Now, I’m not going to go out there busking myself, but I do have a question about it.
What I normally do is go to a secluded or quiet park, pull out some sheet music (doesn’t matter what) and then sit and play my flute. The sheet music seems to send a clear message that I’m not busking, I’m practicing, so I always bring it. In fact, some people have said things like “it’s a lovely day to practice your flute in the park today, isn’t it?”
My question is, something tells me that busking is not an appropriate activity for a solitary woman. That it could get you in trouble in a personal sense, as in someone might think you are really selling something else.
Tracy Chapman started her career by busking in Harvard Square.
The women buskers I’ve known seem to do better than the male buskers.
But I don’t think you should busk with sheet music.
You want to keep an eye on what’s going on around you.
I suppose it may depend a bit on what part of the world one is in, but I wouldn’t worry about that specific point! I suppose one’s proficiency (or lack of it) might clarify the point should anyone think of it! Whether it is safe in terms of risk of assault or robbery might be more pertinent, and whether it is locally legal to busk at all is a more serious consideration. Some places/cultures class it as begging and outlaw it. It’s general status in Britain is doubtful in law, and local authorities often don’t really know where they stand, nor local police. That said, I’ve seen quite a few very good/successful female buskers in my time. Cerys Matthews of Catatonia famously started her music career busking, and an attractive as well as talented young female violinist who busked regularly with a string quartet in Chester for some years a while back I believe got herself signed to a record label from being seen thus.
Incidentally, local byelaws quite often prohibit playing any musical instrument or playback device in public parks to avoid noise nuisance to other park users! Beware the Parky!
whether it is locally legal to busk at all is a more serious consideration
No-- not even worth considering. The worst is, they’ll ask you to move on. At best they’ll listen and even tip you. The Brits are famous for forming orderly queues and worrying about being legal (except in their relations with third world countries). The Irish and the yanks are a bit more flexible. That said, I busked my way through England – and France – many years ago and never had any trouble.
In New Orleans once, on New Year’s Eve, I was making $60 an hour on Basin Street until the cops asked me to pack it up. I moved a block away and set up again and this time they told me to move along- which I did. But not before I had made $100 with little effort.
Paris, in the underground, was heavenly. London was dodgy because of the street characters who viewed me and my loot as prey. In both places I made enough to live on - though I was squatting in London and had no rent to pay, while in Paris I had… a friend.
Joshua Bell still made $15 an hour. Not so good for Joshua Bell but not so bad for the rest of us. Besides, he didn’t know how to busk. Or where, so he’s not a good example of accomplished busking. Bach would not be my music of choice if I were to busk, nor a busy metro a good location.
Do women get extra hassle even if they are not specifically mistaken for prostitutes?
I don’t think I’ve ever been mistaken for one but I’ve certainly had to fight off my share of creeps doing much less noticeable things than playing a musical instrument in the street.
Not being female, I can’t really speak from experience! However, I haven’t noticed female buskers, even solo ones, getting an undue share of hassle, let alone specifically sexist or gender based. I suppose they must be at risk of it, though. However, I would say that, when you put yourself out on a public soap-box as, figuratively at least, you do by busking at all, you actually create a kind of informal special status for yourself as “The Performer”. People interact with you very differently from how they do when you’re just moseying about, even if you do something to attract attention like sporting an extreme fashion or some such. I think you might actually be less likely to attract that sort of attention in spite or perhaps because of your self-assumed role as a busker. Extroversion, which that kind of putting yourself out in public comes across as, even if you yourself don’t feel very extrovert, is quite imposing and slightly scary to many people, so they leave you alone to get on with it. Of course, many just adopt good manners and realise they should not interrupt a performance, especially if other folk are noticeably taking it in. (But then you get the numbskulls, d**kheads and drunks… but honestly, you get far less hassle like that than you might imagine.)
Also matters where you live – I was doing this in the NYC subways and in Central Park during nice weather. I doubt I’d make much here in VT, although there are places that pay, so… I used to make a fair amount, though I generally played with one or two others, a piper, or a bouzouki player – even with the split, it was generally a good take, especially 'round St. Paddy’s Day (on it, it was unbelievable, all the drunks in green plastic hats coming in from Jersey… Good payday, but, man, I hate that holiday…)
Generally you busk in a place where there are a
good number of people passing by who are
in a good mood and aren’t indigent.
This minimizes the possibility of the sort of hassles
you are mentioning. I’ve seen lots of
women do this, talked to a number of them,
they never mentioned problems nor
did I ever see any.
I beleive there has been a constitutional ruling
requiring cities to offer busking licenses.
Anyhow these are widely available.
So if you buy one and avoid being a thorn
in anybody’s side, you’re cool copwise. Also
displaying the license (cased in plastic)
makes it entirely clear what you’re
doing.
I wouldn’t be so sure. Santa Barbara is definitely not Paris or New Orleans. It’s a very upscale community that can be very protective of its image. So that “move along” might well come with a big smile … and a court citation.
Doubtful of that.
I’ve been at this for a long time in all
sorts of places, have had lots of
run ins with police. Never got past
‘Move on.’
Also I believe cities are required to issue
a street musicians license. First Amendment
stuff, so one can preclude the possibility
by getting one of those.
No idea, but I cannot imagine that the act of busking while female would attrack any more unwelcome attention than the act of practicing an instrument in a public place while female.
Santa Barbara has a lot of homeless people. They are everywhere and mostly sit there with cardboard signs.
About 15 years ago they built a “mall” downtown. It’s not one of those malls that’s all indoors with acres of parking all around it like a moat. It’s more like a bunch of shops in an outdoor environment that seems to invite people to just go there and people watch. With that we now have street performers. We never had those before, unless you count the bongo man.
Anyway, you almost never see any solo women doing it. Recently I heard a friend of mine was going to go down with some friends and play. I went out to see them but it rained so they never showed.
I do like to play in the park, but it’s just a little green space in a residential neighborhood where there’s a bike path. I go at lunch time on week days just to practice. It occurs to me someday I will be old and poor. Do I want to push a shopping cart and sit with my cardboard sign or could I instead earn my living playing a flute? Could I earn a trip around the world someday? Or maybe just earn my way out of a jam like the time we forget to get enough cash at the airport for the return taxi when we did a stopover in Bangkok.
I’m not to that point yet where I’m out of options or cannot work anymore. But I do have 30 years or so to get there. Life in Santa Barbara is hard. You’re always living on the edge of losing everything. I have nothing to begin with so the fall wouldn’t be very far, but it would still hurt.
It’s nice to read about what it’s like to perform on the street. You never know if that will be your last chance.
