Busking with a double bass

[Charling]

Hi, ive started to think about taking my bass out to busk with (on my own) at some point.

where i live (norwich, UK) has a nice city centre and theres always a fair few buskers.

a friend of mine started to go out with his sax and said it was great fun, and he earned a pretty fair amount of money considering he was just noodling over the changes.

so while the gigs are a bit thin on the ground I thought I might give it a go, as I imagine your average non-muso might quite like to watch someone playing DB in the street just because they probably don't see one that often!

I was thinking of of doing some simple arrangements, just a few bass notes held under the head melody, then doing a walk solo then a more melodic solo, then back to the head.

anyone had any experience with this? any ideas or things to report? to me it seems like a nice way to get paid for practicing, and spending more time performing as well, which is where i always find my ideas coming together!

[rllefebv]

Originally Posted by Charling

so while the gigs are a bit thin on the ground I thought I might give it a go, as I imagine your average non-muso might quite like to watch someone playing DB in the street just because they probably don't see one that often!

While it's not the same as true busking, a friend and I are practicing as a guitar/bass duo and do so frequently in a shady spot in the park next to my house... people tend to gravitate. If we had a case out, we could probably get enough to pay for our beer

I do believe the draw is more the bass than the guitar... I know that if I saw a DB busker, I'd have to check it out, (and drop a few bux!)

-robert

[velvetkevorkian]

There's a loose kind of collective that do this in Glasgow city centre- sometimes a solo drummer, I've seen them with an extra percussionist, a sax player, a guitarist and an electric bassist (and various combinations thereof). They always get a good reception, especially when they're out late on Friday/Saturday nights.

[damonsmith]

I used to do it quite often. I have done solos, duos and trios.
With a full trio or duo good free jazz works as well as standards.
When I play solo I normally play tunes.
I live in Oakland a 10 minute train ride under the bay to San Francisco.
When I take the train in I often warm up a bit at the train station.
I normally make my train fare.
At one point it was a part of my income. A saxophonist and I would play for the commute at the train station and make between $25-80 each per day 5 days a week.

It really helps your sound. The great thing about it is you can make a gig when ever you want.
Most of the busking I did was early in the day when there are no gigs.