Here Wayne, I've activated the link.. 
 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busking_(U.S._case_law)

Today I gave the pencils to the homeless guy... When someone took the first pencil and left a tip, the homeless guy (Coy is his name), looked at me and gave me a thumbs up...

I took my fiddle out of the case and as I did, the fingerboard fell off of the fiddle..Yep.  I had to hold it on while I played.  Forunately, the roughness of the expired glue made it easy to keep in place.. I have the glue pot on at this time....

Note the video of Busker Bear..His attempts to tip over the tip basket received a lot of smiles..

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Originally posted by Lee M
 

Today I gave the pencils to the homeless guy... When someone took the first pencil and left a tip, the homeless guy (Coy is his name), looked at me and gave me a thumbs up...

I took my fiddle out of the case and as I did, the fingerboard fell off of the fiddle..Yep.  I had to hold it on while I played.  Forunately, the roughness of the expired glue made it easy to keep in place.. I have the glue pot on at this time....

Note the video of Busker Bear..His attempts to tip over the tip basket received a lot of smiles..

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This miniature bear was humanely trapped in an environment where habitat was being destroyed by a parking lot. A roundup occurred. I was fortunate enough to get on the Goodwill list of recipients of this little creature. He doesn't eat much, but must always wear a sweater because he is from a Very hot country, and Indiana seems cold in comparison. I make him stay in the front seat area of my pick up truck because in the house he always wants to climb on our plants.. He is after all, Feral.

Love it Lee. You encourage me to do it! Only, I'm not ready for the fiddle, so I'll stick with my mountain dulcimer. Is he rocking by a string tied to your leg?

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Originally posted by dulcimer bill
 

Love it Lee. You encourage me to do it! Only, I'm not ready for the fiddle, so I'll stick with my mountain dulcimer. Is he rocking by a string tied to your leg?

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Yes.  Six Pound fishing line.(and thread would work).. The line is clipped to my shoe by a clothes pin so that it will come off easily should someone walk between me and Busker.. I don't want to trip anyone..

That is way cool! Thanks. Checking out some spots here in Louisville. I'll let you know how it goes.

Near a popular restaurant is always a good place.. You don't have to be talented either.. People Rarely stop and listen.  The just appreciate your effort.  Can't wait to get a report back from you.

Yes, and then there is this type of busking..

My busking is about to turn a corner.. I'll post this sign..

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Originally posted by Lee M
 

My busking is about to turn a corner.. I'll post this sign..

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My friend, Roger, and I took Busker and the new sign to a busy street today.. Busker fooled a lot of people, especially kids, who though he was actually motorized or "real''.. We brought in a qucik $50 and a free cup of coffee and then  treated ourselves to a liquid refreshment..

Goes to show........ Yesterday, $50 in two hours.   Today just 25...........cents    in an hour and a half.. Fame and fortune can be fleeting.  That's what I'll say from now on.

After a paid gig last night associated with the Homer Soda fest ( busking potential there for next year) I had planed to busk at the Urbana farmers market, I was signed up for a 9:00-10:30time. I woke up about 4:00 AM and it was raining. I went back to sleep and woke up again about 6:30...Still raining. I got up at 7:00 to feed myself...still raining, well, surely it will stop before my show time. At 8:00 it was still raining 8:30 still raining, and the weather map looks like it will be raining well past my scheduled tome slot. Disappointment is big in my house this morning. I guess I will work on new tunes. Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats YOU

Okay Lee (et. al) how good do you have to be to busk and not get tomatoes throw at you? I know a slew of tunes, but its a rare occurrence that I make it through one with zero mistakes (a note out of tune, bumping a string etc). I did some reading about the fiddling buskers in Chicago and they describe taking requests, working the crowd etc etc. That makes me think I ought to wait.

I'm not concerned about how this would impact tips, since that's not really why I'd be doing it, but I just don't want to annoy people.

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Originally posted by quietglow
 

Okay Lee (et. al) how good do you have to be to busk and not get tomatoes throw at you? I know a slew of tunes, but its a rare occurrence that I make it through one with zero mistakes (a note out of tune, bumping a string etc). I did some reading about the fiddling buskers in Chicago and they describe taking requests, working the crowd etc etc. That makes me think I ought to wait.

I'm not concerned about how this would impact tips, since that's not really why I'd be doing it, but I just don't want to annoy people.

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Don't Wait.. Get out there.  If someone makes a request you can just reply, "I'm just a beginner, sorry.".. You don't have to work the crowd..To be able to do that takes time.  Not all buskers do it.    If someone throws a tomato at you, make a salad.  A rough guess is that 99.99999% of the people who give a tip don't care about your skill level.. The appreciate the fact that you are out there.  You'll be surprised pleasantly.   Also, 99.99999% of the people who do listen for a moment couldn't care less if you make a mistake.. Most of them won't know a good note from a bad one anyway..  I knew one woman who like to busk..  As fiddlers go, she wasn't accomplished ...not in the least.. She had bad timing and terrible form, but she was still out there.. She'd talk to all of the kids and let them try here instrument (guardedly).. She made good tips and had fun.  

If you want to feel  safe, just pick a handful of tunes that you DO feel comfortable with..Remember, most people are just walking by.  They will only hear you for about 10 seconds. You might also try something like Busker Bear to redirect some of the attention from your playing and to add to the overall experience for the passersby........

Just for fun, make a sign that says, "$1 to help me pay for lessons.. I need them" or "Yeah, my wife doesn't like to listen to me either. $1 and I'll stop until you are a block away".. Humor makes a lot of friends....Keep us posted.

I just listened to the two tunes that you have posted..They are very suitable for busking..and you do a good job on them..Good luck.

Getting to hang out with the "buddy you rarely see' is one of the best things about busking...!!

about once a week or so, someone asks me if I give lessons. I say "No, I'm not classically trained and not qualified to give lessons. This is true. I wouldn't know how to show a beginner how to hold the fiddle or bow, or to correct posture, or much of anything...and I don't read. Some people are reluctant to take 'no' for an answer and say are you sure? You play very well etc. but there's a big difference between playing and teaching, methinks. I wouldn't have the patience for it. Maybe if someone who could already play some, I could show 'em some blues or modal stuff, but that's about it.

What prompted this post was I was talking to a girl who went by with a violin case, asked her if she had time to play my violin a bit. ( I do this cuz I get to hear my fiddle from a distance) Anyways she said she was just a beginner and didn't really want to. In the course of the conversation, I found out she is paying $78.00 cdn per hour, once a week. I thought, pretty good money. But then I thought about how much a teacher would have to pay out for what, 7 or more years  in order to be able to teach properly?

....I guess there's no free lunch! 

Joe, take note.  Remember the girl in the wheel chair?  Today she came by the busking site for her first fiddle lesson.  I showed her the obvious, how to hold the bow and fiddle.. I gave here a simple tune to work on..I took busking breaks and fiddled while she practiced.  At the end of two hours, she had learned a lot and could actually play all of the notes on the tune.. Passersby marveled at the combination of her and me..(Mutt and Jeff).. a few took photos and one, a video..We brought in $18, a water, and a cup of coffee.  

SO, you see, it is not all about skill.. I've encouraged her to 'practice' in our busking spot.  She wants me to make here  a Play More $1, Stop Playing $3, sign that will fit in her fiddle case.  Can't wait to see what results she gets just knowing One tune....barely......I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for the encouragement y'all. I'm going to pick up my busking liscense (we have to have one of those) later this week and am hoping to give it a shot next week. Will let you know how it goes.

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Originally posted by bluesmode
 

asked her if she had time to play my violin a bit. ( I do this cuz I get to hear my fiddle from a distance) 

 

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I never asked anyone to play my fiddle, but plenty people asked me if they could play it, maybe they thought they could make it sound as good as me, I dunno..?  I used to hand it over reluctantly because we were at a gig not busking and I had to behave accordingly, but I was never impressed with the sounds they made. I mean you need a license to drive a Roth, and anyone who could drive it would'nt approach a stranger and ask for his most precious instrument. Well, ever since the day this chappy had a go at playing my fiddle, he pressed so hard that his first finger nail severed the winding on my brand new Dominant D string, I was furious. Now when they ask I just stare  blankly pretending I did'nt hear them..................

Yup, that's why I only ask someone carrying a violin case. I've had people come up to me and ask. I say sorry, I don't let anyone hold the fiddle. Sometimes I get. Oh c'mon, I just want to...... then I hafta get a little firmer, saying, what if you dropped it? etc. I've had people just reach out and try to touch it. I pull back very quickly. sometimes I do like you, pretend I don't hear them.

drunks are the worst.

I agree with you about asking other violinists to play their instrument. I was in the violin shop one time, and there was a guy who played in the Calgary Philharmonic. He had a 17 something Landolfi, fine Italian instrument. I listened to him for a couple of minutes and complimented him on the beautiful sound emanating from it. He asked me if I would like to play it. At first I stammered and said no, better not. But then very quickly I said, well ok, if you're offering, I would love to play it. What a machine that was. Very thrilling experience. 

"Busker" has been plugged-in....I took a cutoff switchplate/plug and epoxyed a plug to it, (tongs cut off).. A Lot of the passersby were very confused..needless to say.  The fun ended after three hours of busking when some guy came by wearing a 7 foot snake around his shoulders and a 5 foot snake coiled around his arm...Suddenly, Busker wasn't so interesting to the crowd.. I left before he could become a meal to a Boa......

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Originally posted by Lee M
 

"Busker" has been plugged-in....I took a cutoff switchplate/plug and epoxyed a plug to it, (tongs cut off).. A Lot of the passersby were very confused..needless to say.  The fun ended after three hours of busking when some guy came by wearing a 7 foot snake around his shoulders and a 5 foot snake coiled around his arm...Suddenly, Busker wasn't so interesting to the crowd.. I left before he could become a meal to a Boa......

 

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Originally posted by dulcimer bill
 

Love it Lee. You encourage me to do it! Only, I'm not ready for the fiddle, so I'll stick with my mountain dulcimer. Is he rocking by a string tied to your leg?

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Well, Bill, did you get out there?

Thanks for the push Lee! Don't give up on me buddy. I'll get there!