An 11-year-old Cape Breton boy is hitting the streets to raise money for young musicians.

Ira Reinhart-Smith has been playing the fiddle since he was five-years-old. Now, he is spending his summer fiddling outside the general store in Wreck Cove, N.S.

“I thought about busking before, but I knew I wasn't good enough because I hadn't learned that many songs,” says Reinhart-Smith.

After learning some new tunes, with the help of his teacher, Reinhart-Smith began busking this summer.

“Ira's always been interested in figuring out ways to make money and once he learned he could make quite a bit busking, he was really excited,” says Ira’s mother, Lindsey Reinhart.

Reinhart-Smith particularly likes to share Cape Breton fiddle music with tourists.

“In Cape Breton it's pretty popular, but in other parts of the world not many people play it. So, I think it's cool that I play something not many other people play,” says Reinhart-Smith.

And the talented young musician is making quite an impression on the tourists.

“Absolutely beautiful music, talented musician, absolutely love what he's doing,” says one tourist.

“It's great that they have so much music around here, that's really rooted to Canada,” says another.

The cash Reinhart-Smith makes while busking will not be filling up his piggybank. Instead, he will use it to help other young musicians by donating the proceeds to the non-profit group Music For The Future, which travels to the far north, promoting music to children.

“My school was raising money for a school in Africa and I thought I would raise money for a school too, but then I decided I would raise money for a music organization.”

His goal for the summer is $500, a target he could easily surpass, pulling is $70 dollars today alone.

“If it goes well, then I'll do it next summer too and then hopefully I'll raise another $500, or even $700 or a thousand or something,” says Reinhart-Smith.

The young busker will soon be taking his talents south. He's moving to Nova Scotia's south shore, where he will likely continue fiddling his way into people's hearts.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Ryan MacDonald