what's up with the violinists?

[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!

[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

[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

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.