quite an audience cheering me on....hands still hurt...resting...taking Ibuprofen...I dunno how long it will take to repair the injury. I also have blisters under the callouses....yykes...I am going to Greyfox Bluegrass Festival Wed thru Sun and will listen to music...I might play my mandolin just a little bit if I attend the slow jam for mandolin there...it will depend on how my hands feel...I might play just enough to keep the callouses but not very much...last year when I had tendonitis in ring finger I had to rest as well....I played for 10 mins a day during that period and it was OK....but I haven't touched an instrument yet...and I'm not sure how many days I am going to need to rest the hand. I HATE getting these repetitive strain injuries...
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Beth Fridinger
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7/14/2008 8:39:08 PM
Well I just played my guitar for about 20 minutes....seems OK...but boy...you know...playing an instrument like this, especially an acoustic, is so athletic....I will have to do those stretches and not overdo it in the future...but...that can be hard to do when you are having so much fun!!
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the kozy king
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7/15/2008 5:35:20 AM
---- Updated 7/15/2008 5:40:13 AM
It's tough to resist playing eh?
Just a word of encouragement, be patient.
Stretching helps, but may really only be mandatory for long sessions.
Here you go. This guy will show you how to do it (after three minutes of displaying his style and skill)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CrAaMLpP20k
Be sure to hang in there for the FINGER stretches on the fretboard of the guitar. The second lesson called "Warm-Up Execises"
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Hugh Hamilton
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7/15/2008 6:40:18 AM
---- Updated 7/15/2008 6:47:02 AM
Beth, I ain't no doctor, and I'd encourage you to both rest up and then, when the time seems right, to play only moderate amounts as you build back up to longer periods. However, you might carefully consider whether you would benefit from acquiring a guitar that is more comfortable or easier for you to play. Example: I recently got a Gibson SG (it's an electric guitar). The shape of the neck is different from all of my other guitars - it is much flatter. In the joy of adding it to the collection I overplayed, and I developed a very sore thumb on my left hand. This happened partly from overplaying, but really because of the way I was playing the guitar - I've developed a certain way of anchoring my hand to the neck, particularly when I bend strings - and with this neck that particular position caused me to be clamping my thumb down in a way which lead to some serious lingering discomfort. A week-long break from playing any stringed instruments got me back to normal, and I've consciously worked on developing a different approach to playing that guitar, though not overplaying seems to be the best answer.
Another anecdote - I went to a friend's studio and picked up his "best" and most expensive acoustic guitar to track a song. I made it through the song about three times before I simply couldn't play that cursed guitar any more - my hand ached and all the joy was going out of my playing. I took a little break, tried the LEAST EXPENSIVE guitar on hand, and it was infinitely more comfortable and I could have played that one all day with no problems. You might benefit from spending some time trying other guitars to see if you can find one that is a more comfortable fit for your hand, body, and style of playing. Of course, no matter how great a fit it is you can still hurt yourself if you overdo, so be careful in any event...but a better fit, or better action (meaning the strings are lower to the neck and take less effort to press down) might help...or maybe even stringing your present guitar with lighter gauge strings (the tone will change, though, so view that as a test and make sure you can still get the sound you want).
It's always SOMETHING!
:)
H
P.S. Regarding the callouses and blisters - perhaps you're gripping the guitar too tightly, particularly when sliding your hand up and down the neck. It takes a lot of work to develop the ability to release the strings in between chord changes, but it will help save your fingertips and will also reduce the annoying squeaking sound that comes from sliding fingers on the strings. And maybe some kind of hand lotion at bedtime would help. I think if you lube up during the day you're liable to get your strings and fretboard dirty pretty quick, which is why I suggest bedtime.
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