Street Musician

On Saturday 22nd May 2010, after having completed a couple of day’s business trip, I was enjoying a free day in Copenhagen. Strolling near the Tivoli, I heard a street musician playing some really good jazz guitar. On closer examination it turned out he was playing on what appeared to be a rectangular board, about 2 ft long, with 12 equidistant strings on it, with top E on the outsides and bass E in the middle. He wasn’t strumming or plucking;- he played the notes by placing the pads of his fingers on the strings. Like I said, really good. Two days later, on Monday 24th May I packed my bags for another trip, this time to Dublin. Strolling along by the river I heard a now familiar sound. Around the corner I found that same chap, playing the same crazy jazz guitar. When he’d finished his tune, I approached him and said ‘Were you in Copenhagen over the weekend?” When he said yes, I said “well, bugger me” and we exchanged a bit of ribaldry about which of us was stalking whom, after which I left him with both of us grinning broadly. I suppose I should have bought a CD really, shouldn’t I? To put this in context, I only generally go on 3 or 4 business trips a year, and only rarely have the chance to go strolling around.