How I Got Into Busking

It all started in high school

There was a time back in high school in Minnesota when a friend of mine suggested that I busk. That’s not what we called it at the time though. She said I should stand outside of the concert hall when the professional orchestra had a concert on and play some of my classical pieces before the concert starts.

The lines were quite long so there would be a captive audience to throw money in my case… I thought she was absolutely crazy! Although I’d been playing for about 7 years and had played in weddings and other events, I didn’t feel like my skill level was very high. No way would I have the guts to stand there on the street and play in front of lots of strangers all by myself! Plus what I had to offer was nothing compared to what they were going to hear inside.

Irish Music - a glimpse into the future

Some years later when I started playing Irish music, my band mate said busking in Europe is a great way to earn money. I had already been to Ireland at that point and probably saw a few buskers there. There definitely weren’t any I had seen in Minnesota, so going to Europe was the first time I could actually visualise it as a possibility. That conversation was what motivated me to try when I went to the UK for the first time to study.

University

My first time busking was in Canterbury, Kent back in 2007. I was a postgraduate student (yes I have a master’s degree in Social Anthropology) and I thought it would be a good experience. Plus I could earn a bit of cash. All I wanted to play was Irish music so that’s what I did.

I literally just stood in front of the public library or a nice street corner with nothing but my acoustic violin and played tunes for an hour or so. I didn’t go out that often because of course I was spending most of my time doing research.

I also went to a lot of Irish music sessions at that time. It really helped to keep the musical momentum going. I once went out with my then boyfriend because he played guitar. I played the melody to a few well known songs and he accompanied me. We only made £10 that day and it put him off from ever going out again. At that time I think the most I would normally make on a good day was about £30 in an hour, but I enjoyed it regardless of what I earned.

After university…

was the crash of 2008. I was still living in the UK with my new husband, jobs were hard to come by and competition was fierce. For the first time I depended on busking for all of my income. I still only played my acoustic violin so wouldn’t make more than £50 a go. I had to supplement it with bar work until I got an admin job in finance. As time went on and we moved around the country for my husband’s work, I found myself busking in between jobs (or even on the weekends while I worked my various jobs).

Photograph by Stephen G. Willmer http://www.willmer-photography.com

Last year I started going out a lot more often and one day another musician saw me with my violin and tapped me on the shoulder. He was a violinist as well and he showed me that he used an app for backing tracks. He also had a small amplifier and would plug his violin and ipad into the amp to busk. He didn’t have much experience busking but he was earning quite a lot. As soon as I saw this I realised I needed to up my busking game.

I soon followed his example. I bought a slightly better amp than what he had initially and began incorporating songs and classical pieces into my sets. I also worked out ways to improvise on them and change the styles. I now have a system that works and I’m always improving and adding to my repertoire.

And now,
I’d like to know your thoughts. Are you a busker? If so, how did you get started? Let me know in the comments below!

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