Re: [Harp-L] Three questions to the experienced busker

Man, thinking bout the days makes me wanna go out again. Such good times! :-)
Joel is absolutely right bout 1) theft, and 2) dressing Ãp could work (as long as it doesnt ridicule your music)

And Joel's very right bout asking for money. Man, that makes a huge difference. It's really horrible to do, but you'll get used to it. When we played with more people, one passed the hat (walking round and sticking it in their face) while the others played on. It's best to let the one with the biggest smile do it, just laugh your frustration away. Feel confident you're not begging and keep your head up high. You're the artist and in charge :-)

Touristic areas are great. Sometimes if a large crowd of people stay listening too long => take a break (after you collected) and let them walk on. A couple of times we had 3 girl-friends pass the hat while we were playing. That works awesome!!! Especially in a touristic area and if it's almost in a listening-concert setting. You don't have to do it yourself and can focus on playing and presentation.

I must say, getting people to pay is an artform in itself. When we played in the south of France I've seen some artist (jugglers/cabaratiers whatever) do it, .. man ,I was jeaulous how good they did it. They would announce they were coming round with the hat and did it in such a way that nobody walked away and Ãverybody payed. I couldn't do that, just smiled, tried to charme the audience and walked around. Works as well.

Ah, and talking bout giving you 'a free extra tip': Make sure you have a product!!! Don't care how bad you think it is. We sold a cassette-tape, recorded in a garage, hand-drawn sleeve and duplicated ourselves with a couple of cassette-decks (at first, later on we had them duplicated by the 100's). Especially tourists, they want a reminder you know. We sold loads and tripled our income with ease.

Good luck!
Hope to see you play in Sweden sometime
Bart


----- Original Message ----- From: "Joel Fritz" <williemctell@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, September 21, 2012 1:54 AM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Three questions to the experienced busker


1: If you're accumulating a lot of money you should take some out periodically and try to hide it. Like Bart said, always leave some in. I always thought of it as a matter of safety, kind of like using a drop safe. If your guitar playing friend has a less expensive guitar he likes I'd advise he use that one. I was never robbed but I've known people who were.

2. Don't worry about how you dress. In a tourist area stage suits might work. I'm talking about stuff from thrift stores that was stylish or cheesy 20 years ago. Depends on how you feel about costumes. I always wanted to wear a gorilla suit, but it never seemed practical. I normally wore jeans and a shirt. As long as you look like you've bathed recently, it's not a big deal.

3. "Listen to the Mockingbird" is one song that people respond well to, particularly with the Three Stooges dah dah dah dah da da ending.

Here's a free extra tip. Ask for money frequently. Work out some simple gags like "This music is sponsored by listeners like you." Try to make people feel like you're not nagging. I guarantee that asking for money regularly in a nice way will get you twice as much as not saying anything at all. Your audience will turn over every couple of songs so people aren't too likely to be put off.

On 9/20/2012 3:27 PM, Bart van Strien wrote:
Hi, I would like to answer your first 2 questions. It's a long time ago, but I used to play in the streets of Europe a lot (not so much harmonica, but the answers stay the same) :

1) we always took the small rubish out. The idea was that people don't wanna look cheap themselves and they want to contribute what others gave as well. plus, you don't wanna give em the impression: 'oh, this guy is used to small coins, lets give him some more' or 'he is probably not very good cause he gets only small coins'.
We also emptied it from time to time. Don't let it get too full. But, if you empty it leave some bigger coins & some notes in there. That's for Europe cause in the US it'll probably all be notes.

2) Clothes: be yourself! Feel comfortable. You're not putting up an act, but your making the music you love! Well, that's what we did anyway. Your not a beggar either, but you're proud of what your doing. And you should be!!

Cheers!
Bart
the Netherlands

PS. stay away from very rich parts of town. You could have the idea that they can afford more. Well they do, but that doesn't mean you're gonna get it as well :-) The opposite is true.
We experienced it many, many times: the 'not so rich folk' or even very poor folks rÃally appreciate your music; you have a way better time; you meet and speak with more people; you make more friends, and you'll probably make more money in the process. But ... that last thing shouldn't be your first goal: Have fun; Experience and have a beer afterwards :-)





----- Original Message ----- From: "martin oldsberg" <martinoldsberg@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2012 6:46 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] Three questions to the experienced busker


A friend and I have considered taking up busking here in our hometown. Not with the primary motivation of finding a showcase for our musical talents but simply because weÂre in equal dire straits. SumthinÂs gotta be done. (I donÂt honestly think this is going to generate any greater amount of money, but who knows, it could also be a fun experience.)
Guitar, vocals, and harmonica (w/ small amplification), thatÂs it.

Three concrete questions for those with experience of this:
1) In the unlikely case that weÂre finding our guitar case filling up with some money, is it good policy to remove those coins from time to time â or does the presence of money act like a sort of Pavlovian motivator for the audience: âHey, thereÂs money there, letÂs give them some more!â?
2) Do you have to dress down for the occasion? I mean, look ragged and dirty and really in need of that money â or does the clean and sober appearance give the impression: âThis guy is trying his best to look decent, despite his being obviously down and out, having to play in the streets: that should be rewarded.â? (IÂm one of those who feel quite uncomfortable if IÂm not wearing a tie and jacket â A dying breed, you could say.)
3) It may very well be that IÂm walking into denile sementia here (IÂm 55), but I cannot for the life of me come up with one single instrumental that could provide a catchy intermission form my friendÂs singing. Really strange.
Any suggestions? It doesÂnt have to be simple, I can handle most stuff, but, as I said
âcatchyâ, something people know and like and can whistle along to.

Hoping for some wise instruction here.

Thanks,
Martin



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