Busking is street performing - usually musical - have you, would you, could you do it?

Nope, I have an ear but no musical ability unfortunately.

No, I would not want to stand on the street for hours flinging my music out into an uncaring world.

My daughter has done quite a bit of busking. She loves it.

For her, it’s a kind of communion. She sets her harp up on a downtown sidewalk or at the farmer’s market, and just starts playing the music she loves. Then she watches how that bubble of music affects the people who move through it. I’ve sat nearby when she does this, and it is fascinating. People enter the bubble lost in their private world, then you see them waking up to this unexpected thing of beauty they’ve happened upon. They suddenly look more alive; children spontaneously break into dance. Some slow their stride a bit, just to savor; some pause and come furtively closer; some huddle up to the harp and momentarily forget what they were up to before. Kids want nothing more than to touch the magical thing.

My daughter makes a fair bit of cash for her time, but that’s beside the point for her. It’s the power of the music to move people that gives her pleasure. Her greatest triumphs are not the occasional $10 bills; they’re the pirouetting 5 year-olds and (especially) the clusters of teens who momentarily forget to be jaded and toss an unguarded “Awesome!” her way.

I would love to do it! I HAVE been silly and probably entertained a few people in the streets but never “intentionally.” Well…. Not quite “never.” I was performing in the Vagina Monologues and we staged a mock protest to promote the show. It ended up being a rather serious protest as we were protesting against rape. We held up signs like, “I Love my vagina”, “Stop rape in the Congo”, and “Be Nice.”
I was surprised at some of the angry reactions we got. We were protesting rape! What’s not to support??

Did it while in high school ( long time ago ), two or three of us would “practice” at the center of town. Folk songs and guitars.

@Judi You are right. I am with you on this I support rape. Waitaminit – I mean, I support you on your support of rape. Right? I’m mixed up now. I’m on the good side. Rape bad – I am against it.

@zensky Your avatar is all “RED faced”.

@zensky , Uhhh you are with me in my PROTEST of rape? lol

Not singing or anything musical but something else, yes I could do it.

@Judi Check out the avatar now.

I would make a killing at it. People would come from all over the pay me not to sing.

I’ve done plenty of busking! For the last four years I’ve been a member of an A’capella group that sings almost exclusively on the street corner of my hometown for tips. On the one hand, the experience can be absolutely exhilarating. More than anything it’s a communal experience; you build off the crowds energy and they build off yours and everyone has a good time (and hopefully you make some money). On the other hand, it’s absolutely exhausting: the amount of time we spend practicing makes our income per hour seem negligent, and I haven’t had a free summer weekend in the last four years….

They would pay me to stop.

I think it’d be fun to do!

It would be fun but I’m not good enough yet.

I did it once, not singing but doing magic tricks, I was just a young teen of about 15 or so at the time. I made about 200 bucks before the police chased me away.

It’s something I will turn to if I ever need money.

If I had an ounce of talent that would be busker-worthy I COULD do it. I don’t though so I don’t.

However, thinking about this, if I am ever broke perhaps I should go and sing or play my guitar on a corner. Perhaps people would pay me to shut up!

Yes, I’ve done it quite a bit in years past but not so much lately.

Mine wasn’t musical. I did either balloon sculpture or face painting. I’ve also done it at fairs and festivals. Philly was a great town for lots of different street fairs.

One can earn a pretty decent amount of money and it’s really a lot of fun.

But many places have very inconsistent policies or laws on the subject, especially here in the US. Many times they don’t make a clear distinction between vending and busking (and many are totally unfamiliar with the word busking at all)

But when the cops or L&I aren’t rousting you, it’s definitely a lot of fun.

I would highly recommend it for teenagers looking to make some extra money. It sure beats slinging burgers and fries at Mickey Ds.

:D

PS For anyone without musical talent who likes the idea of busking, I was doing balloons on the street for practice and spare change within days of getting my first how-to book.

Granted, it does take quite a bit of skill and practice to be a GOOD balloon artist.

But doing it on the street is really good practice in developing that skill and most customers aren’t all that discerning. Most kids ask for a dog and they’re just happy to be walking away with something big, shiny and colorful.

I’ve lost count of how much money I made simply by adding a small heart balloon on top of a tall three color rainbow braid. Easy to do and looks great. People of all ages love it. And as soon as one goes walking down the street in someone’s hand, you get an instant line of people waiting for one also. Fun fun fun. Money in your pocket and everybody has a smile on their face. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

@thorninmud Your daughter plays harp? I didn’t know!

Yes, I have busked to raise money for charity, but I did it indoors at the entrance to an upmarket supermarket.

If I was a musician with some other musician friends to go along with me, I might do it for fun just for one day. I don’t know about out in the street, but you gotta apply for all kinds of permits and stuff from the MTA to do it in the subway.

Well, I have no skill that would allow me to do this, unless people wanted to see me draw, or tap dance while quoting Halloween movies. I’ve panhandled a lot though haha.

But nah, even had I the required crafts to busking, I’d be too nervous and shy to do it.

I’m too shy and not musical, but it’s so awesome that there are people brave enough to do this. When I’m just going about my business and someone is out there playing music, it really brightens my day. Busking is so unpretentious and it’s a kind of art that everyone can appreciate because the musicians set up in public spaces- I wish more people did this. It’s great that people can just set up and make a public space… better, like buskers or street artists or even free book exchanges.

The closest I’ve come to any of that was making artist trading cards. That’s kind of lame, but they’re out there somewhere.

I would love to try that, but I have zero musical talent. : (

Yes, I have played saxophone in parks & on street corners. Jazz standards, mostly. Like most musicians I used to be very nervous about soloing in front of an audience, but busking is much less scary. They aren’t sitting in chairs staring at you hanging on your every note as in a concert or recital. It’s easy to adopt the attitude that, “If they don’t give a damn why should I?” Besides, I close my eyes when I play, so “out of sight, out of mind.”

I don’t interact with anybody unless they approach me to talk, which is rare. Most people assume I’m a bum, which is fine with me. I don’t use a money jar. If I leave my case open people sometimes throw change in anyway. One lady laid a red rose in my case – Best Tip Ever!

Busking forces me to practice in a more concentrated and disciplined way than if I were simply alone. I even start out with scales and arpeggios. I play well enough to make recognizable tunes without too many wrong notes. I don’t play well enough to draw a big crowd, especially with such an unpopular genre. Overall there’s a certain satisfaction in adding live music to a small corner of an otherwise cacophonous and joyless world.

@gasman Most enlightening. Thanks for sharing that.