Our school was having a fundraiser called "Pennies for Pakistan" because of the recent floods. My music teacher suggested busking in the cafeteria in addition to the homerooms already contributing, so a few of us volunteered to play at lunch on different days of the week.
Last year for a different fundraiser, the guitar player was largely ignored, while the flautists and saxophonists made a considerable amount of money. Whether it was because of the type of music he played or because the cafeteria was absolutely crowded and no one could see the busking sign (or the guitarist for that matter), I'm not entirely sure. It was probably a combination of both.
I decided I was going to need an instrument with presence. Something besides my bass guitar.
So I brought my double bass to school.
Many comments about her being very beautiful or very big were made. I did get a few "nice cello" comments, but oh well. Surprisingly, I had no metalheads come and ask me if I could play Apocalyptica. Maybe they were the ones that could tell...
So my twin and I set up our stuff to begin busking, warming up before the large crowd came in. Unfortunately, by the time the big crowds came in, we were being drowned out by loud music coming from the speakers hung from the ceiling and we were ignored. SAC was selling student cards and yearbooks that day, and the girl who was playing the music apparently didn't know that people were busking and by the time she was informed, it was too late.
We still managed to make $5 in pennies and other various small change in spite of not being heard. I suppose it's not too hard to miss a double bass in a small cafeteria.
We had Concert Band and Jazz Band afterschool, so we played her there. Again, we weren't heard (due to lack of amplification; we have no pickup for our double bass, nor did our classroom have any spare amps or microphones) but when everyone else was relatively quiet and we could be heard, I got compliments such as "that sounds
so sick!" and "I want your double bass!"
Even the teachers liked it, saying it'd be perfect for a vocal jazz group or even a Dixieland band. Looks like we're gonna be slaves to afterschool bands.
To clear up any confusion: our school does not have a strings program (ie. violin, viola, cello, double bass, etc.) If you would like to play bass in band, you play electric bass. Also, we only own one double bass. I play tenor sax in Jazz Band while my twin plays piccolo in Concert Band.
