Hello.
This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.
I'm Pippa.
And I'm Neil.
Now, Neil, have you ever wanted to be a musician?
Oh yes, Pippa.
I still want to be a musician.
I've been playing my guitar since I was 14.
Well, maybe one day you'll manage it.
Who knows?
What about you?
I don't think I'd like to be a musician.
I think it would be a bit stressful, especially if you had lots of fans and were really successful.
Yeah, I wonder what life as a musician is actually like.
We'll be finding that out in this programme, as we hear from some people around the UK who would like to become successful musicians and will even listen to some of their music too.
But first, I have a question for you, Neil.
In the UK we have a weekly chart of the best-selling songs in the country and the top-selling song is called the number one.
But which musical artist do you think has had the most UK number one songs?
Is it… a The Beatles, b Ed Sheeran or c Elvis Presley?
I think that's easy.
It must be surely The Beatles.
Well, I'll reveal the answer at the end of the programme.
Now, getting a number one song is a dream for many musicians.
But if you want to become a musician, where do you start?
I grew up in a really rich music scene in St Ives.
I was going to open mics from the age of about...
This is Bailey.
She lives in St Ives in Cornwall on the southwest coast of England.
She says she was going to open mic nights from a young age.
Open mic nights are events where anyone can sing or play music.
Bailey talked about her life as a musician to BBC Learning English programme My Song My Home.
I would go to these songwriter circles at the Kettle and Wink on like a Friday night after school, where I'd be like the youngest person by like 50 years but I'd sit in a circle of a bunch of old men and they'd play James Taylor and Carole King and the Eagles and lots of 70s music and I guess that's influenced me massively.
But I guess everyone kind of took me under the wing growing up.
When she was younger, Bailey went to songwriter's circles.
These are meetings for people interested in writing their own music.
Bailey remembers sitting with a bunch of old men.
A bunch is an informal way to talk about a group of people.
The older men in the group would play music from the 1970s and Bailey says they took her under their wing.
If you take somebody under your wing, you decide to protect them or guide them.
Let's meet another musician, Josh.
So I learnt my first proper song on guitar when I was about 13.
I literally started busking the moment I could kind of do that.
Josh lives in London and is a busker.
This means that he performs on the street or in public places to earn money.
Busking is a common way for musicians to make money and perform to more people.
And, as Josh told BBC Learning English programme, My Song, My Home, it can help musicians to get new opportunities.
It's been kind of like my main earner that's kept me going for the last 10 or so years.
From that, it's then got me various different opportunities.
It's got me all my gigs, got me all my connections.
So I owe a lot to busking.
Busking is Josh's main earner.
It's his main source of money.
He says that busking has got him all his gigs and connections.
Gigs are musical concerts and it's an informal slang word.
Josh says he owes a lot to busking.
If you owe a lot to someone or something, you have success or happiness because of that personal thing.
So, would you like to listen to some of Josh's music, Neil?
Of course I would.
Well, here's a bit of his song That Side of the Wall, which he performed for BBC Learning English programme My Song, My Home.
MUSIC PLAYS
So I know there's something Or someone on that side of the wall Stopping it from coming, Cause I always like the cold And it's up and belonging Or someone on that side of the wall Wow, Josh is pretty good, isn't he?
I'd love to hear more.
Well, you can find performances by the musicians in the series on our website bbclearningenglishcom, and we'll also put a link in the notes below this episode.
OK, so what about your question, Pippa?
Yes, I asked which artist had the most number one songs in the UK charts – The Beatles, Ed Sheeran or Elvis Presley?
And you said The Beatles, Neil.
But the answer is actually Elvis Presley.
He's had 21 number one songs and The Beatles have had 18.
Really?
Well, that's OK.
I love The King as well.
OK.
OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned in this musical episode, starting with open mic nights – events where anyone can sing or play music.
Songwriter circles are meetings for people interested in writing their own music.
A bunch of people is a group of people.
The expression take someone under your wing means to protect or guide someone.
Busking is performing in a public place for money, and a busker is someone who performs on the street for money.
Your main earner is your main source of income.
Gigs are musical concerts.
And the expression to owe a lot to someone or something means to have success or happiness because of that personal thing.
Once again, our six minutes are up, but you can find My Song My Home on our website bbclearningenglishcom.
Watch the songs and sing along and learn more about the vocabulary and the lyrics.
We'll see you again soon for some more trending topics and useful vocabulary.
Bye for now.
Goodbye.
Six Minute English Thanks for listening to 6 Minute English.
Have you heard our new music series, My Song, My Home?
In each episode, we visit a different place in the UK and meet a musician that lives there.
Learn English from songs and hear natural British speakers.
Find the series on our website bbclearningenglishcom, or follow the Learning English Conversations podcast in your podcast app.
