Singing On The Street

What is music or what is music made of? This is a question I have not asked myself until now. I am (was) happy that I can enjoy music all the time, that is, always when I want to.

The answer came without me looking for it, watching a series about art. "This is Art", a series made by TV3 Catalunya. It is an outstanding series known for its stunning visual beauty and unique approach to presenting the seven arts.

I learned that music is composed of rhythm, harmony, and melody. That's all. I don't know if it's so and I'm waiting for "someone" to confirm or complete it. Someone is, of course, @mipiano!

I didn't want to discuss the musical aspects here. I intend to refer to something I saw walking by the sea, not long ago.

Walking by the sea represents one of the greatest pleasures, and if it is accompanied by music it is even better.

What I like about Balchik, the Black Sea resort in Bulgaria, is the several kilometers-long promenade from the seashore. It's a place to walk and not only. I met a young girl who plays classical music on the guitar, it seemed that she practiced more for herself than for the other people who passed by her.

An orange cap thrown on the cobblestone attracted attention as the young woman awaited the reward for her performance. I appreciated her attitude and the fact that she chose to sing in that place and the way she did it.

It didn't seem that she was singing for an audience and material gain, but I think she was gaining more, more valuable than money. Beyond the fact that she practiced, she gained confidence in herself and the power to ignore the presence of people and their attitude toward what she was doing.

I was more interested in how passers-by and tourists behaved in this situation. We found a bench to rest on and started observing and photographing as much as possible.

A young family with a small child passed very close to the singer but ignored her, they did not look at her, but the child noticed that something special was happening and looked curiously, attracted, of course, by the music. They didn't leave any money.

The lady with the dog kept her distance...

Not a penny left.

Father and little girl.

They had a musical obstacle in front of them.

Children are fascinated by such events and meetings.

The father gave the child some coins to put in the collecting cap. I didn't manage to photograph this, but I hope you take my word for it.

The man with the dog.

A music lover, he hastened to reward the young singer.

Bless animals and children!

The next passers-by, a group with many children and a dog really enjoyed the free concert.

Children once again. Once again I had proof that kids love music and performing and are... generous. All the kids begged for money to put in the singer's front cap.

The children's reaction was surprising, their attraction to music and their power to notice when something special is happening.

The little blonde girl

I saw a blond girl on a scooter approaching where we were resting and listening to music.

When she reached the girl playing the guitar, she abruptly stopped and fixed her eyes on the singer, remaining motionless until the song ended.

After taking a few minutes to listen to classical guitar music, she continued running...

... until her reunion with her brother. Now I realize that her slightly older brother was not impressed by the music at all. Another proof that people are so different that there can be some who don't vibrate to music!

Well, I've written a few impressions from a free classical music audition in an extraordinary environment, the little show having the sea as background!

I love music tremendously, almost all genres, and I know how to listen to it but I don't know how to talk about it. That's why I have once again helped myself with a lot of photographs.

I should have referred more to the street singers, that's the starting point. In the city where I live, Bucharest in Romania, many young people sing on the streets, in subway stations, or in underground passages.

I also know that famous musicians played on the streets before they became world famous. I should have written about them here, but I missed them. Maybe next time. Until then, before I finish, I put a video of some street singers that I liked and were a real surprise.

Hope you enjoy it!