r/Busking

A couple of years ago my wife and son and another couple went on a cruise overseas. We went on an excursion in Sardinia where we were on long enough of a bus ride that we had to stop in a small town for about an hour. My wife saw a sign outside a small art studio basically inviting people to come in an play. I'm typically just a couch player but my wife (who also ironically does not humor my "habit" or "hobby") convinced me to go in and play/sing a song. It actually went over pretty good. I don't know if I'll ever do something like that again in my life, but it made me realize how much I miss just noodling when we're on vacation.

I didn't earn any tips or anything so I'm not sure if it's considered busking but have any of you ever done anything like that? I've seen some stories on YouTube about people getting gigs while on vacation and I wondered if (besides doing research to see if it's legal) any of you have traveled with an instrument and just set up in a random spot and played to earn lunch money?

Hi, all. I'm a semi-retired middle aged guy who's played nearly my entire life but only at home. I feel like I'm stuck in a rut and have been getting bored, even though playing music has kept me emotionally stable and is likely slowing down dementia. My wife works from home 2 days a week and will not tolerate me practicing from home and while I enjoy playing outside on our porch I worry about bothering her and my neighbors.

Lately I've though about going to a local park and playing in a gazebo near a pond in an area that sees lots of foot traffic but I'm wondering if that would be frowned upon. I live in SW Pennsylvania outside of Pittsburgh near the county run park in South Park, PA which has lots of walking trails and picnic grottos. I don't really write my own music and a lot of what I know is basically 60s-90s rock/pop so it's not offensive, just dated. I checked the local municipalities and the only restriction I see is on noise and I'd be playing unplugged.

Option B would be to go to one of the many picnic groves set back from the road but that also strikes me as weird. Am I being too self conscious?

PS: my goal is not necessarily to busk or even perform but I'd love to have some sort of foundation to play at my elderly mom's senior residence or work in one of the local music stores teaching kids who are willing to learn "oldies." Basically I also need a confidence boost..

She was so sweet. She just sat and listened or danced and sang. This lasted about an hour.

When I was packing up, she pulled out some cash. I couldn't take it.

So many wealthy people had passed by. Some smiled. Most acted like I was scenery. A few dropped some bills in my bucket. But this lady, I just couldn't.

Anyone else ever experience something like this?

I'm planning on purchasing a portable generator to power a small amplifier (music). Do any of you have recommendations for one on the budget friendly side (200$ or less)?

Thanks

How does that work? I know there’s doodads you can buy and apps and whatnot, but my question is specifically how do I not legitimately not declare it as I’m in receipt of an invalidity pension and am not allowed to work at all or lose it but I’m thinking donations don’t count so does anyone have any thoughts?

Hello there fellow buskers. I'm new to the "sport", still figuring things out - I don't sing, don't have an amp, and I mainly play fingerstyle, but recently started getting into strumming to learn to actually play loud. The questions:

Can you realistically get heard with pure fingerstyle without an amp on a loud street?

Does it make sense to busk with chords&strumming without singing? It's clearly louder than fingerstyle, but less interesting than it, bcs no melody, and hence the question if it can work without vocals.

IF BOTH AREN'T OPTIMAL - can I realistically learn to sing a couple easy songs (along with strumming them on guitar) in a few weeks to actually start busking ASAP and not sound like a creaking door without any sense of tune whatsoever?

I've been busking a couple times and still all I've got is 50 euro cents. I dunno if I'm either a bad player, or just stupid with my fingerstyle / strumming without vocals strategy.

Thanks.

EDIT: YSR is a Song Request platform first; not a tipping platform. — whilst it’s an option for the audience to add a tip on top of a request.. I don’t take a cut from Tips received!

Hey everyone,

A few months ago, I posted here about Your Song Request (YSR)—a tool I was building to kill the "shouted request" awkwardness and help gigging musicians actually get paid for their repertoire.
I got a lot of great (and brutally honest) feedback from this subreddit. After taking those comments on board and spending some time in the "shed" refining the platform, I’m excited to share that YSR is officially open for artists in the US and UK.

What is YSR?
For those who missed the first post, YSR is a digital buffer between you and the crowd. Think of it as a live "menu" for your setlist.

• Your Repertoire, Your Rules: You upload only the songs you want to play. If it’s not on your list, they can’t request it.
• The QR Code Workflow: Audience scans a code at your gig, browse your list, and send a request directly to your device.
• Integrated Tipping: The system prompts the fan to tip to get their song played sooner, turning your setlist into a passive revenue stream.
• Zero Noise: No more napkins, no more "Free Bird" shouts, and no more awkward "I don't know that one" moments.

What’s New?
Based on the feedback from the last thread, I’ve streamlined the onboarding process. I know you don’t have hours to spend data-entering every song you know, so I’ve made it faster than ever to get your repertoire live and your QR codes generated.
Ready to test it out?
If you’re a solo artist, duo, or full band gigging in the US or UK, YSR is ready for you to use at your next show. It’s designed to stay out of the way of your performance while ensuring you’re actually compensated for the deep cuts you’ve spent years perfecting.

You can get started HERE.

I’d love to hear what you think of the updated flow—feel free to drop any questions below!

So I'm a singer/songwriter who wants to start busking ASAP.

I have to admit, im not amazing at guitar so I would like to have the option to plug in my guitar but also the option to play backing tracks from my ipad or phone whilst singing. I have a mic and cable, but I need help on what CHEAP amp/pa to get as well as power supply.

I also have no idea how I can plug my phone in to play tracks, ive done it on a full mixing board before, but im sure I'd need a different cable for this setup.

I really just want a basic and cheap setup for now, until I'm able to save a bit more.

Any advice would be so helpful. Bare in mind im a complete newbie and I don't know a lot that might seem like common knowledge.

For example some of my stupid questions are:

Can I just get one amp and plug my mic and guitar/or phone all into the same amp? Or do I need an amp for the guitar and then a pa for vocals?

Do I need to buy a mini mixer to plug in my phone and mic at the same time?

Do I need an adapter for the power supply? Or do they normally come with a plug socket?

Ahhhh

Im just so confused. Ive watched a lot of youtube videos on it and I still can't wrap my head around everything. I really need some help😅

I’m a newb, just beginning to think about busking. That’s the reason for my newb-sounding questions.

I play solo acoustic rhythm guitar. At home I do songs I like as play-alongs. They don’t sound great as solo acoustic but need some backup from the band … drums, bass, background vocals, etc. I pretend I’m the rhythm guitarist. My whistling is not great for fills. It’s fine for me but I wouldn’t do it for an audience.

I use UG on my tablet for my chord sheets. It links to YouTube so I have the recording as I’m following the sheets.

Question (finally) is, how pathetic would it be to use a backing track, a looper, or even the original recording? Is that cheating and showing how inexperienced and poser I might be?