Busking

Splat

Splat

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After me recent acquisition of my new Kala tenor called "she" or "her" because I haven't found a name beautiful enough yet, my friend asked me to go busking with her in Manchester in the UK.


Have you guys got any helpful tips for a fellow uker?

Also if you have tales of busking yourself feel free to share them ;)
 
Aim for older people or people with kids.
Make sure your at a place where you don't block the traffic of the curb or wherever you are standing but don't be far enough away that they have to come over to you. You'll get money from passerbys.
Nod when you get a tip if your in a middle of a song.
You get what you stash your case with. If you want dollars, put dollars. If you want coins, put coins. But make sure to put something.

Best money I've ever made is when me and brit dressed up like we were getting married. It was at plymouth rock in MA so it was hot and oceany. I wore swim trunks, a button up with a tie and a fedora. She wore a dress with a vail and fake ring. Actually I felt kinda bad about how much money we made. We put out a sign that said "Broke College Kids Trying to Get Married!" It worked.
 
Aloha Splat,
Welcome to the UU, our forums and the UU...Congrats on you recent first purchase of your Kala, Naming your ukulele should be a personal one..
BTW-So I'm going to ask...What's Busking...HMMMM..Enlighten me..."Keep strumming them strings" MM Stan....
Thanks Colmes...got it now..
 
Busking is performing in the street. Most of the cities where I live, you need a licence to perform in the street else you can get your takings for the day spirited away by the police :(
 
Coolest busking thing I saw in the UK was a guy with a full harp in a hallway of the Tube station, and he'd play wonderfully...but when families with kids would stop and listen, after a song he'd let the kids play the harp a little! Got the parents to give up a few extra quid ;-) And he got one from me, too - hooray for encouraging kids' interest in music!
 
Haha, that's quite sneaky tugging on the heartstrings of the passers-by. In theory that's a great idea, but in reality it would only really work with a boy girl couple :)
 
stonecutter2 said:
but when families with kids would stop and listen, after a song he'd let the kids play the harp a little! Got the parents to give up a few extra quid ;-) And he got one from me, too - hooray for encouraging kids' interest in music!
Click to expand...
That's cool.
 
My friend got yelled at for busking without a licence. Make sure it's allowed in the city/town you want to do it in.
 
Yeah, check on licences rules - you don't wanna pay out your takings in fines.
We buked a couple of times but I think two 50ish blokes lacked the "cute" factor so we didn't do well.
Now we have a local cafe with a nice outside area who let us busk in there. They give us free coffee and breakfast. We do a saturday morning.
ASK for the money - we put a sign up that says "Appreciative contributions gratefully accepted". In the street you can work up some patter and regularly ask for money "Feel free to pop some money in the hat - you can save the strain on our backs by using paper notes" "Kids if mum and dad don't give you at least $5 to put in the hat it means they don't love you".
Put yourself where the traffic can't leave without walking past you - e sit by the gate so they can't lave without walking past us.
Make eye contact wit people as they pass.
Have fun
 
A smile, nod or hearty thank you, to tippers is mandatory. They want to be acknowledged. And eye contact is very smart. Smile, smile, smile! If you have a small dog (or child) that will behave and not bite, they make a great prop.

Very good act, Colin. Love the bride and groom ploy.
 
best kind of practice I ever did. Never let the punters know if you make a mistake - ever. Make eye contact and smile. Look like you're enjoying yourself - as soon as you get disheartened or tired have a break, but don't plough on or you'll not enjoy it.
 
agreed - best way to practice

also, as for busking where you need a licence - either avoid, or get good at running (believe me, i've done the latter)

Gimmicks are good, but dont make them cheesy, but what I have found is a good mix of popular tunes (whether you like them or not), stuff that you really like (to keep you interested) and without doubt something off kilter. Last busk i did, I played Down Under by Men at Work, and Born To Run - both got laughs and held the crowd a little longer because they are tunes you dont expect on Uke, but everyone knows them.
 
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