Busking anyone? Tips and tricks.

ricdoug said:

@rlink, I always ask passers by who their favorite artists are and play those songs. I've never scored less than $200 bucks using this method.

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Rllink said:

It is a problem sometimes and there is a lot of discussion. Some people put up a sign that says that they accept VENMO or something like that. I don't know how that works. There is actually, no surprise, a busking site that is putting together some vehicle to pay buskers. I'm a member of the group, but I don't do enough serious busking to warrant the attention. I'm not trying to make a living at it, so I don't go to any length to get tips. I take what I can get in cash. But I've had people put all kinds of things in my case in leu of money. Cans of beer, cans of soda, bags of chips, candy bars, a guy gave me some kind of coin that had the USS Intrepid engraved on it. Looks like he got it at the souvenir shop.

https://busk.co/blog/busking-tips-tricks/android-pay-apple-pay-paypal-card-payments-buskers/


I have my songs memorized. I do take my Kindle with me most of the time, just in case I want to expand my repertoire. But you're busking, people might stick around for two or three songs, most not that much. You don't have to have as many songs as if you are doing a coffee shop gig. I have my dirty dozen and I loop them. What with joking around and talking to people, I can go forty five minutes or so before I start over. There's a guy I know who does quite well with the tourists down at the pier where the cruise ships come in. I think he has six songs that he does. I have a lot of songs committed to memory but my dirty dozen are my favorites and I like playing them well enough that I can comment or say a thank you without losing the song. So I lean on them a lot. I also switch songs in and out of the list, depending on where I'll be. I tape the list on the back of my uke, just so that I can remember what I've done and what I have to do.

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ricdoug said:

@rlink, I always ask passers by who their favorite artists are and play those songs. I've never scored less than $200 bucks using this method.

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Joyful Uke said:

Do you need a permit to busk?

I don't carry cash & don't have a smart phone, so I guess I could never pay a busker.

My area doesn't seem to have buskers, but there is one guy who has a job playing his mandolin during tax season in front of a company that prepares taxes. I have seen him over the years as I've driven by, but this year was walking in the area and stopped to talk to him. Turns out, I was the first person to stop and acknowledge him. People know he's there and use him as a landmark, ("you know where that guy stands outside & plays an instrument? Go a block north of that...."), but don't bother to listen or talk to him.

I admire those of you who can perform for the public.

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Rllink said:

I have my songs memorized. I do take my Kindle with me most of the time, just in case I want to expand my repertoire. But you're busking, people might stick around for two or three songs, most not that much. You don't have to have as many songs as if you are doing a coffee shop gig. I have my dirty dozen and I loop them. What with joking around and talking to people, I can go forty five minutes or so before I start over. There's a guy I know who does quite well with the tourists down at the pier where the cruise ships come in. I think he has six songs that he does. I have a lot of songs committed to memory but my dirty dozen are my favorites and I like playing them well enough that I can comment or say a thank you without losing the song. So I lean on them a lot. I also switch songs in and out of the list, depending on where I'll be. I tape the list on the back of my uke, just so that I can remember what I've done and what I have to do.

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mikelz777 said:

If you are willing, I'd be curious to hear what your dirty dozen list is.

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Rllink said:

Right now they are;

1. Mercedes Benz (always my warmup because I can belt it out cold.
2. Volcano Jimmy Buffett.
3. City of New Orleans Arlo Guthrie I like to finger pick it.
4. Guitars Cadillacs Dwight Yoakum.
5. One Toke Over the Line. Brewer and Shipley
6. Love Me Tender. Elvis
7. The Times They Are a Changin’. Bob Dylan
8. Hello Mary Lou. Ricky Nelson
9. House of the Rising Sun.
10.Margaritaville Jimmy Buffett
11.Sitting on the Dock of the Bay. Otis Redding
12.Don't Think Twice Bob Dylan Finger picked

Sometimes I will throw in House of Gold by Twenty-one Pilots if I have a younger crowd, Nowhere Man if I get asked to do a Beatles song. Sometimes I sing Bottle of Wine. They change around. I'm not a structured person. If something comes to mind and I feel like playing it I will. I'm not stuck on the list. It is just a guide in case my brain shuts down and I can't think of a song to play next. I know a lot of songs by memory, but I'm not confident enough to pull them all out of my pocket and play a lot of them out on the street with all the distractions. So I get on a rampage where I will practice a song until I am more confident and then throw it in the mix. Take one out that I'm tired of singing. Sometimes I just get the urge and do something even though I probably shouldn't. There's one by Jimmy Buffett called "Were you Born an Azzhole." I save that one for hardcore hecklers. Sometimes I do Amazing Grace to the tune of House of the Rising Sun and then if that goes over well I'll do it to the tune of Gilligan's Island.

It isn't just the songs. There is a lot of joking around and talking people up. You have to have body language. You have to be outgoing. If you just stand there and play songs no one is going to stop to listen. You have to have presence. Presence is on the job training. You can't practice it in the basement. I work on presence as much as I do my music.

I try to have fun with it. I'm not in it for the money, the money is just part of the game. I'm in it for the fun and the opportunity to share my music with people. To me it is a gig that I can get anytime I feel like it. It is a chance to sing and play for people. There's no pressure.

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AQUATOPAZ said:

That's a really nice collection of songs. I wish I knew that many. In time I guess. Do you really get hecklers? I guess you'd meet lots of people. One of my daughter's favorite people is a busker who takes a baby grand to the park every weekend, and has people lining up for the opportunity to lie down underneath it while he plays. Supposedly the vibrations feel really good. Living all my life in large cities, it's easy to take buskers for granted, but buskers definitely add to the quality of life. They can change your entire mood, put a smile on your face, and make you feel like dancing, all while you're simply walking down the street.

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