Musical Beggars

Whistle
1

In the latest chiffandfipple bulletin,
Norman Dannatt (apologies for
spelling, if mispelled) gives an apt
description of a fellow playing
a Clarke whistle quite well in
the place where the legendary
Whistling Billy (also a Clarke fan)
once played. Norman calls this fellow
a ‘musical beggar.’ But why?

Street musicians, real street musicians,
aren’t begging. They are brightening
people’s day by performing music;
people are welcome, if the spirit moves
them, to show their appreciation by
putting money in the jar. In effect,
the musician is playing for tips.
A piano player in a restaurant, playing
for tips, isn’t begging. Moving the
piano to the sidewalk doesn’t make
him a beggar; nor does substituting
a whistle for the piano.

There may be beggars who pretend to
be street musicians, but the defining
feature of the street muscian is that
he or she is really a musician, that
is, she plays well. So if this musical
beggar was playing well, well, he
wasn’t a beggar, I submit.

The ambience of playing on the street
doesn’t feel at all like begging.
People really are delighted,
especially children. Putting money
in the jar (or hat, or whatever) is
something they enjoy–often they
have their child do it. It’s about
as free and upbeat an economic
transaction as there is on this planet.
The music is given freely; the money
is given freely. No quid pro quo,
no contract. The gratuity flows from
gratitude for the music.

Forgive the huffing and puffing!
Occasionally on the street in
St. Louis we are taken for beggars,
and I’ve always been surprised–
not feeling at all like one–but
it’s happened only when we were
packing up, never when we were playing.

2

Good point!

Now I can throw that back at my relatives when I mention something of the sort or when they say someone’s panhandling, just because they’re performing on the sidewalk…

3

I guess a busker could be a beggar, if he’s begging in-between times, or has a sign up begging.

4

As could a bank president if she
panhandled during lunch break, or
carried a sign about in the bank saying: “Will
work for food!” Still the occupation
of running a bank isn’t begging; nor
is busking, I submit.

In Ireland i played whistle on the
street with a 15 year old concertina
player, she was a student of Sharon
Shannon and she could play beautifully. Her father collected her
after a few hours. He wasn’t a
mini-Fagan, sending his child on the streets to beg; he was genuinely proud
of her. We all were there primarily
because we love the music.


My best friends in New Orleans, by
the way, earn 400 dollars a day
playing gospel and blues on Royal
Street–they’ve sent their daughter
to Yale.

Last story: once coming out of
a train station in India I saw two
boys, about ten years old, sitting
cross legged on the sidewalk. One was playing
a zither with a plectrum,
the other was playing a tin can.
Both were singing loud–a religious chant. It was the
most beautiful music I’ve ever
heard in my life and I thought
that I would like to do something
like that one day. Well, I have,
you see.

In India I often slept
on the street, millions of people
do–the street is a world of people
meeting and passing each other without much in the way of higher or lower. It’s
humanity as is, it’s real, it’s raw,
and if you watch
it carefully it seems finally to become
a holy sort of place, a cathedral without walls or ceiling. There it seems quite right,
almost a sort of prayer, to play
the whistle. Best to all

5

Just trying to give Norman the benefit of the doubt. :slight_smile:

6

Well done!

7

I tend to think that if one offers a service or speciality in exchange for money, that it’s not begging.

Now the rats who infest Salt Lake sitting at the parking garage exits to the downtown malls, and on the steps of churches trying to weasel unsuspecting people out of their hard earned money IS in fact begging. Practicly robbing, except that the people give them money of their own free will, so I gues it’s just stupidity really.

There have been several exposés done on local news stations over the last few years, and its amazing! Many of these “homeless” people have nice cars, cell phones, and apartments/condo’s a LOT nicer than mine - no joke!!

So, to end my rant, if I happen to be playing in public somewhere, and someone offers a tip, or even just a compliment, I will smile and nod, or if I’m done with a tune, offer a hearty THANK YOU to that individual. I’m sure they don’t see me as begging.

Sorry all, just had to get that out! :slight_smile:

B~

8

On 2002-07-06 19:58, Brian Lee wrote:

Now the rats who infest Salt Lake sitting at the parking garage exits to the downtown malls, and on the steps of churches trying to weasel unsuspecting people out of their hard earned money IS in fact begging. Practicly robbing, except that the people give them money of their own free will, so I gues it’s just stupidity really.

Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Matt. 25:40

Boy, I’ve been meaning to quote the bible on this board for a long time… :slight_smile:

9

Bloomfield,

I shall remember this.

Hey, did you notice I changed my signature? No more flashing Latin.

10

On 2002-07-08 11:01, Bloomfield wrote:

On 2002-07-06 19:58, Brian Lee wrote:

Now the rats who infest Salt Lake sitting at the parking garage exits to the downtown malls, and on the steps of churches trying to weasel unsuspecting people out of their hard earned money IS in fact begging. Practicly robbing, except that the people give them money of their own free will, so I gues it’s just stupidity really.

Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Matt. 25:40

Boy, I’ve been meaning to quote the bible on this board for a long time… > :slight_smile:

Agree. It’s truly generous to give not being certain they’ll use the money the way you’d like. Truth be told, giving a dollar to someine doesn’t buy us the right to control how they use it. If it isn’t hurting you to give it, there you go.

And I’m just amazed there are people who think street musicians are beggars. Are people who sell their paintings along the street beggars? Maybe we’re talking about something different from the ones I’m picturing?

Go ask Dada, sweetie. Mama needs some whistle time.

[ This Message was edited by: Dewhistle on 2002-07-08 12:11 ]

11

On 2002-07-08 12:04, Walden wrote:
Bloomfield,

I shall remember this.

Hey, did you notice I changed my signature? No more flashing Latin.

Of course I noticed! And I appreciate it. :slight_smile:

12

What’s wrong with flashing Latin? It encourages Latin literacy in an all too Latin illiterate age.

13

-a BIG THANKS to street performers brightening the day in Seattle
frequently. -Not just music, but a smattering of other traditions such as marionettes, or comedy. -Poor performers won’t do well, and performers
giving a good show to an interested audience deserve support. -IMHO, good buskers improve the urban atmosphere
a lot.

Brian

14

On 2002-07-08 12:55, Walden wrote:
What’s wrong with flashing Latin? It encourages Latin literacy in an all too Latin illiterate age.

Well, to my mind, this is what is wrong with it:
The flashing. It’s an unwarranted visiual assault on the message board reader.
The Latin. If you think someone, who otherwise would not have, will go out and learn Latin because he saw a flashing purple Christian slogan in Latin on the chiffboard, think again. :slight_smile: Actually, the Latin is a way of saying, “I know something that you don’t know.”
The content. I know our views differ on this, and that’s fine. I would just say, “Be not like the Pharasees who pray in public…”

:slight_smile:

best,

15

In other words you’re trying to read between the lines.

16

On 2002-07-08 13:57, Walden wrote:
In other words you’re trying to read between the lines.

I have the sense that you are telling me something terribly significant, but it escapes me at the moment.


To get back to busking. I’ve always wanted to do it, but haven’t had the chance/gutts yet. In the very memorable summer during which I met someone I was walking in NYC’s Greenwich Village (Bleeker Street), when I came upon this man, sitting there with a sign reading “FREE ADVICE”. I spoke to him, and he gave me some free advice. Ever since I’ve been meaning to do that, too: sit there and give free advice. I am still busy accumulating the wisdom I would hope to dispense, though.

17

Bloomfield, reading your posts just makes me feel dizzy. That’s entertainment!

18

Bloomfield wrote:
I’ve always wanted to do it, but haven’t had the chance/gutts yet.

Me too. The fact that I don’t live in a populous area makes busking not look like much of an option.

19

I never give to beggars/panhandlers,
etc. because I figure they’re likely
to use the money for drugs–but
I’ve been taken in a couple of times
by con artists on the street
in St. Louis, one black, one white.

I like Latin, even though I don’t
understand it. And I did use
‘quid pro quo’ in my earlier message.
Of course I didn’t understand it.

Busking does require lots of people
if you’re going to make any money.
Yes, it does improve the urban
environment–one reason that
the police in St. Louis don’t
bother us. Makes the city seem
alive. We are supposed to buy
licenses, but I never did. Best

20

Busking tickles the imaginations of the passerbys, especially if you find an interesting place to do it. It’s makes tourists think that that locality is better/hipper/more exciting than whereever they came from when in fact , it really only shows how brazen/desparate/musically hungry to express the busker might be.

We have perhaps more buskers here in Bay Area but mostly because we have so much street life here, including many wealthy people hanging around along with the tourists. They buy the coffee and create demand for multi-flavored bagels and pastries, drive up prices, create opportunities for interesting retail shops etc. and especially hang around in our many bookstores. Really, Berkeley is weird for its combination of professional students, wealthy authors/music bus/therapist types, college profs working and retired, visionaries (slightly cleaner than homeless), out-patient psychotics, religious types and political activist/parasites. It leads to a florid street life which some people find exciting as noted above and does in fact foster the arts. I managed a store in a corner of the Gourmet Ghetto (place where fancy California Cweeseen was invented) for years and had time to develop my usual Weekender-type impressions as noted above.

But I always wonder how many people are asking themselves as they watch, “What’s it like to not have to go to work?” while they grit their teeth and think about their committed life of bills and bosses.

Some of the street musicians have a real superiority attitude because they don’t have those cares but I am always put off by the fact that they don’t grasp the symbiosis of it all. Many marginal people in this society depend on this big pool of everybody else doing what they don’t want to do. My phrase is: “They all want to go to the party, but nobody wants to buy the beer.” And Berkeley is their haven.

I get the strong urge to busk down at a plaza on Fourth St. in Berkeley sometimes just for the heck of it but I don’t want to do it alone and other Weekenders aren’t interested.

The closest thing to busking I did was playing Xmas music at the Embarcadero Center at night , outside, in winter cold for two weeks leading up to the holiday. Crooning White Christmas while freezing my arse on cold concrete is only something I would recommend to the young.

The reactions were funny though because people thought we were busking and kind of homeless even though we were being paid. We were instructed NOT to open our instrument cases.

I may yet busk now with the whistle cause its so easy to carry and protect compared to a fancy-pants classical guitar. That was always a poor fit as you worry about the guitar’s health from sun or cold all the while..
But , as others will say:

\

“Its always [about] you.”

[ This Message was edited by: The Weekenders on 2002-07-08 19:18 ]