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Thinking of Busking to earn some money

What do you guys think?
Does anyone who does this kind of thing have any tips?

I play the violin, so im jsut getting loads of jigs and reels under my belt. I can play classical and popular songs/osts when i listen to them [pirates of the carribean anyone?]
About grade 7/8 standard

Reply 1

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

are you fit

you'll need a license most probably, to be able to play in a town or city. You'll need to contact your local council! Sounds great, i'd recommend getting a cd player and playing with some backing tracks, just to get you a little bit more attention! good luck :smile:

Reply 3

dheemal

1

great you want to do it.... though its illegal to do it on the underground without a permit.. and likelihood is that you'll be asked to move along by police quite promptly.... so yh.. make sure you can run if you go with that... :P
town centre's are a good place :P

Reply 4

melodic-verse

OP

13

i can doll myself up a bit

Well i only live in a small town and most people here dont really know much about laws and such- so using it as a trial thing.
I'll invest in it after if it goes well and carry on at uni

Reply 5

jabed786

15

Yeah I think you should do it. I normally give about 20p or something when if I'm wandering around the town centre.
And ask the above post said, you should have a CD player for some background music to attract a bit of attention. Something that a lot of people might know is Bond (the string quartet band).

Reply 6

melodic-verse

OP

13

i guess it helps i can play the piano well too
ill record stuff on a cd then

and im getting sibelius...so i can compose for myself later on

Reply 7

Communist Daughter

9

I busk quite abit with the old guitar, don't really enjoy it though as the only way to get money is by playing Wonderwall or Time of Your Life. I swear to god Neil Young could stand in Durham for a whole day busking and not get a penny.

You make the best money on a saturday night but be prepared for alot of attention from drunken mongs.

Reply 8

faget

I never give money to buskers!

Reply 9

Mr. Orange

17

melodic-verse

What do you guys think?
Does anyone who does this kind of thing have any tips?

I play the violin, so im jsut getting loads of jigs and reels under my belt. I can play classical and popular songs/osts when i listen to them [pirates of the carribean anyone?]
About grade 7/8 standard

Hi you should definitely go for it, I've heard Lincoln isn't too bad for busking.

I play in York and it's mainly Irish stuff (so lots of jigs and reels) and I get lots of money.
It's tax free, you're your own boss and the money works out to be way, way better than working in a shop or anything like that. Just make sure you check with your local council about licenses and stuff. e.g. York City Council give out licenses based on ability and if you're busking without a license then you're moved away lol

Best of luck :-)

Reply 10

shakedown1979

I've done it 6 or 7 times with friend on guitar. We play popular stuff - damien rice, lucky jim, some folk, oasis (wonderwall), some radiohead, bob dylan. It varies how much we earn - once got £50 ish in about 15 mins (a drunk stag group). Once in november got at little as £10 over about 2 hours. Was freezing and nobody was around in town though. The other day got about £17 in two hours, so enough for a few pints after. What's more, it's HUGELY enjoyable (not like a normal job), you can play the same thing twice (cus your audience is constantly changing) and a lot of lovely people give you praise. They also seem surprised to see a violin! A lot of people give £2 coins. However, there are some idiots who shout 'keep up the day job, love' and you may get stared at, so don't let it shake your confidence/ make you feel paranoid. Once a fat girl shouted abuse at us, so i started playing 'old macdonald (has a farm..)'

in our experience, police don't mind and seem to actually like it! they've never stopped us, or asked for any info, we usually ask them if they'd like a song :smile:

your best bet is when sales are on, early in the day so shoppers don't feel tired, when christmas lights get switched on/around christmas, and when people are generally feeling generous. (never, then). If it's winter, take warm clothes - fiddling doesn't produce much heat.

and also, you may find you get more if you busk with another person, whether a guitarist, flautist or fiddler. good luck, let me know how you get on :smile:

Reply 11

melodic-verse

OP

13

hmm
well i only have about 3ish odd weeks before i move to uni location
so im hoping to just use this time at home to see how it works out and get my confidence up
i'd definately ask shop keepers if they'll mind
so im thinking of holding off the licence till then.
We hardly have any police roaming our area..and hopefully nobody will complain

reckon that's feasible?

Reply 12

Clubber Lang

15

a kid playing electric guitar was maiing 75 quid an hour in brighton a couple of years back.

Reply 13

vicky1990

melodic-verse

What do you guys think?
Does anyone who does this kind of thing have any tips?

I play the violin, so im jsut getting loads of jigs and reels under my belt. I can play classical and popular songs/osts when i listen to them [pirates of the carribean anyone?]
About grade 7/8 standard

I think you should go for it if you have the time and patience. :smile:

You hear some lovely music from buskers sometimes, brightens the day!
You could always try it and if you don't like it just go home and don't do it again. :smile:

Reply 14

JoeTSR

22

Someone I know earned £150 in 2 hours, playing guitar. He didn't have a license though, and he does write his own songs, which are pretty good, and he was totally improvising.

Reply 15

ashy

17

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html

Reply 16

melodic-verse

OP

13

interesting
well guys
ive tried it for two hours this morning
in very mediocre weather
and ive earnt just over £30 XD
im pretty over the moon with it

to what degree can i play the same things over and over in the same place u reckon?

Reply 17

Me3Band

1

Licence - nounLicense - verb

Thinking of Busking to earn some money

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