Carrying Musical Instruments on the Road
By Tom Thumb, Posted Dec 13, 2008
 Grab a kazoo and be the life of the party |
Strap on a guitar, slip a blues harp in your pocket and if all else fails… there’s always the kazoo.
- For Sale BlackBerry Curve 8900 $190 HTC Hero $250By: SCREENReplies: 0
- For Sale BlackBerry Curve 8900 $190 HTC Hero $250By: SCREENReplies: 0
- On Sale apple iphone 3gs 32gb-----$350By: Replies: 0
- For sale T-mobile Sidekick lx 2009, Sony Ericsson Experia x1By: Replies: 0
- For sale Apple iphone 3gs 32gb,T-mobile Sidekick lx 2009By: Replies: 0
Just picture it: 4 travelers meet in the dormitory of a hostel in Turkey and they all simultaneously discover that the local electric supply is incompatible with their Ipods! There seems no escape from the insufferably dull evening ahead when one of them suddenly remembers that once upon a time, people used to make their own music.
“I don’t suppose anyone has a harmonica in their pocket or something…?”
I’ve carried a guitar and a clarinet with my everywhere I’ve gone for the last 10 years and though there were time I lamented the extra kilos, they’ve opened up doors to me, made me friends, got me laid and provided the base for more fun evening than I can remember.
My guitar in particular has always kept me good company. I could write songs about everything that happened to me on the road and they became better ways to remember a place than any photo album. Even just walking around with the guitar on my back has been enough for strangers to break the ice – even if I do occasionally have to sit through someone insistent on playing Stairway to Heaven.
Your instruments do get trashed every now and then, though so it’s probably not worth taking your Gibson on the road. My first guitar was stolen by junkies as I slept on a park bench in Prague. The second arrived in the Tel Aviv airport in 2 pieces. The third swelled up from all the climate changes until it was impossible to keep in tune and my current guitar, a handmade Mexican classic, needs trips to the repair shop every couple of months.
Apart from the obvious possibilities of making some money by busking on the street, playing music gives you a whole other angle to connect with a population as you communicate through the universal language of melody and rhythm. My clarinet in particular has allowed me to jam with drummers in Morocco, sitar players in India, singers in Egypt and guitar players all over the world.
If you’re looking to start out playing something, melody is probably your best bet. Sure, if you carry a guitar you’ll find people to teach you new chords and songs everywhere but you’ll be able to jam sooner with a flute, clarinet or saxophone. If you can sing a melody then you can find the notes with a bit of practice on a wind instrument. In any given song there are usually just 7 notes that fit and it’s just a case of putting them in an attractive order.
There are travelers who carry a drum with them but, unless you’re particularly good, rhythm gets a bit monotonous on its own after a while and the nieghbours in the next room will complain.
A harmonica fits in the pocket but while anyone can make a noise, playing it well takes a good feeling for the blues. You’ll also need more than one to play in various keys.
And if the idea of carrying an instrument just seems too much hassle… well, you can always learn to beatbox…
MAKE A COMMENT
RECENT COMMENTS
Read More
Road Junky On Facebook
Road Junky is run by travelers who would rather write poetry on desert dunes in moonlight or smoke a chillum in the Himalayas than sit in front of a computer ...
Islamic Iran is a Bunch of Laughs
There was a feel-good article in the Guardian the other day about laughter classes in Tehran.
God knows there’s lots to laugh about. Here’s a comic speech given by the ...
I play the bagpipes and you can be sure I didn’t pack them when I set off from home almost three years ago.
Bagpipes are heavy, delicate and quite expensive. Although good players always draw a crowd, the weight means you also gain a bad back!
My digeridoo is part of the essential equipment list everywhere i go, its been on as many crazy adventures to mountain peaks and valeys and surf beaches and cities as i have, they always have a sotry to tell with every bump and scratch, and they always draw a crowd. it makes me friends, money, rides, and happiness. feel the vibrations
I read once, “If you have to choose between bringing clothes or a guitar, bring the guitar.”
Whenever I arrive at a new location, feeling alone and not knowing a soul, I just sit out for a few hours and greet the new city. The world shows it’s respects, and sends many people to come up and make conversation. And the ones who don’t — well, you can be assured, if they bump into you in the future, they will approach you and say, “hey, were you the one with the guitar?” (Although often it is simply the strumming gesture if you do not share a language).