Mostly wondering when the word Busking came into wide use When I met my wife in the early 80's (yes last century.. yikes) she was a classically trained music teacher, playing on the streets of Boston...She was a.. Street Musician. About 5 years ago when I started looking things up on the web for blues harp I saw the busking word so often I finally looked it up and near as I can tell it means... Street Musician. If I use the "Busking" word with friends they look at me like I have 2 heads and ask what the hell I'm talking about. So my question is when did that happen... was it a regional thing that caught on or did it happen when people started going on line with folks from other countries or something like that ?
okay part 2 question..what about Busking Licenses ? are they enforced? regional, town by town state by state something like that ? thanks I realize it off topic..unless it's mostly blues people who use the term, which I kinda doubt
"There have been performances in public places for gratuities in every major culture in the world, dating back to antiquity. For many musicians street performance was the most common means of employment before the advent of recording and personal electronics.[4] Prior to that, a person had to produce any music or entertainment, save for a few mechanical devices such as the barrel organ, the music box, and the piano roll. Organ grinders were commonly found busking in the old days.
Busking is common among some Romani people, who are inaccurately called "gypsies", a description that is no longer socially acceptable. Romantic mention of Romani music, dancers and fortune tellers are found in all forms of song poetry, prose and lore. The Roma brought the word busking to England by way of their travels along the Mediterranean coast to Spain and the Atlantic ocean and then up north to England and the rest of Europe.
In medieval France buskers were known by the terms troubadours and jongleurs. In northern France they were known as trouveres. In old German buskers were known as Minnesingers and Spielleute. In obsolete French it evolved to busquer for "seek, prowl" and was generally used to describe prostitutes. In Russia buskers are called skomorokh and their first recorded history appears around the 11th century."
In Australia, regulations are by local government area or council. In Sydney for example, each local municipality has its own rules. I need a licence to busk in the middle of town ($45 a year). Some councils don't have a specific policy. Enforcement is erratic, and may vary depending on location, who is in the line of fire (er music) and noise level. I used to get checked quite often, but not so much recently. I also used to get asked to turn it down more frequently than today. Come to think of it, maybe I was receiving quality complaints rather than noise complaints.
I have also found that the term Busking is not widely used outside or the busking community. I am in San Diego and a good venue is Balboa Park which requires a permit. Performers call them "Busking Permits" but the official park term is "Entertainers Permit".
I found this article about busking in San Diego. I play in the park sometimes while my son is rehearsing for the Youth Symphony in one to the buildings on the Prado. I don't put out a hat so as not to be accused of busking without a permit. One reason I don not get a permit is mentioned on the article, they are good for a month, there are only 10 available, and I would only be there a few times, thus denying it to other musicians for the rest of the month.
It's allowed here like at the farmers' market, depending on which one it may cost for a permit, or not. If you can secure permission from a business and play in an area which does not impede foot traffic, it's generally ignored by authorities. You just have to check where you are at and go by ordinances. Benefits of playing on the street are a chance to develop not just new chops but also to work on your dynamics and focus on air column. Developing resonance allows for better projection of your sound. You learn to relax and play no matter if it's to nobody, 2, 20, or 200 people. Connection to an audience is big when busking. You may meet people who have never been close to a live musician before.
We generally play acoustic here. It's much less hassle than setting up amps and p.a. etc. We can be playing within a couple minutes of parking the car. I had to learn early on that I did not need to play loud enough to draw people from a block away. If people see you playing they can come close to listen.
Good quality harps are a must. Something that will project like a Manji, a custom MB, and there are others I have not used. ---------- http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
Thanks for the responses. Well I did get a smile that it is an old french word for prostitute. I'll ask someone next time I'm up in Quebec and if I get slapped I'll know the old meaning still exists..heh heh Think I'll go with the idea that it isn't a widely used term outside of people who perform on the streets as was mentioned. Could have some fun with it like Ray Charles and the Rayetts..it could be the Busker and the Busketts etc.. Thanks again and I'll check out the documentary and links.
...is there a way to lookup previous topics so I don't ask redundant questions...?
Last Edited by Spderyak on Apr 13, 2015 5:34 AM
People avert their eyes when I'm busking as if I am UNCLEAN! SO I know what you mean.
I wouldn't say your Q was redundant. But if you hover over the BLUES HARP FORUM button there is a tab on the right saying Forum Search. That has many valuable threads. BronzeWailer's YouTube
ahhh it was hiding in plain sight Still learning my way on the web site but should've noticed that a long time ago. much appreciated for the info... spdr
I have done a fair bit of busking over the years. It allows my to practice my stuff for a few hours without interruption, while still getting $15-$20 an hour (I'm in Australia.
I wrote an article some time back on my approach to busking, you can find it here
Back then I used backing tracks, an approach I would recommend for those starting out. These days I use a loop pedal. ---------- Tony Eyers Australia www.HarmonicaAcademy.com everyone plays...
"People avert their eyes when I'm busking as if I am UNCLEAN!"
Because I don't put a hat out I am not technically busking. I am concerned about myself feeling this way if I were to put a hat out. That, and concerns about the law have kept my public playing to just using passersby as an audience in order to put a bit of pressure on and improve my playing. I have found I get a lot of positive feedback from folks and that make it fun. Watching little kids try to figure out how I am making that noise with my hands is also quite kick.
@STME58 I exaggerated a bit for comic effect. Some people have that attitude -- like you are a beggar or prostitute -- to be sure. Others will come up, have a chat and say thank you.
Last week a girl came up and said she had to get off the bus before her stop to have a listen. The same day some young guys came and had a chat, through some US$ into the bucket and bought a CD. They said they were from the Northeast US and on their first tour of Oz. I Googled their band later and found they had 300,000 likes on Facebook and a sold-out show coming up at Madison Square Gardens. Then a young guy with crazy hair came and invited us to sit in on his gig. He had a singing girl drummer and him on guitar and we did a bit of John Lee Hooker and Elvis covers. She sang RL Burnside's Don't Let my Baby Ride. It was an awesome night!
I get the hyperbole, you used it to point out a real phenomenon. In San Diego law enforcement sometimes treats buskers as panhandlers.
The other day, I was playing at Balboa Park (not tip jar) and someone asked me if I had had anything to eat. I didn't think I looked that bad, and I had just had lunch! Perhaps I misinterpreted the comment.
The vast majority of my interaction with the public while playing has been positive.
"People avert their eyes when I'm busking as if I am UNCLEAN!"
Some people do seem to avert their eyes when I play--but that just means they don't want to notice me because then they'd have to drop a buck in the bucket! It doesn't mean your unclean--it just means they're CHEAP! ----------
STME58, lol! That reminds me of a story. There was fairly famous painter named Hugh Troy. He made quite a living at it. He was even more famous though, as a practical joker. (He even had a book published about his exploits). Supposedly, one time he was at a friends house doing some paintings, and at the end of the day his friend mentioned that he needed his mailbox painted, and so Hugh went out and painted the mailbox. As he was painting it a man in a fancy car drove down the road. As it was passing him it stopped and the driver asked popped his head out. "I say chap, you are doing a good job! My mailbox could use a good paint job, how much would you charge?"
Hugh quoted the man a fair price, but explained that he was finished for the day, but he could stop by the next day. So, the man was waiting for Hugh to show up the next day when a limousine pulled up. The chauffeur got out and went around and opened the door and Hugh got out. His assistant handed him his paints and paintbrush and Hugh painted the mailbox and collected his fee, and climbed back into his limo and left.
Have been busking for years. In Florida we usually find a shop or cafe owner who will let us set up. This skirts any licensing , public property issues
here is a demo that includes of a bunch of places we have busked
And congrats to my bandmate Mark on strings who appears on the Goldtone banjo website
as i said in a recent thread,in philly,the police will hassle you less if you are acoustic. a manji or other projecting harp helps with this.
if you play on septa(public transit) property ,you need a permit from them.
if you can find a business that lets you set up,you won't be hassled.otherwise,it is fairly normal for the police to ask you to move along,even if you are within the law.
however,there are some performers that use amplification,and get away with it for hours.it all depends how annoying you are to the public. ---------- www.shakeylee.com
My hobo buddy has been walking to the downtown park several times a week. He sets himself on a bench and performs sans tip jar and with his guitar case closed. I have joined him twice and we did better that I have ever done alone at the beach.
Appreciative people have ways of rewarding him. A couple of times he has been offered a beer at one of the watering holes close by and wound up making some very decent money inside.
On the other hand, he tells me he never busks while on the road. He says he has had very limited success and more interaction with police while performing on the street.
Going slightly on a tangent, he tells me of a girl he met in CO. She would buy a can of dog food, clean it out and refill it with beef stew. Then she would sit outside a WalMart and eat from the can with her fingers. Pathetic sells and she did very well.
I was busking in town one night, fully amped, with a guy on resonator, and a drunk woman wouldn't leave us alone, staggering around telling her friends over the phone she was with a "couple of homeless guys," which she kept repeating, even after I told her we were definitely not homeless.
This might have played a part in my move to get more mileage out of the suits left over from my corporate career. On more than one occasion, we have gotten tips just for being buskers in suits. Other times, people come up and say, "you don't look like you need the money. You look like a couple of solicitors."
Probably because I am clearly well fed, I have never been offered food. Drinks yes (and drugs a couple of times); food no. That probably says something about me.
I always play amped, unless I'm in a tunnel with good acoustics. People can usually hear us 2-3 blocks away.
It is less welcome in a residential area. One day a lady came up and said, "You guys are loud today. I couldn't hear my washing machine." Quick as a flash, the guitar guy said [insert Irish accent here] "Now what do you think it was trying to say to you?"
@oldwailer. There are those that avert because they are CHEAP, yes. But some avert their eyes even when they are tipping!
It really doesn't bother me what people think. I am occupying a role when I busk, just as I occupied a different role when I interacted with other corporate types back in the day. BronzeWailer's YouTube
And the rules: In Charleston, a busker is defined as "a person who plays music or performs for entertainment on the public rights of way and other publicly owned places." Here are the rules for buskers:
• No busking between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m. • No busking by the Charleston Visitor Center or within 50 feet of an ATM, church grounds (while in session), school grounds (while in session), a library, a hospital, a funeral home, a bank, a hotel, an outdoor dining area, an entrance or exit of a performance venue, or a special event. • No busking within 20 feet of a fire hydrant, fire department connection, or fire alarm. • Do not block roadways, sidewalks, crosswalks, driveways, doors, stairways, curb cuts, handicapped access ramps, or fire apparatus access roads. • Do not approach a moving vehicle. • Do not attract a crowd sufficient to obstruct the public right-of-way.
Police officers can decide whether to issue a courtesy summons or arrest a busker on the spot. If you're found guilty, you can face up to 30 days in jail or $1,092 in fines.
I finally watched the documentary "On Every Corner" that you (stme58) posted earlier in the this thread. .....I thought it was Great !
Since it's an hr plus I watched it in 3 different segments. One thing that surprised me was that I never thought of Street Entertainers as Pan Handlers. That actually surprised me quite a bit that some people would think that.
Never knew I had married a "Busker" so we both are having some fun with that !
Last Edited by Spderyak on Apr 15, 2015 4:34 PM
Both the TED talk and the Busking documentary were brough tot my attention by threads on this forum. I bookmarked them I have found myself referring back to them occasionally and thought they fit well here. Sorry for not being able to credit the original poster.
Just listened to the TED talk . It was very, very interesting and a perspective I would never been exposed to other wise.
Here's one that seems to include footage of performers and Buskers from around the world. This fellow seems to have a great positive view, I've been really enjoying his stuff. His name is Keb Mo I learned about him on these forums..
