what's up with the violinists?

[Kev Williams]

Out of nowhere around here, every shopping center suddenly has a guy (or guys) playing a violin, thru an amplifier, usually along with some background music. Sunday I went to 3 shopping centers within a half hour and each one had a violin show. Today we took the dog to be groomed, same shopping center I went to Sunday, and a different guy playing, but in the same spot. All these guys seemed to be playing for money. And while I'm hardly an aficionado, I was surprised that all 4 of these guys were actually pretty decent!

I'm guessing this must be some sort of 'flash mob' thing arranged thru social media, but I'm curious, is this 'thing' going on elsewhere or just a Salt Lake area thing? Also curious as to why reasonably talented violinists would need to panhandle? Are guitarists next? Accordions? :)

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I have not seen that but would like too. Many musicians really like to play. There are quite a few stories and YouTubes of very famous players randomly playing on the street, incognito. I may be over thinking. I associate random Violin playing in public with freedom and safety.

Also lots of performers have been out of work for 2 years. Our Civic Orchestra is playing again for the first in time over two years. Everyone is excited.

[Curt Harms]

I saw the same thing in a local supermarket parking lot, smallish town. No idea as to the origin.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I do think it relates to world events. Did anyone recognize the songs?

Violinists across the world play for Ukraine (https://www.violinist.com/discussion/thread.cfm?page=5685)

Concert for Ukraine: Musicians join Kyiv violinist stuck in bomb shelter for a tear-jerking performance | Trending News,The Indian Express (https://indianexpress.com/article/trending/trending-globally/concert-for-ukraine-virtual-orchestra-plays-with-kyiv-violinist-stuck-in-bomb-shelter-7844028/)

[Stan Calow]

We've had them around here too. Usually in a Walmart or Target parking lot. But the consensus is that they aren't really playing - its recorded music to which they are "syncing". So be advised.

[Jim Koepke]

For some reason the first thing that popped into my mind was a comic from many years ago with a police officer standing over a guy, with a violin, he just shot and saying to a shocked woman, "gee lady, how else do you expect me to stop violins in the street?"

jtk

[Jim Becker]

There are a lot of folks that earn all or part of their living busking. (the term for playing like that for tips) It's not new, but technology does permit people to provide a sonically larger show with background instruments, etc.

[Kev Williams]

many years ago for a vacation we motorhome'd to San Francisco, then up to see the ocean, the Redwoods, the Oregon coast and finally hit Seattle. Downtown was nothing BUT impromptu musicians, EVERYwhere! Very cool actually. Now in downtown SLC proper I'm sure there's more than a few street musicians playing. But out here in the 'burbs, until these, not one but several, violinists, I've never seen anyone play music... I watched 3 of 4 of them play (the 4th had a 'helper' and at the time were talking with people in cars) and I can safely say they weren't going thru the motions, they were definitely playing those fiddles; too many 'ad-lib' notes & such ;) ...

[Alan Rutherford]

Years ago I was by myself walking through a long pedestrian tunnel between 2 stations on the subway in Paris. Someone was playing the theme from Dr. Zhivago on a violin 'way down the tunnel as I walked toward it. It echoed in the tunnel. Might have been the most moving piece of music I ever heard.

[John K Jordan]

Just returned from Italy. Musicians on the streets in every city and town. I donate if they are good. I listened to a man playing a cello three consecutive days. Guitarists, violin and flute, string quartet, a very creative 4-man group, drummers, guitar/trumpet/singer, sax, marimba, and more. One woman dressed in oriental clothes was playing an instrument I’ve never seen before - a long plucked string instrument: pressing on the string extending past the bridge varied the pitch. Some performers had CDs for sell.

[Jim Koepke]

One of my favorite street music groups is Tuba Skinny on YouTube > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYJhgz4L3UU < (playing Maple Leaf Rag - not necessarily my favorite of their repertoire, but enjoyable)

When employed at BART in the San Francisco area there were almost always musicians in and around the stations. Some were very good. Some were not so good.

jtk

[Bernie Kopfer]

We've had them around here too. Usually in a Walmart or Target parking lot. But the consensus is that they aren't really playing - its recorded music to which they are "syncing". So be advised.
The difference between a live violin and noise coming from portable speakers should be recognizable, even with hearing aids!

[Mel Fulks]

The difference between a live violin and noise coming from portable speakers should be recognizable, even with hearing aids!

Agree. A live violin sounds light and borne on the air around it, while the recordings can seem to be heavy, especially if one turns the bass
up beyond middle. I turn it down a little .

[Ernie Miller]

When I was a senior in high school I was a member of the All-City High School chorus. Members from all five boroughs of New York would rehearse every Saturday morning fro 9:00am to noon at a high school in Manhattan. After the rehearsal we would all meet in the 42nd street subway station, get into a huge circle, and sing for hours. Subway riders would form a circle around our circle and listen - some stayed for hours. No hats were passed - no money was involved, it was just 120 kids who loved singing together. That was 60 years ago and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and the reason I ended up teaching choral music for 35 years. Today, we would call what we did a flash mob. I called it making music for the joy of making music. I'll bet many of these musicians mentioned in this thread are doing it for the same reason.

[Larry Frank]

I like the street musicians. My favorite was a bagpipe on the street up to Edinburgh Castle.

[mike calabrese]

I am not the sharpest tooth on the saw but I got an instant blast of symbolism when I read Kev's post........
I could not help but think about the musicians who played on the Titanic as she went below the waves.
I would like to hear the music, is it bright and moving or more like a dirge . could there be a message in the music ?

[roger wiegand]

I'm a huge fan of street music of all kinds and always throw a buck, a pound, or a euro (or more) into the case as long as the person is at least trying.

As to reasons you're seeing more now-- I'd look to two years of unemployment and a lessening of risk at being out in public right now. I'd guess that many are tired of practicing at home alone, and that many at the semi-pro and pro range are pretty desperate for any income stream.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Our son makes part of his living playing drums, sometimes Busking. I don't know what they were thinking with this gig, all of the coins went into the river!


https://youtu.be/nYUey8IXUd4

[Jim Becker]

They are very good, Maurice!

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Thanks Jim! He is in a Folk group now. They are eager to get back to playing. I think most shows will continue to be outdoors.

[John K Jordan]

One of my favorite street music groups is Tuba Skinny on YouTube > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYJhgz4L3UU < (playing Maple Leaf Rag - not necessarily my favorite of their repertoire, but enjoyable)

When employed at BART in the San Francisco area there were almost always musicians in and around the stations. Some were very good. Some were not so good.

jtk

My favorite street musician ever was on a sidewalk in New York city, playing the steel drum. When talking about it he explained the arraignment and completeness of scale. I said, then you could play Chopin on it! and he broke out into a Chopin prelude. He said he had NEVER been asked for Chopin. I gave him a big donation.

I'd like to make a steel drum some day. I understand it is the noisiest instrument in the world to tune, shaped with iron balls and fine tuned with hammers.

JKJ

[Derek Meyer]

When I was in high school I played in band. Our high school band was small, around 25 to 30 members, so when we played in parades, we had our own float, built by the ag students, that had a generator and a PA system. Our instructor would make recordings of us playing our songs, then play them on the float through the PA while we played along. It reinforcedd our sound and made our band seem much bigger, and worked great for parades. We didn't need or use it indoors.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I guess this thread is a zombie. This news story confirms some of the theories.

Police say people pretending to play violin for money a 'nationwide issue' | WWMT (https://wwmt.com/news/local/violin-portage-target-violinist-solicit-money-donation-westnedge)

[Ernie Miller]

I think most people wonder how people fall for the various scams that are around (eg. Crown Prince from Algeria, etc.) It seems improbable that anyone would fall victim to these crooks. That said, how can anyone watch a "performer" fake playing the violin and not realize in the first 20 seconds that he's not playing the instrument. Bowing a violin is not nearly as easy as it may look. If there are strings on the violin, the bow would be producing all kinds of weird sounds. If there were no strings, it should be obvious that he's not actually playing. To think there are enough people all over the country who would be taken in by this scam is frightening, but it must be somewhat successful if it's become so widespread. Wow!

[Warren Lake]

my sister lives with a well respected violin player. His lifetime occupation, backed famous musicians. I think he has a bow that cost more than my car, oh cars. He plays many of the greats and when I see him I request this very important piece of music history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVCSGCbreOM

[Prashun Patel]

I have noticed a lot of busking recently. I seem to see a lot of saxophonists though.

Seems like every corner in my town has a CVS or Walgreens and a busking musician.

Too much sax, drugs, and violins I say!

[John K Jordan]

I guess this thread is a zombie. This news story confirms some of the theories.

Police say people pretending to play violin for money a 'nationwide issue' | WWMT (https://wwmt.com/news/local/violin-portage-target-violinist-solicit-money-donation-westnedge)


It would take just a few seconds of watching the fingers and the bow motion to know if a stringed instrument performer was actually playing or faking, assuming possession of working ears and eyes (and a basic knowledge of bowed stringed instruments).

In experiencing many dozens of street performances in various countries over the years I’ve never witnessed a fake.

Disclaimer: i’m not at all proficient but I can coax a melody from a cello and the violin hanging in my shop, and
used to play the stringed bass in a college band.

[Lee Schierer]

It would take just a few seconds of watching the fingers and the bow motion to know if a stringed instrument performer was actually playing or faking, assuming possession of working ears and eyes (and a basic knowledge of bowed stringed instruments).

In experiencing many dozens of street performances in various countries over the years I’ve never witnessed a fake.

Disclaimer: i’m not at all proficient but I can coax a melody from a cello and the violin hanging in my shop, and
used to play the stringed bass in a college band.

I don't think you could fake playing by moving a bow across a stringed instrument without at least occasionally touching a string or two and creating a random noise that wouldn't match the music coming from a recording.

[John K Jordan]

I don't think you could fake playing by moving a bow across a stringed instrument without at least occasionally touching a string or two and creating a random noise that wouldn't match the music coming from a recording.

Yes, with a std horsehair bow and strings. But if I wanted to fake playing with a recording or MIDI stream I might experiment with strands of something slick for the bow hair, such as thin nylon fishing line, and something thick and slick for the instrument strings. No rosen, no friction, no sound. Maybe even put some kind of lubrication on the bow and strings.

To me, placement and coordination of the fingers on the strings with the pitch of the notes would be a huge tell.

[Jim Becker]

It's not just pseudo violinists...fake keyboardists also abound. There was one working the parking lot at the local Wegman's this past Friday afternoon. A lot of folks might have been fooled and thought that the man was actually playing, but as someone who has played since I was four and who also owns a very capable instrument, it was easy to recognize that the "playing" was programmed.

[Thomas Wilson]

My granddaughter wants to take piano lessons. Her mother, my daughter, a truly wonderful pianist, wants to make it happen. She is shopping for a Yamaha U3AR like she played. I am engineering how to lift this very heavy piano to the family level of her town house on the second floor, three floors above street level. This is going to be hard. I personally will make it work and try to make it look easy. I sort of wish the granddaughter wanted to play the violin. There is a future playing in shopping malls apparently.

[Dwayne Watt]

If her mother does not presently have a piano (and apparently does not), I would recommend a mid to higher end keyboard with weighted key action. Yamaha, Roland, and probably others play and sound like a conventional piano without the disadvantage of being heavy. A big plus is the volume can be turned down as to not disturb the neighbors, etc. A beginning learner is not a pleasant experience for anyone.

[Thomas Wilson]

If her mother does not presently have a piano (and apparently does not), I would recommend a mid to higher end keyboard with weighted key action. Yamaha, Roland, and probably others play and sound like a conventional piano without the disadvantage of being heavy. A big plus is the volume can be turned down as to not disturb the neighbors, etc. A beginning learner is not a pleasant experience for anyone.
She already has such a keyboard. That is not the point. She wants her own childhood for her child. I will provide it if I can.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I would have given the guy in the news story a dollar just for his sign. If I caught on to the fake violin playing I wouldn't even have wanted to make eye contact with him. It is getting really hard to judge the reality of things that can be observed in public. I am getting paranoid that folks around town are staging video shoots.

[Warren Lake]

When I worked with musicians they were the real deal. It was not a milli vanilli world.