Famous Violinists Busking

Subject: Famous Violinists Busking
From: Mrrzy
Date: 08 Jun 07 - 09:51 AM

Hi, I was wondering what you thought of this. A month or so ago, a world-famous concert violinist spent the day in the DC subway, busking, to see what would happen. It was written up in the Washington Post Magazine, and was fascinating. (Very few adults, but all the children, stopped to listen.)

Now this morning, I hear on NPR that some famous British violinist is going to spend as long as it takes to busk his way around the world - starting out with nothing at a Tube stop, and when he gets his seven-and-sixpence or whatever he needs for the ticket, getting the ticket and going to the Chunnel or something.

Have you heard about this? What do you think? I'll try to find any links so you can see the original stories...

Subject: RE: Famous Violinists Busking
From: GUEST,meself
Date: 08 Jun 07 - 11:28 AM

I rather suspect that he is not the first - but, perhaps, the first to notify the press - in fact, I believe I once heard a story about a busker trying to busk his way around the world, but he got stuck in Wawa and he's still there - at least, his ghost may be heard ...

(Okay, the bit about Wawa is an in-joke for Canadians of a certain age ... ).

Subject: RE: Famous Violinists Busking
From: Wesley S
Date: 08 Jun 07 - 11:37 AM

Try this thread

Subject: RE: Famous Violinists Busking
From: Mrrzy
Date: 08 Jun 07 - 12:32 PM

Thanks, Wesley - I hadn't seen that thread. Wonder if this is what inspired the Brit...

Subject: RE: Famous Violinists Busking
From: GutBucketeer
Date: 08 Jun 07 - 01:57 PM

Famous - classically trained violinist aren't buskers. Before he goes on the road he needs to learn how to work the audiance, make eye contact, develop a patter and tell jokes, etc. In other words be an entertainer and provide a show. Then he might do ok. Otherwise, He will probably fail as badly as the guy in DC did.

Gutbucketeer
aka Jim Bunch

Subject: RE: Famous Violinists Busking
From: alanabit
Date: 08 Jun 07 - 02:43 PM

Quite right Jim. Klaus der Geiger/ learned those skills. He looks OK here, but you should experience him on the street!

Subject: RE: Famous Violinists Busking
From: alanabit
Date: 08 Jun 07 - 02:49 PM

Sorry folks. Here's Klaus.

Subject: RE: Famous Violinists Busking
From: PoppaGator
Date: 08 Jun 07 - 03:04 PM

GutBucketeer is right: being able to play ~ even exceedinly well ~ is only half the battle. You have to be able to "grab" you audience by non-musical as well as purely musical means. Effective eye contact, at the very least, is absolutely imperative.

Also, performing as an soloist ~ especially unamplified ~ is a bit of a handicap, moreso in some locations than others.

During my thee-year career as a full-time busker (solo acoustic guitar and vocal) way back in the early 70s, I did quite well for myself in the San Francisco area (during the warmer half of the year), but generally failed to compete effectively with the duos, trios, quartets, brass bands, jug bands, etc., working the streets of New Orleans each winter.

Nowadays, portable amplification is a much more realistic option than a generation ago. But the ability to make oneself seen and heard will always be an issue, and one which favors groups of players over solo acts.

Of course, a solo performer has one huge advantage ~ he/she doesn't have to split up the take. A trio needs to bring in three times as much money as a soloist to achieve the same "standard of living."

Of course, showmanship trumps everything else. A really skillful performer can make it work, given the availability of the right location. But if the only available venues are noisy, a solo busker just won't be able to make enough impact to be heard, or even to be noticed at all, and will absolutely require either partners, amplifiers, or both.

Subject: RE: Famous Violinists Busking
From: alanabit
Date: 08 Jun 07 - 03:08 PM

That's right. The really great ones, like Phil Free, or Don Partridge did not need to be loud. They both had such enormous presence, that people wanted to stop and see them anyway. The problem nowadays is that the street is a noisier place than ever. Personally, I would like a return to the quieter days, when charm, showmanship and personality themselves could get an edge. I doubt if the world is going to change just to please me though!

Subject: RE: Famous Violinists Busking
From: treewind
Date: 09 Jun 07 - 08:55 AM

The one featured in the UK news this morning does have some experience of busking as he did it as a student, and he mentioned something about knowing how to work an audience.

I did a bit some years ago. It's incredibly scary just starting, but one you've started it's easy. The other thing I found out was that the money you made seemed to vary wildly in correlation with nothing at all.

Anahata

Subject: RE: Famous Violinists Busking
From: Susanne (skw)
Date: 09 Jun 07 - 09:09 AM

Being classically trained does not necessarily mean you lack all skill and experience for entertainment. One of Germany's most famous classical tenors (even 40 years after his death), Fritz Wunderlich, earned his living as a student singing jazz and was severely told off by his teachers for damaging his voice and squandering his talent. Didn't stop him, though.

And Klaus der Geiger is certainly a case in point. He left a good orchestra and a secure future in order to bring his art to a broader audience.

Subject: RE: Famous Violinists Busking
From: GUEST,meself
Date: 09 Jun 07 - 09:14 AM

Every busker has his pet theories (i.e., superstitions) as to how, why, and where you make the maximum $. My experience has been much like that of Anahata: it seems to "vary wildly in correlation with nothing at all".

Subject: RE: Famous Violinists Busking
From: Mrrzy
Date: 09 Jun 07 - 10:42 AM

Hmmm. He says he's doing it to raise money for charity. So I assume he's got enterprises donating per mile he actually accomplishes, or something. So all he needs to do is make it around. Wouldn't going to bars and playing for dinner (& breakfast, if good) make more sense than trying to do subway stations and make enough to buy dinner?

Subject: RE: Famous Violinists Busking
From: alanabit
Date: 09 Jun 07 - 11:52 AM

Mrrzy: the sort of buskers I am talking about would not dream of playing subways and underground stations. A real busker can find a spot where a crowd can be pulled, get a crowd quickly, work it and build up the show to the point that the crowd wants to pay. If people simply walk past when they are playing, they feel they have failed.
On the street, Klaus der Geiger can come across like a force of nature and I have known times when the crowd was five or six deep.

Subject: RE: Famous Violinists Busking
From: GUEST,meself
Date: 09 Jun 07 - 12:35 PM

So, the other sort of buskers are not 'real', then? As a general rule, I prefer the 'counterfeit' buskers who just play their music and let you enjoy it in peace ...

Subject: RE: Famous Violinists Busking
From: alanabit
Date: 09 Jun 07 - 01:37 PM

Good luck to you. There is a reason some buskers pull crowds and some don't. I don't hold it against anyone that they are good at their job.
I hope I get to see another Phil Free or Don Partridge, but I can't see where they are going to come from.