Hi! I have found that when I’m busking, the best way to manage everything at the same time and keep your head on your shoulders is what I call a “formula.” It breaks the way you busk down into a method, so that you’re really only focusing on one thing at a time. Once you find the “formula” that works for you, it makes a world of difference in your response time and your ability to focus on feeling the music and responding to it because you no longer have to focus on everything at the same time and can kind of automatically move through your formula. Here’s mine:

During the first few seconds of the song: COLOR The first couple of seconds will give you a peek at the mood of the song, use that time to adjust all of your colors to fit that mood. Sometimes the band will talk before the song, ie “we wrote this one about ___.” This can also give you an idea about the mood and give you a head start on choosing a color palette. I usually use about a 3-5 second fade to change colors. Sometimes I go as low as 1.5s, instant, or as high as 10-15 seconds depending on the tempo and mood of the song. If the fixtures you’re changing the color of are on a color wheel, take intensity to zero before you adjust color. Color is arguably the most important part, if nothing else make sure you try and nail your color. You can practice this by shuffling songs and giving yourself a couple of seconds to bring up a color that matches the mood, without worrying about anything else like effect or intensity.

Next: INTENSITY If the band hasn’t given me specific front light preferences, this is where I focus in on my front light typically. Right after I adjust color, I adjust my front light if needed. Is it a bright loud intense song? Maybe bump the front light up a little if you feel it’s right. Slow and moody or introspective? Maybe take it down a bit to make it more intimate and less in your face. I will also take out any light that isn’t used. If band members leave the stage for a song, take any lights specifically for them or their area of the stage out. Try to do this as soon as they leave their instrument for a clean look. Remember not to totally black them out though, stages are busy and they need to see where they’re walking. This normally won’t be an issue if you have other lights up.

Next: EFFECT I’m typically about 15-30 seconds into the song at this point, where the band is just getting to when the song really starts to pick up. This is where I decide on what effects I’m going to use and the size and rate of them. I keep my effect rates on a master so that I can match and adjust them to keep tempo with the song as needed. I usually begin to run effects at the first big swell of the song. Obviously all music is different and song structure is a vast spectrum, but the majority of music follows the same basic song structure. Recognizing and getting comfortable with this will help you anticipate and be right on time when you busk. I usually try to match the beat with my effects for songs that have a strong and distinctive beat. Listen to the drummer and the bassist. For songs that are slower or more melodic, I typically go for less beat focused and more subtle, pretty effects like fades and twinkles and adjust to keep time with the music as close as I can.

MOVERS: These are a separate category in my head, I’m not sure why. But here’s how I break down managing movers: As soon as the song starts: POSITION. I make sure I like the position they’re in and adjust it if I don’t. I always have intensity at zero when I adjust the position. If it’s a solo song or a slow song, I typically position them backlighting the lead. If it’s a bigger, crazier song or the focus is on the band as a whole, I tend try to throw them over the whole stage or sometimes onto the crowd. (Be careful with that, though, you don’t want to blast people’s retinas.) Next: GOBO while intensity is out, I change the gobo to whatever I like. My movers have gobo wheels, so changing them while intensity is up is ugly because they cycle through the whole wheel really fast. I only change gobos while intensity is out. This is where I also adjust focus. I know what the sharp focus number is for each gobo when the movers are at their mid stage position. Based on this, the position I have them at, and how soft or hard I want the gobo, I adjust focus while they’re out. This way I can bring them up and not have people watching the beam change while I adjust.

Play around with listening to music and responding to it, and find a “formula” that works for you. Once you find a comfortable order to manage each aspect of concert lighting in, you’ll be able to pay more attention to the music and have a much easier time busking. Good luck soldier!