After all our discussions about the different tactics of presentation, the differing levels of success, and the varying locations of buskers, I wanted to write a comment on their role as a social activity. I mean to define 'social activity' as a form of engagement with broader societal practices and accepted methods of acting. In addition, I want to consider how busking and performing as a busker relates to the broader idea of performing music.
First, when I was observing buskers, I noticed a trend that seemed to run in contrast to many accept practices for acting in today's society. Whereas most people try to avoid inter-personal contact with complete strangers, the buskers who were the most successful actively engaged with the people who were around them. Whether it was comments regarding the day's sports games, the weather, jokes, or simple questions, engaging a passerby was correlated with success (when success is defined as quantity of monetary donations). The establishment of a conversation within a public space such as a sidewalk between strangers seems unusual, but was a highly effective method of gaining much needed attention. In challenging the accepted practices for how to act, the musicians were able to carve out a bit of space which was there personal domain. As Timothy Rice mentions regarding Alan Mirriam's list of ethnomusicology themes, one of them relates to "physical and verbal behavior in relation to music." In the specific case of busking, carving out a physical space and establishing it with verbal interaction seemed to be a highly successful tactic. It encouraged the audience to participate in the performance, as opposed to merely being present for the presentation of the music.
Second, the role of music as a social force in the public space has already been widely discussed by ethnomusicologists. There are numerous ideas for the effects that music can hold, and many have been discussed at length as part of our class. One set of ideas that is particularly interesting is the foundational concepts for the Marè favela program in Rio. As Samuel Araujo writes, there were several ideas and reasons for backing music as a force for intervention in the favelas, some of which included:
"to professionalize them as artists and, consequently, make them able to generate income"
"to create positive images of success"
"that music is an intrinsically good practice that needs to be encouraged"
Busking, specifically is a very low-level and accessible implementation of these ideals. While Chicago has a tough licensing program, it remains a reasonably low barrier to entry in the profession. There is a sense of equality, that any musician of any skill can perform once a license has been acquired. Once performing, one is able to generate income. More importantly, the music created by a performer produces a space that they control the sound of. In that space, the performer can play a repertoire of familiar songs to attract greater attention from those who may know the songs, or improv in an attempt to share their version of music. As a form of entertainment, music has been influential for centuries if not millennia. Performing and busking on a street is simply another way to influence an audience, however minimally or subconsciously.
Finally, in my eyes, busking is a method of performance that is against a growing trend of musical performance in today's society. Most musical performances are in a controlled venue, with a set selection of pieces to perform, and with limited audience interaction. Buskers on the other hand remove those barriers to experiencing a performance. They perform where all can here them, where audience interaction is highly valued, and where they can alter their performance or dialog on a moments notice. In fact, it seems they alter their actions frequently to elicit more money from listeners. Performing on the street requires a fundamentally different approach that performing in a concert hall. More importantly within the scope of this class' inquiry, busking provides an accessible, fair, and diverse form of performing that gives much of the social impact potential to the performer exclusively.
-Christopher
--
Sources:
Timothy Rice's article is currently unpublished and undergoing peer review for an upcoming publication in a journal. It's use for this class was a permission granted by the author.
First, when I was observing buskers, I noticed a trend that seemed to run in contrast to many accept practices for acting in today's society. Whereas most people try to avoid inter-personal contact with complete strangers, the buskers who were the most successful actively engaged with the people who were around them. Whether it was comments regarding the day's sports games, the weather, jokes, or simple questions, engaging a passerby was correlated with success (when success is defined as quantity of monetary donations). The establishment of a conversation within a public space such as a sidewalk between strangers seems unusual, but was a highly effective method of gaining much needed attention. In challenging the accepted practices for how to act, the musicians were able to carve out a bit of space which was there personal domain. As Timothy Rice mentions regarding Alan Mirriam's list of ethnomusicology themes, one of them relates to "physical and verbal behavior in relation to music." In the specific case of busking, carving out a physical space and establishing it with verbal interaction seemed to be a highly successful tactic. It encouraged the audience to participate in the performance, as opposed to merely being present for the presentation of the music.
Second, the role of music as a social force in the public space has already been widely discussed by ethnomusicologists. There are numerous ideas for the effects that music can hold, and many have been discussed at length as part of our class. One set of ideas that is particularly interesting is the foundational concepts for the Marè favela program in Rio. As Samuel Araujo writes, there were several ideas and reasons for backing music as a force for intervention in the favelas, some of which included:
"to professionalize them as artists and, consequently, make them able to generate income"
"to create positive images of success"
"that music is an intrinsically good practice that needs to be encouraged"
Busking, specifically is a very low-level and accessible implementation of these ideals. While Chicago has a tough licensing program, it remains a reasonably low barrier to entry in the profession. There is a sense of equality, that any musician of any skill can perform once a license has been acquired. Once performing, one is able to generate income. More importantly, the music created by a performer produces a space that they control the sound of. In that space, the performer can play a repertoire of familiar songs to attract greater attention from those who may know the songs, or improv in an attempt to share their version of music. As a form of entertainment, music has been influential for centuries if not millennia. Performing and busking on a street is simply another way to influence an audience, however minimally or subconsciously.
Finally, in my eyes, busking is a method of performance that is against a growing trend of musical performance in today's society. Most musical performances are in a controlled venue, with a set selection of pieces to perform, and with limited audience interaction. Buskers on the other hand remove those barriers to experiencing a performance. They perform where all can here them, where audience interaction is highly valued, and where they can alter their performance or dialog on a moments notice. In fact, it seems they alter their actions frequently to elicit more money from listeners. Performing on the street requires a fundamentally different approach that performing in a concert hall. More importantly within the scope of this class' inquiry, busking provides an accessible, fair, and diverse form of performing that gives much of the social impact potential to the performer exclusively.
-Christopher
--
Sources:
Timothy Rice's article is currently unpublished and undergoing peer review for an upcoming publication in a journal. It's use for this class was a permission granted by the author.
Rice, Timothy 2014 “Ethnomusicology in Times of Trouble”.
Araujo, Samuel and Vincenzo Cambria 2013 “Sound Praxis, Poverty and Social Participation; Perspectives from a Collaborative Study in Rio de Janeiro.” Yearbook for Traditional Music 45:28-42.
Araujo, Samuel and Vincenzo Cambria 2013 “Sound Praxis, Poverty and Social Participation; Perspectives from a Collaborative Study in Rio de Janeiro.” Yearbook for Traditional Music 45:28-42.
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