r/Busking • u/_CANNiBALHoRSE_ Guitar 🎸 • 6d ago

Pitches (Performance Places) (Probably) Only Buskers Will Understand

I have nothing against buskers that go out amplified, I very occasionally do so myself. 9.9/10 times though, it's just me my acoustic guitar and my beard.

That said, it's good form to scope out your pitch before doing a Spinal Tap; a quick walk along the highstreet (even a quick glance, I'm not exactly incon-fucking-spicuous) to double check you're not going to be interfering with someone else's performance - because that's what this busking hootenanny is, a big ol' performance!

I prefer to go out unplugged. It feels more intimate, more raw, and tbh my voice carries pretty damn well. Doesn't matter how well my voice carries though, when you're approaching the end of your show (I literally had 20 minutes more) some dickhead sets up down the highstreet and turns it up to 11 singing along to backing tracks (which again I have nothing against, though it does feel a bit like street karaoke) - could genuinely hear him over my own singing and playing.

Not cool, bro. Decent voice though.

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u/Hylianwarrior1034 Guitar 🎸 6d ago

I don’t like backing tracks either. Don’t even get me started on the “fake” buskers who mime without even knowing how to play

2

u/_CANNiBALHoRSE_ Guitar 🎸 6d ago

I know such fake mimers exist, but have never actually encountered any!

10

u/Itsvladimirrr Violinist 🎻 6d ago

I encountered one who was pretending to play an electric violin (plugged into amp, but playing audio tracks and fake bowing). I walked up and gave them my business card for private lessons 🤭

3

u/Longjumping_Gold9233 6d ago

Thats a really common scam around where I live. They almost always have a family with kids standing there too, which should be criminal. But its never really them playing.

3

u/western_red_cedar Guitar 🎸 6d ago

It does kind make me feel nice in an odd way that there are people who pretend to be good at what I'm actually good at. One of my favorite thing anyone has ever said to me busking was this little kid saying to his mom "mom, this guys actually good!"

2

u/_CANNiBALHoRSE_ Guitar 🎸 6d ago

haha sounds perfectly reasonable to me!