Has anyone here busked with the uilleann pipes? Or played outside with them?
How much money did you make? And what kind of reactions did you get when people saw them?
Ever since I started on the pipes, I wanted to busk, or even play outside in a park. (Maybe someday) That’s one of, if not the ONLY main reason I took them up. It was to mostly play out in the open. (Yes I know they are not built for that! But why not…)
I have busked quite a bit on uilleann pipes. People really enjoy it.
I have even been asked by businesses to play outside of their store. They usually pay me to do so.
I usually can make around $50.00 for playing about and hour.
Make sure that the locale where you are busking allows it.
Check with the police and the businesses first. Don’t want to get kicked out or fined.
Cheers! Richard
I can generally make $50-$70 for a couple hours. The playing time is considerably shorter due to the number of questions (what is it, where’s your skirt, if it doesn’t hurt to play why do you make that face 
). I’ve found that taking the time for a brief explanation increases the tip significantly. I must be going in the right direction, due to not having scored the really big money to just go away 
dave boling
In the spring/summer/fall I busk on weekends. About ten hours over two days. I see it as getting “paid” to practice, not to make much money. I have played in the same general spot for five years. I have gotten to know a good many people: see them fall in love, get married, watch their kids grow…it’s a very real perk for having put in the time. It’s great people watching too: seeing the parade of people pass by I have become fascinated by things like the physics of walking and the underlying pathology of gait abnormalities. Also, since I am an uilleann piper and seated, I get a point blank view of a lot of tattoos, which has led me to believe that the tattoo industry and the tequila industry are in cahoots.
[ironic phrase warning] I wish I had a dollar for every time someone walks up, puts a dollar in my case, and says “Gotta pay the piper!”. Bless them.
You _did_get a dollar for every time they put a dollar in 
My experience is similar to above, but I have a fun story to tell.
I got my flat 3/4 set at the SF Toinil mid February. When St Patrick’s day rolled around I decided to go play in front of a local diner with an Irish name, they served the traditional Irish breakfast with the usual Yankee fare in a long, narrow space that didn’t allow for easy movement, let alone the thought of playing inside. Their entry was recessed so I set up in a fashion to not restrict the customers ebb and flow.
About half an hour into it the big Irish cop comes up and started asking questions, after determining that I hadn’t been hired he said there were complaints and I had to move on. I said ‘so and Irish cop is sending me packing for playing Irish music on this most Irish of instruments in front of an Irish establishment on the Irish-American national day?’ Yes. (where’s Chief O’Neill when you need him?)
So I started to pack it up when the waitress came out and asked if the cop told me I had to leave. After telling her the tale, she said wait right there, went in to talk with the boss and came back saying I was hired and what did I want for pay? Breakfast sez I.
I continued to play for another hour or so then went inside to collect a huge plate of corned beef hash, only to find out the Lundy’s had sold to Jose, the place was Irish in name only.
There’s my tale of derring do, nearly arrested for melodious assault on St Patrick’s a decade or so ago.
The irritating thing? The only merchant around who was open and could have complained is the next door liquor shop, the sort that sells booze in paper bags to the lowlifes who really do disturb the peace. That business is a public nuisance. And nearly every time I walk down that street I hear some homeless guy howling along with his untuned guitar.
Beware the unintended audience, and critical times of year.
I was playing outside; lovely spring afternoon. warm, etc. Location was about four hundred yards from a tower block, student accommodation for the local University. About and hour into playing I stopped, to see large numbers of windows open, folk hanging out of them, waving arms, and calling out etc. Then the words being shouted came to me… a resounding F…ck Offffffff. T’was exam time. I guess I disturbed more than usual.
Oh well…
I have played outside before, I had to sit on the baseball diamond bench though. I kept playing until the “SUPER” friendly baseball jocks were coming for a game to play. I heard a kid say in a slightly irritated tone of voice “Are you serious?” 
. Slightly embarrassed I walked away in disappointment.
Other than that incident things were pretty nice. Playing outside for me gave me one of those magical moments in trance(Especially on the day I played under the cold dusk sky and the chanter played 40 cents north of C, ohhhh that was absolutely magical! 
). Dunno why, I just really like playing outside. There’s no other instrument I would enjoy doing it more with..
I remember playing on the baseball diamond park once, then out of nowhere a mysterious guy with a baseball bat and a ball showed up out of nowhere to practice, so I politely left. It kinda reminded me of that movie with Kevin Costner. The name of it escapes me at the moment.
That same day there was coincidently some sort of community barbecue going on in the middle of the field, was getting the odd stare and it was quite funny!
Not quite like yours Pipewort, you should have said something witty to them before you left! 
I can’t remember how I exited, but I do recall some embarrassment.
Hindsight, from a great distance, says I wish I had acknowledged the ‘compliments’ with an Actorial flourish, as if I had achieved my desired effect, the remarks interpreted as only praise.
In other terms - 'bollocks to ‘ya, you unworthy peasants’.
Pwort
I haven’t busked with the pipes but I have played outside many times. It’s enjoyable, but the reeds don’t always like it and the fingers can get cold with even a mild breeze blowing. The reaction from passers-by is great, but I always get someone who will start talking to me right in the middle of a tune and I can’t talk and play at the same time.
One thing to be careful of is sunlight, so sit in the shade both for the sake of your skin and your pipes.
I love to play outside when the weather is fine. My avatar is a photo of me (and my wife) playing outside. Her chickens like it. Cows like it too.
Yeah, I have to stop too when someone is talking. But it doesn’t bother me that much though. Makes you feel peculiar!
We’ve got a local farmers market where you can busk! But I don’t plan on going this year, because I don’t have drones…
Back to that incident: I am extremely glad to record and remember such a beautiful moment when I was playing on that cold day. The chanter was super flat, and my fingers were pretty much numb. I was playing under a beautiful sunset, the chanter was squeeling, squeaking and squawking like you wouldn’t believe. But it was the closest I’ve got to that “indescribable something” (like Pat Sky mentioned about recording Tommy Reck). I dunno why I find that moment so magical and mesmerizing. Maybe it was the sunset, or the chanter playing really flat, or both. Maybe the chanter went at a certain frequency that a part of my brain liked.
Sorry I’m rambling and rambling here… Just can’t get over that moment.. Maybe it was my first moment ‘in the zone’. Surely I’ll get this the more I play outside. There’s just absolutely NOTHING like playing in the great outdoors.
C# and C just a really enchanting pitch! I think I may get a C set.
I have been busking for well over a decade at this point and I have experienced a diverse range of reactions. During the summer months I busk here in Portland to pay my bills, I usually average about $35-$50 per hour. On occasion I’ve made $100+ per hour. The best thing you can do is get to know your city’s laws regarding busking, study the bajeayzus out of them, print out a few copies of it (if it empowers you in any way) to take with you. If you can’t find information about busking laws then look up freedom of expression laws. Often times if your city doesn’t have an outright ban on busking you can be protected by the 1st amendment (in the USA of course).
Last summer I was repeatedly harassed by a security guard in the Pearl District here for a number of reasons which turned out to be completely false after I took a good look at Portland’s city-busker agreement. I had been frequenting this particular block around lunch time where I would set up about 50 feet from the corner to avoid direct sunlight. This same security guard would interrupt my performance to tell me I had to move to the corner and that what I was doing was against the law. This happened several times before I finally printed out the actual city regulation to show the officer. The look on his face was priceless. In spite of this cold hard proof that I was completely within my rights, he proceeded to argue with me. I told him that I’d be happy to talk to the real police about it if he wanted to call them.
The officer alleged that I was in violation of some law not represented on the paper I gave him. I asked to see the law in question in writing and he said he would go print out a copy for me in his office. I then watched him walk over to end of the block where he consulted with his captain and I proceeded to play some hop jigs 
About 5 minutes later his captain politely waits for me to finish the tune I was playing to inform me that I could only be there for 1 hour, which is part of the city-busker agreement and I always follow the agreement. I have not been bothered since.
I find that most people really enjoy hearing the pipes in a public space, plus it gives you an opportunity to educate people who might not seek out Irish culture on their own. I enjoy chatting with curious passers by. It’s also a great way to fund traveling, but again, know the laws where you are going before you try it.
I almost got into legal trouble busking in Barcelona (turns out that it’s completely banned in the city unless you have a permit which is very difficult to get as a visiter). I was approached by a guard in the metro who took my passport and was about 2 minutes from confiscating my pipes (yes, they do that there, and it costs €300 to get it back) when I was rescued by another busker from Romania who was fluent in Spanish and English. He managed to smooth things over with the officer and then gave me a quick crash course on how to dodge the cops while busking after the officer left.
Anyway, just be aware of police “protecting” whatever it is they’re getting paid to protect. And have fun!
Cheers!
Man, Preston, you are such a brilliant player: I cannot imagine anyone hassling you!
In my half of my town (St. Paul), busking is covered under the begging statutes. Basically you cannot ask for money in exchange for a tune, you cannot be within 10 feet of a business entry, you cannot obstruct the sidewalk, you cannot be amplified, and you need to stop if someone complains to the police. In the other half of my town (Minneapolis), ordinances are quite different. I try to avoid the other half of my town 
.
About 30 years ago Paddy Keenan was staying with me in San Francisco. We were hanging out an early afternoon with a fiddle player and a concertina player. With Paddy on pipes and myself on whistle we four decided to go to the tourist area of town and busk for the craic. We set up near a cable car terminal with lots of tourists. No sooner had we got it going than Screwie Louis, a regular busker who played various bagpipes, came over to move us along as we were in his spot. He didn’t recognize Paddy. He suggested another spot which we moved to. It had less traffic, but we were doing pretty well with the hat. Lots of curious questions but Paddy was not recognized by anyone. We ended up playing outside a popular Italian restaurant. The owner liked us and invited us in where we played for the patrons and we were treated to a nice meal. Paddy played a great concert that night and told an embellished story of our exploits earlier in the day.
The Dawn Chorus has started in earnest in this part of the world. Song birds sing out from early dawn to late morning.
A curiosity is that, whilst not busking I leave my front door open when the weather is warm, to let more light in. I am convinced that the local avian choristers at least move nearer, or sing louder, as I play. They outshine my efforts every time, as you might imagine.
I would be curious to hear if others have noted this effect, playing outside in an otherwise quiet environment, during the spring, the period when the song birds sing.
Pwrt
The best place to busk if you want to make money is at the races. Plenty of drunken Irishmen with money in their pockets.
RORY
I sometimes play in my backyard. So far the neighbours have been positive. I also sometimes play outside my front door on Halloween. On a few occasions kids of about 3 to 5 years of age will spontaneously dance. Otherwise kids play it cool and just stare or go to the next house where they can get candy without having to deal with an odd adult making sound with something weird.
That is funny! And nice piping stories from all of you! 
Only a few more months, and then Summer/spring will come!
Only problem is Alberta has LOTS of bugs! Other bugs do t bother me, but we usually have a huge Wasp and Mosquito problem.
I’ve played highland pipes outside in ontario, nice and bug free in the open fields!
But when I was playing the Uilleann pipes in the Alberta field, a wasp flew so close to me it almost got sucked in the bellows intake!
Who needs drones when you’ve got the nice buzz of a wasp flying around in your bag.
RORY