Motion tabled to ban amplified buskers

Iwannahurl

Can a bye-law also be passed that would require buskers to pass some sort of basic music examination, or even just a 'musical ear test'?

inisboffin

Iwannahurl wrote: »

Can a bye-law also be passed that would require buskers to pass some sort of basic music examination, or even just a 'musical ear test'?

I doubt it. We can't even manage it for half the musicians that get on the telly regularly!

Head The Wall

inisboffin wrote: »

For some buskers this is their income, not just drink money. I really hope the find some compromise like a decibel meter, so this great tradition can continue without such animosity.

I hope they declare that income so

The decibel meter solution would be too hard to work, just ban amps it's the simplest and easiest to implement

pleasant Co.

Head The Wall wrote: »

just ban amps it's the simplest and easiest to implement

Typical lazy irish mentality why do something right when you can do it quickly, foresight be damned :pac:

I like the idea of a decibel meter, keeps the variety of buskers up and might encourage certain shops to lower the volume blasting through their doorway too.

Head The Wall

Its not really the lazy option as it will make enforcement easier. There will be too much bureaucracy with decibel meters - who will be responsible for testing them, they will need to be calibrated, they will possibly be challenged in court, who will operate them etc and all the other legal issues that have arisen in relation to alcohol breathalysers.


It's simpler to just ban them and then any guard or community warden walking the streets can just walk up to the offending busker and tell them what law they are breaking, no questions or excuses from the busker.

inisboffin

Head The Wall wrote: »

Its not really the lazy option as it will make enforcement easier. There will be too much bureaucracy with decibel meters - who will be responsible for testing them, they will need to be calibrated, they will possibly be challenged in court, who will operate them etc and all the other legal issues that have arisen in relation to alcohol breathalysers.


It's simpler to just ban them and then any guard or community warden walking the streets can just walk up to the offending busker and tell them what law they are breaking, no questions or excuses from the busker.

Hmm. If it's just amp banning, I am fairly sure we will be swamped with drum circles, bad sax players, bad pipers (the girl who plays around town is very good, so not talking about her) etc, who flock in for the summer, drown all the other buskers, and say 'hey, not breaking any law man!'. :eek: And yes. Some buskers do declare their income (not all though, I suspect! )

Joking aside, if it's an amp ban, it has to be an amp ban and instruments that can sound as loud as an amped quieter one. And how can they do that?

padraig71

I'm with Inisboffin on this one. I have busked plenty in Galway in the past, and never with an amp. IMO, learning to project is part of learning to sing, and the street really demands it. But what if you're delicately picking a classical guitar or a harp? And what about an inherently loud (and boringly monotonous) instrument such as a didgeridoo or a djembe?

I agree that the pan-pipes crew are the bane of a decent busker's life. And as for the plink-plonk cardboard-banjo merchant… at least he's quiet, I suppose, but what a waste of a pitch. And they should limit the use of speakers outside shops and pubs - surely they need a licence for this, just as they do for putting tables on the street?

How about stopping magicians et al from totally blocking the road between Tigh Coili and the King's Head?

To be honest, though, I feel that enforcing the laws requiring cyclists to have lights on during hours of darkness is more important if the guards don't have enough to do…

Head The Wall

I get where ye are coming from but laws are useless without enforcement, how long are we waiting for the guards to start using decibel meters for those clowns with the loud exhausts.

xo.mary

bigtuna wrote: »

I would be happy to have the one that sings every weekend outside Vision Express silenced. He sings Zombie at least 4 times a night. Even with all the windows in my flat shut I can still hear him. Drives me mental. Could they introduce a ban on certain songs? That would be great

I HATE THIS GUY WITH A PASSION. I do promo for a nightclub, so I'm on shop st 3-4 nights a week and I am so sick of him. He only knows about 3 songs, and can't sing to save his life!


I honestly have never thought any busker was too loud, but I definitely think there should be a law in place so they can't busk after a certain hour. (Yes, I know there has been talk of something, but I would like it implemented sometime soon.)

inisboffin

xo.mary wrote: »

I honestly have never thought any busker was too loud, but I definitely think there should be a law in place so they can't busk after a certain hour. (Yes, I know there has been talk of something, but I would like it implemented sometime soon.)

It'll be in soon, 10 or 11. More info in the links on this thread.

ben.schlomo

I lived on Market St until two years ago and can honestly say ive never found anything as annoying as those ****ing drum/bongo ****ers that play outside Easons, used to go until well after 1am and same tune constantly, im not joking when i say i can still hear that tune in my head now. Busking should be finished no later than midnight. Amps are a pain in the arse too but the time thing would solve a lot of the irritation imo.

TheCosmicFrog

ben.schlomo wrote: »

I lived on Market St until two years ago and can honestly say ive never found anything as annoying as those ****ing drum/bongo ****ers that play outside Easons, used to go until well after 1am and same tune constantly

I have a friend who busks from time to time and, whatever about the tune they're playing, I can tell you that they take up a massive amount of the "airways" on Shop St. If they're playing outside Eason's, the closest you can audibly busk with a guitar is near Foot Locker.

ScumLord

Here's a new instrument that Galway people could be banned from listening to in public.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpUKgRI3knw

I think this is an enforcement of trad music on Galway people, all modern forms of electronic music will effectively banned.

inisboffin

ScumLord wrote: »

Here's a new instrument that Galway people could be banned from listening to in public.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpUKgRI3knw

.

That's a very cool yoke! Changes key by twisting? I might, however, after a while of listening to it before going to sleep, have nightmares involving clowns and rocket launchers in a desert.:p

Pure Sound

Whats wrong with the council just having a maximum amp size say of 10-20 watts. Surely that would be easy to police and wouldn't overpower all other artists on the street. The banning of the amp on shop street would ruin the diversity of music available in Galway which could affect tourists views of Galway as a cultural town.

inisboffin

We Need Community wrote: »

Whats wrong with the council just having a maximum amp size say of 10-20 watts. Surely that would be easy to police and wouldn't overpower all other artists on the street. The banning of the amp on shop street would ruin the diversity of music available in Galway which could affect tourists views of Galway as a cultural town.

That is a reasonable suggestion. Most of the solo performers use ones less than 10 I'd say. I think the max on the cube ones is 10, could be wrong. But when one is turned up to '11' and used with a bad mic or pickup, it can sound like a cheesegrater. Still. Reasonable suggestion.

ScumLord

inisboffin wrote: »

That's a very cool yoke! Changes key by twisting? I might, however, after a while of listening to it before going to sleep, have nightmares involving clowns and rocket launchers in a desert.:p

I'm assuming it sounds better in real life I don't think the camera had a good enough microphone to pick up the sound properly.

inisboffin

ScumLord wrote: »

I'm assuming it sounds better in real life I don't think the camera had a good enough microphone to pick up the sound properly.

I liked it. It just had eerie creepy carnival clown inducing tones!

ScumLord

inisboffin wrote: »

I liked it. It just had eerie creepy carnival clown inducing tones!

It does at times, would be funny to just follow someone around with one playing scene specific creepy music. Reminds me of old arcade game music.