How to be a better Street Musician: A blog about tips, tricks and strategies for street musicians.

I’m not a huge fan of the term “street musician.” It’s inaccurate, it’s judgmental, and it’s the kind of phrase I’d like to eliminate from our vocabulary. To me, the “street” part is the most problematic – because, while many street performers do play on the street, they also perform in parks, metro stations and malls. I prefer the term “busker,” a word that comes from an old Italian tradition of performing in exchange for spare change.

The art of busking has been around for hundreds of years and it has evolved into one of the most effective forms of live entertainment. For musicians, it’s an opportunity to make instant cash, practice your craft and build a following. For spectators, it’s an opportunity to connect with artists in public spaces where music is least expected.

Street musicians have a rough time of it. They’re usually starving artists trying to make a living, but they’re more often seen as beggars. Playing on the street isn’t an easy task, and it takes some preparation if you want to get more than just a few bucks tossed at you by your audience. If you want to make it in the street music business, this is the blog for you.

Today I’m going to talk about one of the most important things you can do as a street musician: Learn multiple instruments. This might sound counter-intuitive: if you can play multiple instruments, why not just put out a hat for each one? Surely that would net you more money than playing them all at once?

The answer is simple: people love novelty. If you’ve mastered three or four different instruments and have the ability to seamlessly transition between them during a song, people will pay attention. They’ll stop what they’re doing and listen and watch in awe as an expertly crafted tune unfolds before their very eyes and ears.

After years of playing street music professionally, it’s time to share what I have learnt.

I started busking when I was 14, playing the violin in the streets. Nearly 10 years later, I have played hundreds of gigs in dozens of countries and earned thousands of dollars. Along the way, I have learned countless lessons which have helped me develop into a better musician and performer.

Now, I am excited to share my knowledge with you! Whether you are new to street music or have been playing for a while, this blog is for you!

I will write about all kinds of topics: how to handle the police, how to make money busking, how to get better at your instrument and much more!

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First of all, the huge majority of street musicians are busking just to make some money. Even if they love it, they would probably prefer to be writing their own original music and playing with a band (or at least a duo) in a club with sound equipment and paying customers. But most musicians just starting out can’t manage that right away, so street performing is often a logical first step.

Whether you are doing it for fun or money, there are a few things that will help you stand out from the crowd. The big thing is to have a good stage presence. For example, if you are busking on your own, you may want to practice playing your instrument while also singing. If you are with a group, move around and communicate with each other on stage as much as possible. Have fun! People like seeing this kind of interaction.

You can also increase your income by offering CDs for sale of your recordings in case people like what they hear and want to buy something from you. This is especially useful if you do original music that people won’t find elsewhere; they may not want to pay for another cover of “Like A Rolling Stone,” but they might be interested in an EP by a local band with their own songs on it.

Heres a list of the instruments that I can play and a list of songs that I can play on each.

Drums: (Can play any song on drums)

Piano: (Can play any song on piano)

Guitar: (Can play any song on guitar)

Trumpet: (Can play any song on trumpet)

As you can see, I am often asked what kind of music I like to play. The truth is, I love all kinds of music. In fact, I can’t remember the last time that I didn’t like a song or band that someone recommended to me. One of the best things about being a street musician is the wide variety of music genres that we get to listen to every day. Even though some people might not consider it “music”, we are exposed to all sorts of different sounds every day and its important to be able to appreciate them all. One of my favorite quotes is by Malcolm X and it says: “If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.” That quote has always stuck with me because I feel like it applies so well to music. You see, many people only listen to

In a previous article I talked about the importance of learning multiple instruments when your goal is to be a better street musician. That article was called “Musician Tips: How To Play 3 Instruments At Once.”

In this article I’m going to go into more detail about how to market yourself as a multi-instrumentalist. The main trick is to make sure you’re playing the right combination of instruments.

For example, if you play guitar and drums, your income will probably be higher than if you play bass and trombone. In fact, the highest earnings generally come from playing guitar plus another instrument.

Guitar + Drums is the best combination because both are loud enough to draw in a crowd and they complement each other well. You can also add extra percussion like maracas or tambourine (which you can play with your feet). In addition, guitar + drums is one of the most flexible combinations: you can play any style of music with it–rock, pop, jazz, funk…even rap!

Guitar + Singing is another popular combination that works well. You might want to start off with just singing so people don’t get bored while they wait for you to set up your gear; then add in some acoustic

When Street Musicians first start out they often have a single instrument. Some guitarists start out with other instruments like harmonica or banjo. Some musicians start out as singers. But regardless of what you started out with, you may find yourself wanting to expand your repertoire of instruments.

In this post I’ll talk about how to make the decision on what instruments to learn and some tips for getting started in learning a new instrument.