Busking: "The Hat" - Guitar Street Performance Tips

Busking: "The Hat" - Guitar Street Performance Tips

- ATTENTION - a Must Read for All Buskers!!!

How to maximize your earning potential by selecting a good tip jar when playing your guitar on the street

Hey, Struggling Musician.
Maybe you've noticed it's hard to make money in music. It's not hard to figure out why.
The Internet offers the average music consumer everything free as down loads. this put a complete halt to new music. We're now stuck in listening to tunes recorded in the hay-day of recordings, over and over again. They were excellent sounds. We have to realize that the money we had in the days of old has dried up. Even CD sales are stalled or plummeting. Without the means to survive, why is a musician going to work up new material? And, does anyone press vinyl anymore with any prospect of making a profit? The artist is the first to notice the times, and the economy has hit the arts hard, as well as everything else. So, busking is an answer. You go back to the roots. A means of collecting change for the street performing musician is important and an art in itself.

Then God Created the "Hat."
True it's good to keep your head warm or out of the sun. A hat even covers up dirty hair. When your busking on the street you put out a "hat." Your tip jar can be a literal upside down hat or alot more creative. A musician's tip jar is only limited by ones imagination. There are a few properties to consider when collecting tips from performing. There are also a couple precautions to consider.

For Me, a Tip Jar keeps the Audience from Interrupting my Set.
I dont have to stop in the middle of "Little Wing" and grab a $100 bill from an enthusiastic music fan. It sucks seeing the wind blow the jar down the street or Dale pick a crumpled up $1 for a pack of smokes cos they threw it on the ground or on the gig bag. Many service industries have a tip jar on the counter; the bar, the barber, food booths.... The classic image of "the hat" is a player holding their hat upside down by the brim and pointing it at you.

TYPES OF TIP JARS
What do you use for a tip jar? Well, there are many types of tip jars to choose from. Collecting the donations for a street performance is as creative as the music itself. Mostly, you want to make it fun to make a donation with and easy for the audience to contribute to your musical endeavors.
The Hat - any hat will do. You turn it upside down and pt it in front of you. Of course, the weirder the hat the better. Look at it from the donor viewpoint.
The Guitar Case (or Instrument Case) - This is a little better that the hat for collecting funds because the case s bigger that a hat, easier to throw the money into from a distance, and the sides keep the bills from blowing away. You won't have to bring along a hat, in that busking means moving around and the less stuff you bring along the lighter the load.
The Large Plastic Jar - This is a favorite of Lefty who keeps his harmonicas in it when he packs up and mover. I use one to cover the tuning pegs on my guitar cos I use a soft gig bag.
The Cooler Bag - an excellent "hat" cos again you can use it to store cables, the tunes, foot-pedals, and supplies. Mine has a flip up bottom I can hide the bills in until I get back from busking. Something about the cooler bag reminds me about food which may help with donation. They are also light weight and come with a carrying strap.
The Bucket - This "hat" is used by all the bucket drummers. It's got high sides to keep the money in and the panhandlers out. It also offers you a place to sit for long sessions.
The Unusual - I recently saw two guys from Utah out front of Nordstroms with a bio-toilet and it's lid flipped up for their hat (think about that, toilet... hat). It was such an innovative tip jar that I turned my back on them and began to hoist a leak. They didn't seem that amused, but then they were a serious sort or players. Card Board Boxes are good because they can be any size, weigh little, can be disposed of anywhere and usually have high sides to keep the bills from flying away. Coffee Cans work. You can clip a Paper Cup to your music stand to collect your donations. I've used flashing LEDs in and around the tip jar when playing after hours and in the dark. The down side to this that you drain another battery, there's more electronic things to drag around and break, and the spectacle takes away from the performance.

Another point to consider is placing the tip jar up high, like on a small table or TV tray, which makes it as easy as possible for the donor to contribute. Tip jars made out of glass like vases, pickle jars or fish bowls are interesting to put money into but anything glass will break when you roll.

You Don't Even Need a Tip Jar.
I played Seaside last week. I went to their City Hall to inquire about busking the find their fine town, they told me there were no time limits or sound level limits, but you cant put out a tip jar or sign asking for a donation. I myself and many musicians I've met at time dont put out the hat. When I started out, If I'm learning new material and making lots of mistakes or If I only have a little time to play, I dont other with the hat (sorry about that Bill Gates). Finding and inventing new ways of collecting the change is a creative challenge.

Okay. You're Set.
You've picked out your tip jar. Then what? Well, you'll bring in anywhere from $0 to $500 a day in change. When you start out $0.00 is not that uncommon. $500 a day is uncommon. Once you get comfortable with your art, about $4 an hour is average. Again, the economy is a big factor as is the weather, the place that you're busking at and the time of day. There are a few ways you can improve your performance tips.

Seeding the tip jar
When you look in a players hat, in most cases he put all the bills you see in there. This gives the audience the idea that they too should help help with a contribution to your show. The dont have to be real bills. Play money and foreign bills work well. You can photocopy a few bills, but if you dont make them a little off that would be forgery. Why struggle on a street corner with your tunes when you can print out $20 on a quality printer.

The Position
Placement of the tip jar is a big factor in getting in donations. I usually put it off to the side so I don't get distracted by folks helping out with money. I also busk with a service animal so I put it away from her so the donors feel comfortable about it. Lefty, the bucket drummers, and players with an instrument case place their hat right in front of them at their feet. This also give you a chance to thank and bless the donor for helping out. It also helps you keep an eye on the funds so they don't run off. Another helpful point is to place the hat on a table or music stand so the customer doesn't have to bend over or reach out to tip you.

What Good is a Tip Jar?
It depends on what you're doing. It has to be efficient. That is easy to carry, maybe part of the instrument or gear, and the customer wants it easy enough to put the money into for you. You want to be creative in making your tip jar. It can be fun, interesting, different, or so it stands out. You want your tip jar to be secure. They can walk off. You dont want to keep any amount in it that you'd feel uncomfortable with loosing it all, including the jar itself. Use your imagination. Is it a tip jar you'd wanna donate into yourself? It may be that you dont need one.

Starting off busking feels weird. The more confidence you build in performing, the more money you can make and the more fun it becomes. You may never overcome the jitters from performing. You will learn or develop ways of dealing with it though. Look at the Statue/ Metal Man and the balloon guys. They are all pitch and the stage presence. Throw a little of your own change in your tip jar cos seeding the hat makes the customer feel confident in contributing to your collection.

Take Time to Learn your Craft and Be Resilient.
They throw more bottles and unkind words at you at first than they throw money. You overcome this by playing everyday. Now you should have visions of your pockets full of change. How much can you make busking? It depends on how good the service you provide is to your customers. A $0.00 day is not uncommon but it is unlikely. A beginner will average about $4 an hour. There are rumors that you can make $200 to $500 a day. An excellent day is about $100. If you busk alot for five years you'd be a real good player. Make the tip jar an effort to collect a donation. Be sure to check with the authorities in you area regarding busing and street performances. Follow the links here to find out about the Portland busking guild lines. These days people want to forget about their problems and a song or a show will help. Make people happy and they'll help you out.


A big plastic jar works great

Panhandlers tend to think you're taking money away from them

An open instrument case is the most recognized musician's tip jar

Anything gets too weird, leave. The trait of busking is that you can leave in a minute.