File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
Hi /trv/, got sort of a silly question here. On the weekends I like to go downtown and play my violin in the shopping plaza. I don't do it for the money(I usually don't even put out a hat or anything for donations), I just enjoy music and entertaining people. I live in a very small, quiet town, and the response I get is generally good. I hope to continue this tradition when I move to NYC in a few months. What kind of response can I expect from the people in the parks/plazas/cafes/random street corners there? I'm guessing I'll probably be ignored, but should I expect any serious negative response? Also, are there certain places where this sort of thing isn't allowed? How likely am I to get run off by the cops? Thanks in advance.
>> Anonymous
Street performers are a dime a dozen in NYC. As you guessed, you'll just be ignored 99.9% of the time.
>> Anonymous
>>25264
I suppose that's better than being treated like a panhandling bum. Maybe I'll just give up the habit.
>> Anonymous
>I suppose that's better than being treated like a panhandling bum

Technically you WILL be treated as a panhandling bum, because new yorkers ignore them 99.9% of the time too.
>> Anonymous
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/04/06/DI2007040601228.html
>> Anonymous
>>25272
That's very interesting. Sad, but interesting.
>> Anonymous
>>25272
tldr
>> Anonymous
ever thought maybe i dont want to be tortured by your shitty music?
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
NYer here. If you have something good to play I'll usually drop a buck into your hat/violin case/whatever.

If you sound like shit, I'll just ignore you as there are plenty of shitty sounding losers with a fiberboard violin playing the same old shit with an electronic beatbox. So I try to encourage the good sounding people by giving them money.

On the subway you risk arrest but that doesn't stop anyone. If you sound particularly good and do it in a decent neighborhood and play decent music, you may get some positive attention. Don't bother doing it at 42nd street or a really busy station because everyone will be angry and trying to get to their destination. Also don't do it at Canal Street or anywhere near Chinatown or the Lower East Side because busking there is for Chinese bums.

I remember Thoth used to hang out in Central Park doing his one man freakshow. I watched but I never gave him any money. You could probably find a place to do it there and the cops wouldn't care, but I don't know for sure.
>> Anonymous
Go to Barcelona instead and play in tourist traps. If you are any decent you can make 400€ a week.
>> Anonymous
i'd poop in your hat anyway..
>> Anonymous
there is alot of really shit guitarists in nyc. those that only know a few chords.

those i ignore. just today there is this really good chinese sax player in the train station. i stopped to talk with him for a bit and dropped a dollar to his case.

I agree, I only pay when I hear good music, or if i see talent. otherwise I will ignore you.

Do you consider yourself good?
>> Anonymous
>>25336
Thanks for the info, that's really helpful.

>>25365
I don't think I'm terrible, but I'm not classically trained. For years I only played country and bluegrass fiddle stuff, but I've been playing more classical pieces lately. This raises another question: would the average New Yorker enjoy hearing my hillbilly fiddle, or should I stick to music that doesn't sound like something heard on a front porch in Hazzard county?
>> Anonymous
>I don't think I'm terrible, but I'm not classically trained.

In that case, you probably wont get your ass kicked or even heckled really, but don't expect any praise or even much acknowledgment from passersby.
>> Anonymous
>>25272
god thats sad, if I see/hear some one in SF with talent I will pay them.
>> Anonymous
>>25376

If it sounds "authentic" hillbilly people will probably love it, but if you play some recognizable modern country music hits it will probably be looked down upon.

There are certain classical pieces that get extremely tiresome. Such as Ave Maria for example.

As far as I'm concerned new and good is the way to win.
>> Anonymous
>>25381
>>25279
Hate to break it to you weepy susans but, yeah we're all oafs who cannot instantly recognize genius in any form. Note how the only guy who was stopped by the sound of the music itself (as opposed to the spectacle of a better than average musician playing at a train station) was a man who trained to be a professional violinist himself.
Quit trying to make yourselves feel better about your general ignorance. If you don't know the first thing about good art you aren't going to recognize it. It really is as simple as that.
>> Anonymous
>>25402
Since when is a fine arts degree a requirement for recognizing good music? You don't have to be an expert to notice what sounds good.
>> Anonymous
>>25420
I phrased that wrong. He took violin lessons until he was 18 with the INTENT to continue his training but quit.
You have to have SOME knowledge of a given art form in order to recognize good art.
You can't tell me some hamburger flipper with a high school education and absolutely NO interest in art would be able to recognize the genius of a Kandinsky if he found it just lying on the street.
>> Anonymous
>>25424
>You can't tell me some hamburger flipper with a high school education and absolutely NO interest in art would be able to recognize the genius of a Kandinsky if he found it just lying on the street.
Nice troll, way to present abstract shit with no inherent value as an example. He'd sure as fuck recognize the genius of a Da Vinci.
>> Anonymous
>>25424
I get what you're saying, but we're talking about music. Music is just music. You either like it or you don't. Whether or not you think it's "genius" has very little effect on whether or not you're going to toss a street musician a buck. If I like the way something sounds, I let the guy know. I'm not going to stand there analyzing the complexities of his antithesis and all that stuff. Music doesn't have to be "art", it just has to sound nice.
>> Anonymous
>>25402
genuis or even competence is not what makes you a success in the classical music world, family connections and marketing ability does. thats why classical music is a near dead artform
>> Anonymous
>>25479
failed classical musician-wannabe is clearly butthurt
>> Anonymous
>>25479
Perhaps the same could be said of all art forms.
>> Anonymous
>>25479
Exactly
You can have all the talent in the world, but if you didnt go to a respected (aka expensive) music school or have good connections you wont get anywhere.

Fucking makes me sick how these stupid kids these days that have no talent go further than the independant people who really know what they are doing.
>> Anonymous
If this is the guy that keeps playing outside my place in dtown LA you sound like you are killing cats... Absolutely no musical value to that guys violin, he honestly sits there murdering the instrument for 5 or 6 hours, sometimes until 2am.
>> Anonymous
>>25751
you shouldn't tolerate people like that near where you live
it only leads to worsening condition. i dont let hobos hang out with four blocks of my place (seattle)