For the last few weeks I've been busking at the town market. It's
going well. But If anyone has some busking tips or good tunes to play it would be appreciated. ( I mostly play Scottish music).
Dinky's is a rip-roaring tune. So is Spey in Spate followed by Foxhunters reel in A. Maxwell's Rant, Hey Johnie Cope, Miss Lyall are great. The Double Rise jig is very forceful (the Wolftones start with Gingerhog's - a slip jig. There's another 10000 great tunes to choose from! Good luck with the busking. For a crowd-pleaser how about Highland Cathedral?
Dress well.I made more money when I busked in a suit,I have no idea why this should be,but fellow buskers have confirmed it. Don't play too many obscure tunes.I made more money playing The Trumpet Hornpipe,Scotland The Brave,The Camptown Ladies,stuff like that,Punters like to hear something familiar,Very few people are going to pass by thinking ' Wow,that's a great version of Big John McNeill, just listen to those bowed triplets!'
Eye contact and smile! It may seem a bit cheesy especially if you usually don't smile when you're playing, but it helps as people are passing by... guilting them in giving you money. BWaaha.
If someone with kids goes by, and the kids seem interested, engage with them (with the kids). Make eye contact, smile. When you finish the tune, talk to them - ask them if they play music, do they want to, offer to play a tune just for them. Even if they hid behind their parent's leg, you're likely to make a connection with the parent, and that's usually worth a tip.
And Armand's right - smiling is very useful. Even if you think it looks dumb, just paste a grin on your face and keep it there. I'm not very good at that one, but when I can do it, I see the difference.
Play what you can do well on autopilot - don't practise in the street, or get tied up in musical barbed wire trying to hack your way through some tune you can't as yet play properly...
Doing this may not harm your takings.
But when I pass buskers doing this, it really bloody annoys me!!
"Play what you can do well on autopilot - don't practise in the street, or get tied up in musical barbed wire trying to hack your way through some tune you can't as yet play properly..."
On the other hand, don't let yourself get bored. Enjoy yourself. If that means challenging yourself to play a tune you know you don't quite have note-perfect, then go for it. It's not practising, just having fun. I have always made it my policy when busking never to play the same tune twice in one day - it may not be the most lucrative tactic, as I find myself digging out tunes I don't often play - or have never played before - but it keeps me interested.
Dress differently. One of my daughters busked for years, and noted that her takings went up noticeably (to between £25 and £40 per hour) when she obtained a bowler hat from a junk shop and adorned it with a treble clef brooch.
A friend of mine who busked quite a lot for a while, said that it was no good going out without gee-ing yourself up to do a show - if you went out without the adrenaline of thinking of it as a live performance, then it didn't work for the audience and his takings would be way down.
Passers-by can get their ears round a march easier than a jig or reel with a (seeming) cascade of notes , and it still has the jaunty toe-tapping feel that a slow air might lack.
Some suggestions:
Headlands
Linda MacFarlane
Bonnie Lass of Bon Accord
Cameron Highlanders etc
Some Jimmy Shand polkas - Royal Scots Polka, Bluebell etc (I know he didn't write either of them, but
Smiling definitely does have a good affect! I smile but sometimes I feel a bit cheesy. I know I'm Not over doing the smiling thing because someone told me the other day "try to smile more"
But can you ever over do the smiling??? Or should I not be too worried about it.
A guitarist friend of mine busks with a fiddler sometimes. He puts a little thumb puppet on his left thumb so that every time he changes chord it peeps over the neck. Little kids are fascinated by it and their parents are forced to stop, and usually give money.
Not necessarily so - in the miners' strike, I busked in York and made more money than working underground.
Play jigs or marches and get them skipping along in the street.
I also tried lunchtime "recitals" in places where people gather to eat their lunch, you can get a large audience, you can get applause, but you don't get any more money.
If there are tourists there, play some "tourist "music - they are the ones who trow notes at you.
p.s.
Busking is in a time-warp - If you go busking for an hour, you need 2 hours repertoire to stop you going barmy.
Busking tips
Busking tips
For the last few weeks I've been busking at the town market. It's
going well. But If anyone has some busking tips or good tunes to play it would be appreciated. ( I mostly play Scottish music).
Thanks
fiddlegirl
# Posted on February 15th 2009 by Fiddle Girl!
Re: Busking tips
Dinky's is a rip-roaring tune. So is Spey in Spate followed by Foxhunters reel in A. Maxwell's Rant, Hey Johnie Cope, Miss Lyall are great. The Double Rise jig is very forceful (the Wolftones start with Gingerhog's - a slip jig. There's another 10000 great tunes to choose from! Good luck with the busking. For a crowd-pleaser how about Highland Cathedral?
# Posted on February 15th 2009 by RichardB
Re: Busking tips
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3hAtxZXNrA&feature=PlayList&p=AEDF909029C5B190&index=0
# Posted on February 15th 2009 by Rudall the time
Re: Busking tips
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/14816/comments#comment306040
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/20454/comments#comment427329
# Posted on February 15th 2009 by Dragut Reis
Re: Busking tips
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/5508/comments#comment116445
# Posted on February 15th 2009 by Dragut Reis
Re: Busking tips
Dress well.I made more money when I busked in a suit,I have no idea why this should be,but fellow buskers have confirmed it. Don't play too many obscure tunes.I made more money playing The Trumpet Hornpipe,Scotland The Brave,The Camptown Ladies,stuff like that,Punters like to hear something familiar,Very few people are going to pass by thinking ' Wow,that's a great version of Big John McNeill, just listen to those bowed triplets!'
# Posted on February 15th 2009 by dafydd
Re: Busking tips
Essential viewing for any would-be busker - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-24794419772319885
# Posted on February 15th 2009 by Trevor Jennings
Re: Busking tips
Eye contact and smile! It may seem a bit cheesy especially if you usually don't smile when you're playing, but it helps as people are passing by... guilting them in giving you money. BWaaha.
Cheers,
Armand
# Posted on February 15th 2009 by armandale
Re: Busking tips
If someone with kids goes by, and the kids seem interested, engage with them (with the kids). Make eye contact, smile. When you finish the tune, talk to them - ask them if they play music, do they want to, offer to play a tune just for them. Even if they hid behind their parent's leg, you're likely to make a connection with the parent, and that's usually worth a tip.
And Armand's right - smiling is very useful. Even if you think it looks dumb, just paste a grin on your face and keep it there. I'm not very good at that one, but when I can do it, I see the difference.
# Posted on February 15th 2009 by Jon Kiparsky
Re: Busking tips
Play what you can do well on autopilot - don't practise in the street, or get tied up in musical barbed wire trying to hack your way through some tune you can't as yet play properly...
Doing this may not harm your takings.
But when I pass buskers doing this, it really bloody annoys me!!
# Posted on February 15th 2009 by nicholas
Re: Busking tips
"Dress well ..." I wonder if it's a case of passers-by thinking that "he could be one of us and has fallen on hard times"
# Posted on February 16th 2009 by Trevor Jennings
Re: Busking tips
"Play what you can do well on autopilot - don't practise in the street, or get tied up in musical barbed wire trying to hack your way through some tune you can't as yet play properly..."
On the other hand, don't let yourself get bored. Enjoy yourself. If that means challenging yourself to play a tune you know you don't quite have note-perfect, then go for it. It's not practising, just having fun. I have always made it my policy when busking never to play the same tune twice in one day - it may not be the most lucrative tactic, as I find myself digging out tunes I don't often play - or have never played before - but it keeps me interested.
# Posted on February 16th 2009 by CreadurMawnOrganig
Re: Busking tips
Dress differently. One of my daughters busked for years, and noted that her takings went up noticeably (to between £25 and £40 per hour) when she obtained a bowler hat from a junk shop and adorned it with a treble clef brooch.
ps She also smiled a lot.
Good luck, you deserve it.
# Posted on February 16th 2009 by Ythanside
Re: Busking tips
Not to hijack but does one's age factor into busking success?
# Posted on February 16th 2009 by Greg the Piano Tuner
Re: Busking tips
A friend of mine who busked quite a lot for a while, said that it was no good going out without gee-ing yourself up to do a show - if you went out without the adrenaline of thinking of it as a live performance, then it didn't work for the audience and his takings would be way down.
# Posted on February 16th 2009 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Busking tips
Passers-by can get their ears round a march easier than a jig or reel with a (seeming) cascade of notes , and it still has the jaunty toe-tapping feel that a slow air might lack.
Some suggestions:
Headlands
Linda MacFarlane
Bonnie Lass of Bon Accord
Cameron Highlanders etc
Some Jimmy Shand polkas - Royal Scots Polka, Bluebell etc (I know he didn't write either of them, but
# Posted on February 16th 2009 by Bren
Re: Busking tips
Smiling definitely does have a good affect! I smile but sometimes I feel a bit cheesy. I know I'm Not over doing the smiling thing because someone told me the other day "try to smile more"
But can you ever over do the smiling??? Or should I not be too worried about it.
# Posted on February 17th 2009 by Fiddle Girl!
Re: Busking tips
These will help:
http://msshad.typepad.com/ordinaryms/images/2007/04/18/theteeth.jpg
A guitarist friend of mine busks with a fiddler sometimes. He puts a little thumb puppet on his left thumb so that every time he changes chord it peeps over the neck. Little kids are fascinated by it and their parents are forced to stop, and usually give money.
# Posted on February 17th 2009 by Bren
Re: Busking tips
Check this out:
http://urbanlegends.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=urbanlegends&cdn=newsissues&tm=170&f=10&su=p504.1.336.ip_&tt=2&bt=0&bts=0&st=16&zu=http%3A//www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html
Thinking outside the box here: Don't busk. At least, not to get tips.
Instead, do something that pays better than busking (i.e., almost anything), and take the money and spend it on lessons with a great teacher.
In the long run you'll be a better player.
Then you don't have to worry about tips... you can busk to meet people, or just for the sheer joy of sharing your art.
# Posted on February 17th 2009 by jwvansteenwyk
Re: Busking tips
Not necessarily so - in the miners' strike, I busked in York and made more money than working underground.
Play jigs or marches and get them skipping along in the street.
I also tried lunchtime "recitals" in places where people gather to eat their lunch, you can get a large audience, you can get applause, but you don't get any more money.
If there are tourists there, play some "tourist "music - they are the ones who trow notes at you.
p.s.
Busking is in a time-warp - If you go busking for an hour, you need 2 hours repertoire to stop you going barmy.
# Posted on February 18th 2009 by geoffwright