Work Abroad

You can even become a one man talented band.

Guitars

The guitar was quite a rare instrument until after the second world war and even then it was thought to be a passing fad. The Beatles were famously rejected by a record company on the grounds that ‘guitar music is on the way out’.

Now it’s arguably the most common instrument in the world. The odds are that if you walk into a bar with a guitar, around 30% of the punters will remember the first few chords to “House of the Rising Sun”. Its popularity also ensures that unless you’re pretty special, you’re not likely to impress anyone with a few bar chords.

Try "Summer Nights" on the tuba http://www.flickr.com/photos/thinkcouch/

Slide blues, classical and flamenco guitar is still pretty special by most people’s taste and can draw a crowd, especially if you have a strong singing voice. You’ll need to think about amplification though if there’s any traffic around. With a good microphone, voice and guitar can be wired through the same amplifier on an old lady’s trolley and have the effect of making you seem like a professional act.

Alternatively, of course, you can always learn to play guitar on your head, or as one guy does in Cambridge, England, inside a bin.

Classical music

Anyone who plays a classical instrument like the violin, cello or clarinet is likely to draw a little more respect as a musician, particularly if performing a well known classical piece. The appropriation of famous classical music for car advertisements ensures these days that many people know at least the first few bars of the major works of Vivaldi, Mozart and Beethoven.

Wow! http://www.flickr.com/photos/revstan/

It was once said ‘No one ever went broke by underestimating the taste of the American general public’ but the truth is it applies to the masses almost anywhere. Brahms might be what moves your soul but it’s odds on that Moonlight Sonata will fill your hat five times faster.

Classical music still holds strong connotations with learning and taste and so classical musicians will do better if they dress as though they were playing a concert. Suits, dinner party dresses and a modest, sophisticated appearance fit the image. Either that or break the mould by playing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in a mini skirt and suspenders – whether male or female.

Unusual Instruments

Remember, people listen to music all the time. Everyone has a CD collection at home, radios play chart toppers everywhere you go, shops play background music and listening to Muzac whilst trying to get through to your insurance company is widely considered to be carcinogenic.

‘Oh, it’s a luvly day ‘ere with you, Mary’ http://www.flickr.com/photos/8363028@N08/

So if you can turn up to busk on the street with an Arabic flute or a Jew’s harp (couldn’t resist putting those two together), then people will at least stop and look. If you’re any good and can convince them that you are, in fact, playing music, then you well draw a crowd.

What the busker doesn’t want is someone to come down and study their guitar technique and say ‘Mmm, I would have played E7 there..”

When you play something like the didgeridoo or panpipes you’re unlikely to face much critical appraisal of your music. So even if you’re not much good, the chances are that no one will know.

Not all instruments lend themselves to the street though and amplification and setting should be carefully considered. You might be a whiz on the African finger piano but from more than a metre away you’ll look like some demented peddler.

One Man Bands

Dick Van Dyke spoiled it for all one man band buskers with his fake cockney accent in Mary Poppins ‘Oh, it’s a luvly day ‘ere with you, Mary’.

Now that's impressive http://www.flickr.com/photos/walter_rw/

But if you can successful play a couple of instruments then you’ve got the crucial novelty factor on your side. The whining harmonica with guitar style may evoke happy memories of Bob Dylan for some, but may be considered plain sad by others. Throw in a kazoo as well though and a tambourine on the foot and you’ve got an act. Think of Jesse Fuller, the old ragtime blues man who played guitar, harmonica, kazoo, foot-operated base, whistled and even tap danced – all at the same time.

Another possibility is to have backing music. If you’re playing a melody instrument like clarinet, flute or saxophone, then your overall sound will be boosted by having a rhythm section behind you. Without percussion as a foil, melody needs a quiet background and a very tight tempo, something that may be beyond the average busker on a noisy street.

Duets and bands

When more than one musician congregates to play on the street, it’s suddenly not just one down-on-his-luck vagabond with a guitar hung around his neck, but two!

Ok, playing with more than one musician can make your overall sound more impressive and make the public take you seriously but only if you complement each other. If you’re nervous of playing on your own and want your mate to come down and do the backing vocals for Ride, Sally Ride, then your insecurity will show. You might get some pity money but that’s as far as it goes.

But if you have a tight, well rehearsed act though with instruments that complement one another (please not two rhythm guitars!) then you can create a larger and louder sound and extend your economic reach on the street. Just remember that you have to divide the money afterwards.

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