Anal ysi ng t he buskers
The Buskers’ Club Juliette Sung
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The buskers in Hull
Performers who start careers on the street have fond memories of working there, the “magic� that happens and the great performances witnessed. Busking is a great way for up- and comers to learn audience savvy, gain confidence, figure out what works, hone skills, and turn these skills into a show. Hull has its fair share of buskers, from regular opera-singing turns in Queen Victoria Square to Peruvian pipe bands in Jameson Street or local guitar - strumming duos taking up residence is shop doorways all over town. According to the Hull city council, there are currently around 315 registered buskers in Hull. It is free to get the busking badge but there is restriction on busking pitches, in order to maintain a balanced relationship between the local community, street performers and businesses.
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0 1 S ound sc ape analysis of busking pi tch es
By observing, listening and creating music at different busking pitches, there are many other different kinds of sound produced at the background, such as the seagull singing, people walking and the traffic light beeping. I am interested in how do these pitches affect with each other and what made them being a good busking location?
The soundscape from the train station to the river corridor
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Soundscape study of pitches
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a c
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Each disc on the model represent each busking pitch in Hull. It clearly shows the tie between the train station, with the old town and the Hull river corridor. The black thread represents the soundscape while the white ribbon shows the flow of people. Location a to g are the existing busking pitches and location h to j are my busking pitches for my intervention.
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h j
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r s ite
0 2 Ergonomic st ud y of buskers
Moving towards architecture, by taking photos and sketching of the buskers, I put them through computational drawings and analysized the ergonomy of individual busker. Every busker is different, some with louder instruments while some with softer ones, each of them have their own specific needs of utensils.
Initial sketch
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0 3 S ummary
As a musician, playing music is the best way to express emotions. When it comes to busking, a private, intimate space might be more likely to be a busking pitch, as it can provide you comfort and also a good acoustic backdrop that echos the sound. One time busking in the shopping arcade in Hull made me aware of the restriction of busking. The corridor in shopping arcade is a part of the public realm but I was being to leave by a member of the city council after just one minute of busking. The public was not happy about it and gave the city council member a harsh response.
There are around 315 registered buskers in Hull but due to the lack of busking pitches over there, I could only observe 6 buskers when I first visited Hull. I think it is necessary to provide more allowance on busking pitches, and maybe let busking to be one of the main re-activist at the Hull river corridor.
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0 5 Conversat ion In order to gain a better understanding of the local buskers in Hull, I made personal interaction with them, as a member of the buskers. The conversation was really interesting and helpful. Each busker has their own story behind to stand there and busk.
“I always heat up the charcoal and just put them in a fisherman tin box, for warming up my hands during the cold season. “
“I think busking is the best practice. “
Paul (Guitarist)
Josh (Guitarist)
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“I busk for the charity because this charity supported my assistant in law, who was died there.“
“I was once a beggar, until a policeman came up offering me a recorder during the xmas eve. He asked me to play something out of it but I told him that I couldn’t because I just don’t know how to do it. He then kept encouraging me to do so, and surprisingly that I could actually play the Jingle bell tune out of it! It changed my life. Never say you cannot until you have really tried it.“
Andrew (Accordion)
Scott (Accordion)
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06 Deskt op researc h
Hull has always been a place for buskers. There were events and festivals being held in the past for buskers, such as the Lord Mayor’s Parade. Hull doesn’t only attract local buskers but also buskers from nearby cities, in which I could find quite a lot of online social updates on the busking activity within Hull. Moreover, the shopping centre, Prospect Centre Hull are actually providing busking slots within their shopping centre.
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