The Cheapest Gig in Town

　　从古欧洲的吟游诗人，到如今的国际街头艺术节，人们对街头艺术的看法向来是一分为二的。有些人认为它在本质上就是一种艺术，而另外一些人则认为，它与乞讨没有什么不同，只不过是一种高级的、体面的乞讨方式罢了。不过，话又说回来，能说服路人为你的表演买单，也算得上一种艺术了。

　　Definition 定义解读

　　A busker is someone who performs music or an act on the street. The most common kind of busker plays a guitar. Passers-by will drop money into his/her guitar case. However, players of other instruments, from the classicalviolin to the handsaw, are also buskers. In fact, any kind of street performance can be regarded as a form of busking. This includes fire-breathers, jugglers, storytellers, mime artists and dancers.

　　街头艺人是指在大街上演奏音乐或表演节目的人。最常见的街头艺人是吉他演奏者。路人会将钱丢入他/她的吉他盒中。不过，演奏其它乐器的人也算街头艺人，他们演奏的乐器囊括了从古典小提琴到锯琴的各种乐器。事实上，任何类别的街头表演都可以被当作一种街头艺术形式。这就涵盖了玩喷火把戏者、变戏法者、说书人、哑剧艺术者和舞者的各类人群。

　　Busking and The City 街头表演与城市

　　In some cities busking requires a permit while in others it is tolerated as long as it doesn't ①interfere with noise and traffic regulations.

　　在某些城市中，街头表演需要得到许可，而在另一些城市中，只要它不违反噪音条例和交通法规就没有问题。

　　In Europe, city authorities generally welcome buskers. It is believed that in busy city-centre areas street performers create a festive and lively atmosphere that helps to attract more visitors and shoppers. As passers-by stop to enjoy street performances, they are more likely to take notice of the nearby shops and businesses, and to make more purchases.

　　在欧洲，市政当局一般是对街头艺人持欢迎态度的。据信，街头艺人可以在热闹的市中心创造一种喜庆活跃的气氛，而这有助于吸引更多的游人和顾客。当路人停下脚步来欣赏街头表演时，他们很有可能会注意到附近的店铺和商行，从而购买更多的物品。
Underground Music 地铁中的音乐

　　Last year the London Underground allocated certain parts of the Underground for busking. Buskers who want to be part of one of the world's most competitive busking s cenes will have to pass an audition and pay ￡20 for a permit. There are currently over 600 buskers permitted to play for tube commuters in London. Four of them are in contract negotiations with Sony and EMI. Some other facts about London Underground's Buskers include：

　　去年，伦敦地铁在地铁站内为街头表演开辟了特定的区域。街头艺人要想在这个全世界最具竞技性的街头表演场中占有一席之地的话，就要跨过试演这一关，并支付20英镑以便得到一张许可证。目前，有600多名街头艺人得到了许可，可以为伦敦乘地铁通勤的人进行表演。他们之中有4个人正在与索尼公司和百代公司洽谈合约的事情。与伦敦地铁的街头艺人相关的其它事情有：

　　*Of the 602 licensed London Underground Buskers， 78 per cent are men， 22 per cent are women.

　　在602名拥有许可证的伦敦地铁街头艺人中，78%是男性，22%是女性。

　　*52 per cent of them are gainfully employed elsewhere. One is a doctor， one a teacher and another an accountant.

　　他们中有52%的人在其它地方有带薪工作。有一个是医生，有一个是教师，还有一个是会计。

　　*The oldest performer is 89 year-old 'Busker Bill'.

　　年龄最大的艺人是89岁的"街头艺人比尔"。

　　*Of the 602 buskers， 58 per cent are guitarists， 10 per cent violinists， 9 per cent saxophonists， 10 per cent play flutes and harmonicas， 6 per cent accordions and keyboards and 2 per cent play the didgeridoo.

　　在602名街头艺人当中，58%是演奏吉他的人，10%是演奏小提琴的人，9%是演奏萨克斯管的人，10%是演奏长笛和口琴的人，6%是演奏手风琴和键盘的人，还有2%是演奏迪吉里杜管的人。

　　*67 per cent have been approached to play elsewhere， including：

　　67%的人受邀在其它地方表演，这些场合包括：

　　- A secret celebrity party

　　一次秘密的名人聚会上

　　- A 50th birthday of Woolwich Artillery Barracks' commanding officer

　　伍尔威治炮兵营地司令官的50岁生日宴会上

　　- A summer party for an embassy in London

　　伦敦某大使馆的一次夏日聚会上

　　*One busker plays purely for charity - donating his entire takings to Children in Need each week

　　一名街头艺人的表演纯粹是为了慈善事业--每周他都会把收入捐给"贫困儿童"组织。　How to Busk 如何在街头卖艺

　　Busking is a fun activity for the performer. Buskers, regardless of whether they are professional musicians or amateurs, can enjoy the experience of performing anonymously. The success of the performance depends solely on how well the busker can grab and hold a crowd's attention. It's a fun way to be part of a festive crowd and practice performance skills in the meantime.

　　街头表演对于街头艺人来说是一项有乐趣的活动。街头艺人，无论是专业的音乐家还是业余爱好者，都会从匿名表演中享受到乐趣。表演是否成功的唯一标准便是街头艺人吸引和保持人群注意力的能力。身处欢乐的人群之中并即时玩弄演奏技巧是一件乐事。

　　1. Learn about the regulations and laws about busking in the area you want to perform before you start strumming your guitar. Even in areas where it is legal to busk, make sure that if you draw a crowd you won't end up obstructing traffic. Busking is fun, but not if you end up on the wrong side of the law.

　　在你开始随意演奏吉他之前，要先搞清你想要表演的场所对街头表演有什么法律规定。即使是在可以合法进行街头表演的地方，也要确保一点，那就是如果你吸引住一堆人群，你不能到最后因此而阻碍了交通。街头表演是乐趣，但是，如果你违反了法律的话就并非如此了。

　　2. Respect the local residents. Don't ②lay into your drum kit at midnight in a residential area. Also respect the space of other buskers.

　　要尊重当地居民。午夜时分，不要在居民区敲打你的架子鼓。也不要侵占其他街头艺人的空间。

　　3. Judge your audience. Try to play music that will appeal to them. If they are older, play a few golden oldies, and if they are young give them more contemporary stuff. Watch their reactions. As soon as the crowd starts to fidget change the music.

　　对听众要有判断力。试着演奏对他们有吸引力的乐曲。如果他们比较老，就演奏一些老歌金曲，如果他们是年轻人，就给他们多演奏些当代曲目。观察他们的反应。一旦人群开始出现厌烦情绪，就改变曲目。

　　4. When selecting a location take acoustics into account. Many buskers choose subway tunnels because of the interesting sound effects. However, the public usually pass through these areas quickly and are not inclined to linger. Doorways and alcoves on street level are a better option. Train stations, bus stations and other places where people have to wait are the best.

　　在选择场地的时候，要考虑到音响效果。许多街头艺人选择地铁通道是因为那里有趣的声音效果。不过，人们通常会快速走过这些区域而不太可能逗留。大街上的门道和门洞是个更好的选择。而火车站、汽车站和其它人们要做停留的地方则是最佳的场所。
　Interview 访谈

　　Darren Snow, an English teacher in Beijing, talked about his experience as a busker.

　　在北京做英语教师的戴润·斯诺讲述了他当街头艺人的经历。

　　--Darren, tell us about your busking experience.

　　--戴润，跟我们说说你的街头艺人经历吧。

　　Darren: My busking experience is quite limited but it's been quite good. Once, I backpacked around Europe and I brought an acoustic guitar with me. My plan was to make the money I needed to get-by, by busking. This was quite an ambitious plan. It didn't quite work out like that. But I did busk in a few cities.

　　戴润：我街头表演的经历不是很多，但却相当不错。有一次，我轻装环游欧洲，随身带着一把原声吉他。我打算通过街头表演来赚足我需要的旅行费。这个计划过于雄心勃勃。结果与其有很大出入。不过，我还是在一些城市的街头进行了表演。

　　I normally found it was harder in the established busking areas, to get a spot, because there were people who were there everyday. Especially in tourist cities because there's a lot of people passing by and they have spare money because they are on holidays. There would usually be a pedestrian street where people busked and they would become quite established. They'd do it there everyday and they'd make quite good money doing it. They weren't that enamoured with a young guy coming in and sitting down with a guitar and stealing their business.

　　我通常会发现，很难在一些约定俗成的街头表演区中觅得一席之地，因为有一些人每天都会去那里。尤其是在旅游城市，原因是，有很多人只是路过，由于他们是在度假，所以对钱很节省。通常会有一条步行街，人们聚集在那里表演街头艺术，并会变得小有名气。他们会每天在那里表演，而他们表演的收入也是相当不错的。如果某个年轻人来到这里，坐下就开始弹奏吉他，并抢走他们的生意的话，他们就不那么高兴了。

　　But I did do it a few times and it was fine. People usually reacted quite well. You know, you are foreign there, so there's a bit of interest with that. They want to hear different songs. In the end, I didn't do it for the money so much. In the areas where you could make money it was usually just established people. I did it because I found it quite interesting. You would meet people and sometimes they would join in. It was an interesting thing to do in a new city.

　　不过，我确实有几次体验，感觉不错。人们的反响通常是相当不错的。你知道，你在那里是个异乡人，所以人们对此有点感兴趣。他们想听到不同风格的歌曲。到了最后，我都不是太为了钱而表演了。在你可以赚到钱的地方，通常都只是一些已赢得名气的人聚在那里。我在街头表演过，因为我发现那很有趣。你会遇到一些人，有时他们还会与表演相呼应。在一个陌生的城市里来做这个是很有趣的。

　　--Have you ever busked in your on hometown？

　　--你曾在自己的家乡表演过街头艺术吗？

　　Darren: I've never busked in Dublin city, but I've busked in some of the suburbs where I've lived. That can be fun. If you are with a few people it's almost a social thing; a few people with a couple of guitars, sing a few songs and some people stop and watch and maybe you can make a little money.

　　戴润：我从没有在都柏林城表演过街头艺术，但我在我居住的郊区的某些地方表演过街头艺术。那可以是一件乐事。如果你和一些朋友在一起，那就几乎可以说是一个交际活动了；几个人拿着几把吉他，哼唱着一些歌曲，会招来一些人驻足欣赏，可能你还会赚到点钱。　--Could you actually make money？

　　--你真的能赚到钱吗？

　　Darren: I couldn't, probably. My singing voice isn't that good. You could make a little bit of money, definitely, but not proper money. There are some guys in Dublin who are very good and definitely do make money. There's a street called Grafton Street, which is the main shopping street and it's pedestrian. There are a couple of guys there who play Beatle's songs and they've done that for a couple of years. They're really good. They'd usually have maybe fifty people watching them. I think they make quite a bit of money.

　　戴润：大概，我办不到。我的嗓音不怎么好。你是可以赚到点钱的，这是肯定的，但赚不到足够的钱。在都柏林，有几个家伙非常棒，他们肯定能赚到钱。那儿有一条格雷夫顿大街，它是一条主要的购物步行街。在那儿，有几个家伙在演唱"甲壳虫乐队"的歌曲，而且他们已在那儿唱了好几年了。他们确实很棒。经常会有50个左右的人来观看他们的表演。我认为，他们挣了不少钱。

　　--In Europe, what kinds of people busk？

　　--在欧洲，什么样的人会在街头表演呢？

　　Darren: Well, there are the people who want to do well with a band and they need to make some money ③on the side. Maybe they play in clubs to see if they can get noticed. But this doesn't pay very well. If they're good, they can make some extra money during the day, on the street. There are also some old people who've played all their lives and have retired. They might make a little extra money but they also enjoy it. They do some traditional songs and they are really just doing it as a lifestyle thing. And then there are young lads with guitars who do it for a laugh. They do it because they enjoy it and maybe they can make a few bob. But they usually don't.

　　戴润：嗯，有些人想做好一支乐队，而且他们需要挣些外快。也许，他们会在俱乐部里表演以便检验他们是否能引起别人注意。可这么做的收入并不怎么好。如果他们水平高，白天的时候他们就可以在大街上挣到些外快。还有一些老人，他们一辈子都在从事表演，不过已经退休了。他们挣到的外快可能只有一点点，但他们仍旧享受着其中的乐趣。他们演奏的是一些传统歌曲，而且他们真的是在把这当作一种生活方式。另外，还有一些弹吉他的年轻小伙子，他们这么做是为了找乐子。他们表演是因为他们喜欢，也许他们也会赚到点钱。但通常他们是赚不到的。

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