Playing in the streets

[breqwas]

Last evening I finally tried myself as a street musician. Two hours of playing on my Gen Bb in a pedestrian subway yesterday, one hour and a half this morning near a metro station.

450 rubles ($18) for 3.5 hours, $5.2 per hour. McDonald's in Moscow pays $4.5 (at least that is what they write on their billboards), so now I'm sure I have a way to survive if I lose my job, and it is much more fun than making french fries.


But it was not money I wanted when I went there. I wanted... Well, just to play some tunes for people. Alas, I failed.

Due to stereotypes which are very strong in our society, people did not perceive me that way. A guy who is playing in the subway for money is not musician here - he is a beggar asking for alms. Old man with an accordion, disabled serviceman in shabby uniform singing songs about Chechen and Afgan wars, poor-looking kid playing Vivaldi on his/her violin - that is how it usually looks like here...


I did my best not to look like that. I'm 6.1 feet tall, aged 21, with no disabilities and such, wearing clothes which show to any who wants to see: no, I'm not poor. And I play Kesh or Scarce O'Tatties better than Carolan's Welcome. But only people who give money are 50+ women, and tunes which make them do that are Carolan's Welcome, Crested Hens, Foggy Dew, An Dro...

Damn! These old women need their money much, much more than I do. And I'm pretty sure it was not music (not only music) which made them give. Giving alms, yes...

I feel very shamed at that.


How to break that wall, I wonder? Easy way is to move to some place where people expect to meet a street musician - there are streets of that sort in any city, in Moscow these are Arbat and Kuznetsky Most. But I don't want to go there. Another way is to add a guitar - a band is something that looks more respectable than a lone musician, and tinwhistle does really need an accompaniment. I know <a href="http://ru.youtube.com/watch?v=gLDNNnrlFko">one guitar player</a> who wants to join me, but she is busy now, and in 1-2 months it will become too cold for outdoor playing.

Any other advice or ideas?

[sbfluter]

No advice, but that is an interesting observation you shared. I hadn't thought about how you could be perceived as being a beggar more than a musician. Do you think it might be different playing in a sunny park on a weekend?

[Pyroh]

Funny you brought this up, Bregwas, I´m gonna do it in a month (it´s a hell to do all the paperwork to be allowed to play) - my first reaction from my mother? "You can´t do that, you´re no beggar, what would people think" - the thing is, most of outdoor musicians are handicapped people playing recorders (very badly). And I´d like to change this "beggarship" point of view. We´ll see how it goes

I hope to get some bodhrán or guitar player, it sure would help.

I believe that tin whistle is, at least in our part of Europe, percieved as not real instrument (when I brought my Overtons to one folk session, the reactions were "wow, you made those at home"? Grrrr ). Pipers have an easier job.

[Dameon]

You could have a sign that explains the situation in short. Something like "Not starving, don't give a dollar if you don't love the music."

I'm curious how you know you failed, though. In my experience as a busker, people who really need their money don't give it to me unless they really love the music. It might be that your experiences were colored by your perceptions, and you saw the situation how you expected it to be, rather than it really was. If you look healthy and are dressed nice, do you really think people are going to mistake you for a starving beggar?

As for the tunes that make people give money, public performance is a balance between what you want to play and what the audience wants to hear. You have to play some of the stuff you love, because playing music is no fun unless you enjoy it, but you have to play some of the stuff they love, because you're playing for them.

[West]

I think it depends on what and where you play. I was in Stockholm a few weeks back, and me and a couple of friends were strolling around in Old Town. Suddenly we heard some very pretty chamber music in the distance, and moments later we came across three violinists and a cellist who were performing out in the street. I'm pretty sure no one mistook those guys and gals for beggars, considering that there was a group of them, they were well dressed, and that they were performing in very fitting surroundings. A lone violinist in a subway station OTOH...

Street musicians is an interesting phenomenon though. In the town were I live, most of 'em are beggars. They can't play for sh*t -- I once saw a woman sitting on the sidewalk playing fourth notes on a tambourine, expecting people to give her money for her "music". So the notion that street musician = beggar isn't that far fetched as far as I'm concerned. It's a prejudice, sure, but I have no trouble understanding its roots.

[Ballyshannon]

No advice, but that is an interesting observation you shared. I hadn't thought about how you could be perceived as being a beggar more than a musician. Do you think it might be different playing in a sunny park on a weekend?

That's what I was thinking as I read the post. A subway and metro station would seem to parallel the reception/perception received, at least from my experiences with subways here in the U.S....not to mention it's not particularly safe.

As you mentioned, adding guitar would be very helpful since I'd think a lone whistle would be a tough street gig anywhere.

And I have to ask....if Arbat and Kuznetsky are more in tune (no pun intended) with the street musician scene and you'd probably be more accepted AS a musician/entertainer, why don't you want to go there? Too many other musicians? Too touristy? Or is the subway/metro station more of an experiment or challenge in an attempt to break the "beggar" stereotype?

I did the street musician thing when I was younger but it was always in parks and on street corners in nice areas that allowed it, mostly in New Orleans and Chicago. I played guitar and sang in clubs at night (my normal "job") and hit the streets and parks during the day, opened my case, and ended up with a good bit of money for a few hours of fun. It was nothing to walk away with anywhere from $25 to over $100 on occasion. Sometimes, onlookers would join in singing, other musicians would sit in and we'd share the take. I made some good friends and was always treated as a musician/entertainer with respect and appreciation by the general public...never as a beggar or on a "lower level". I still have notes I've kept from people who'd leave them in the case thanking me for making their day a little nicer. I'd even get requests to do private parties and other events. In both New Orleans and Chicago (at least when I lived in each city years ago), street performers were very common and accepted as entertainers. At the time, naturally the extra money was one of the reasons we did it, but we really enjoyed the contact and interaction with those who took the time to listen.

[hoopy mike]

This is the best busker I ever met...

http://www.leftlion.co.uk/articles.cfm?id=80

I guess busking for charity with an easily identifiable sign or collection tin would lose you the beggar tag.

Stay hoopy,

Mike

[breqwas]

Pyroh, my nickname is not Bregwas, but breqwas :)

Paperwork? To play in the streets? Hell yes, that's Europe :) Do you need to give listeners a printed receipt, or that's not obligatory yet? :) Here in Moscow you can play freely anywhere if there are no cops around or if you asked the local cop and he answered "yes". Law is that you can play anywhere, but can't play in the metro, but that does not matter. And yes, when the cop tells you to leave the place, he considers you a beggar. I'd prefer to do some paperwork, actually.

A tinwhistle here is considered to be a real instrument here - either as "dudochka" (in case of high D) - a word that covers all small fipple-blown flutes from recorder to bambarda, - or as "fleyta" (flute) in case of Bb and lower keys. That's true only for general public, not musicians, though.


Dameon, that may help, but will give some problems with police, I suppose. Anyway, I'll try that next time.

No, people do not mistake me for a starving beggar, but... That's sociocultural, I think. If someone asks for money in the streets - people either despise that person, or feel pity for him, but never give respect. If you ask - you are a beggar. I knew that, but never knew how it feels.

Speaking of tunes, that is a nice experiment. I'm sure 99.9% of those who heard me did not know any of the tunes I was playing. Carolan's Welcome is an noticeable hit - people give money and even stop to listen sometimes. Other slow sad tunes are good also. Fast and slow but not sad tunes don't give too much effect. Maybe they just don't sound without an accompaniment.


Ballyshannon, there are several reasons I don't want to go there, but the most obvious is that it is outdoors. Chill, windy, bad acoustics. Generation Bb is not very loud and wind-resistand, and my fingers are not very cold-resistant :) And the acoustics! I'd pay my own money to play there if it was needed! These tiled walls in the long empty tunnel of subway pedestrian crossing give magical reverb! No other place was like that.

Another reason (pretty weird one) is that I want music to appear in the places where it does not appear usually.

In general - US cities are a very different story. I've been in NY, Boston, Philly and DC - lots of musicians that play like musicians and are given respect as musicians. Here that's a bit different.


hoopy mike, I'm going to give all money I get that way to some charity fund, but playing with such sign is the easiest way to get not only beggar, but also liar tag. Alas. To much people who stand with signs of that sort, and who are not going to do what is written on their signs.

[Ballyshannon]

Ballyshannon, there are several reasons I don't want to go there, but the most obvious is that it is outdoors. Chill, windy, bad acoustics. Generation Bb is not very loud and wind-resistand, and my fingers are not very cold-resistant And the acoustics! I'd pay my own money to play there if it was needed! These tiled walls in the long empty tunnel of subway pedestrian crossing give magical reverb! No other place was like that.

Another reason (pretty weird one) is that I want music to appear in the places where it does not appear usually.

In general - US cities are a very different story. I've been in NY, Boston, Philly and DC - lots of musicians that play like musicians and are given respect as musicians. Here that's a bit different.

Understood. I don't blame you a bit for not wanting to endure the cold & wind...and at least have decent acoustics to help carry your Bb. In New Orleans, winters were often mild enough to enable street musicians to play outside year-round, but Chicago was quite a different story! I'd imagine Moscow would be the same or even worse.

[sbfluter]

How good do you suppose you have to be to busk? We have some pretty awful ones in my town. I'm better than they are. But I still make a lot of mistakes when I play so I'm not sure if I'm good enough to try it myself. I have a lot of time on my hands these days. It would be nice to make a little extra money. Not sure I have the courage, though.

[Innocent Bystander]

I don't busk, but I regularly play in open air. If the wind is gusting from all directions you need to be spinning like a top to keep the windway in the lee of the wind, otherwise the wind will play different notes from the ones you intend. This will look mighty strange if you're playing in a park on your own, with a hat at your feet.

[Thomas-Hastay]

My Friend Jenny has a sign that reads "No Money Needed! Reward Me With A Smile!

[breqwas]

OK, we've made one more try.

http://ru.youtube.com/watch?v=P3H-UkDv6bs
http://ru.youtube.com/watch?v=31Z2qTYSXA0

Now we had tinwhistle, flute and bodhran. And things were MUCH better, though the wall was not completely broken. Maybe we need a guitar to accomplish the task :)

[ahogrelius]

Beautiful playing!

Cheers,
Anders

[sbfluter]

I like the way you slide into that high note in the first clip. I think your goat-beater ought to make eye-contact and smile a thank you when people drop the money in. Unless that sort of thing is frowned upon in your country.