Listening 7 grade 2 term

Music in the Streets

As you go home after a hard day’s work, and you get off the metro train, you sometimes have to walk a long way to the exit or to change trains. Suddenly in the noise, some music is heard. Those are street musicians. You take out a coin from your pocket and throw it into their hat or instrument case. These musicians bring color and life to the city streets. Street musicians are aged between 17 and 30 years. Some of them are men, some women. They play classical music, pop or folk music, old and new songs. Many musicians are former university students or professional musicians.

Andrew Hain, for example, was once a music student, but he gave up music and became a painter. Now he plays in the underground because he doesn’t want to forget how to play. His girlfriend is a painter, too. She helps him to collect the money. Another street musician, David MacNell, tells new players:

“Learn new songs all the time, or else you’ll have fewer and fewer listeners. Wear bright clothes to attract attention. Make sure that the places where you choose to play are warm. The best places are bridges and certainly the underground.”

On Sundays, Hyde Park is the best place, as the speakers here address the people. The street musicians are doing their business with the many tourists who visit the park. The weather is one of the worst problems. It is not so easy to play the violin or the guitar on a rainy November day in London and try to smile.

A much worse problem is the police. From time to time, they come, and the musicians are moved to a different place. True, they are not often fined. One musician told me:

“The policeman asked me what I was doing. I said I was just practising. Some money just fell out of my pocket into the guitar case, and I was told to leave my place. I think it’s not fair. People love street music. It makes the city more attractive.”