I answered a question on Quora. I may have gone on at length, but I had something to say.
Q: What are the most lucrative songs for busking musicians?
You're asking a very open-ended question in a very broad field, so I hope you're not looking for a magical jukebox playlist that will start spitting quarters into your case. However, here's how I've come to tailor my song choices for better response in this unique avenue.
Novelty and familiarity are key. Skill and technique are good, but the goal is not to get to Carnegie Hall. The goal is equal parts to entertain people, and to get them to open their wallets right after you've just given them a free show.
Most musicians have less play in hat lines than jugglers etc, since we're using our audio space to perform rather than to convince people to give you money. Thus, we have to make our audio space do double duty as both proof of our skill, and be interesting enough to get people to part with a dollar while we're playing. I usually flash up the visual space with a loud shirt and an ugly hat so that I'll catch their eye as well as their ear.
Short songs are good. Even just a hook from a song you like, then you work it into some sort of improvisation. As much as I love playing classical, it generally does NOT pay out, except for a few pieces that everybody knows and most musicians get tired of playing. Now, if someone requests classical, do have a few pieces on hand that you can play very well, because those are the people who will sit there for twenty minutes, then drop a ten in your case because you just made their day. I play viola without any backup, so I'll pop off one of Bach's unaccompanied cello suites, or Monti's Czardas with all sorts of gypsy flips and flairs, that sort of thing.
As for the rest of the walking populace, they couldn't give half a bean about your amazing technical skills and polish. They're on their way to the laundromat or whatever, and you're taking up space. Know your audience. I usually set up in front of the county courthouse, so my audience is generally old lawyers who like showtunes and Sinatra, young lawyers who like oddball pop songs and the latest internet earworm, and young defendants who like video game themes.
Play stuff that's completely out of character for your instrument. Novelty begets smiles, which begets dollar bills. As a violist, I've made a habit out of bastardizing Nine Inch Nails and Metallica songs into something where I can intermittently bang an implied rhythm of chords on the low strings while I play the lead parts on the high strings. Rolling double-stops are a beautiful thing, and I'm already fretless.
Learn the art of contrast and dynamics. In low-traffic periods, entertain yourself with improvisational interludes and fantasies, but do keep playing - just in a more ambient fashion. If you stop playing, I guarantee that'll be the moment you miss the guy who had his hand going into his pocket for a five dollar bill, but oohhhh you stopped. (Do take a breather and a drink now and then, obviously, don't be insane, but my point stands. Silence doesn't sell.)
Then when the people start to come up, the music shifts into something exciting! Oooh, the musician noticed me, maybe I should notice him back! Works extra well with kids.
Save the sad songs for your coffee-house gigs. Keep it upbeat and happy, unless you get a specific request. This is the ultimate casual crowd, they don't want a downer spot when you could be putting a smile on their face. (As always, there are exceptions. Hit your sad moments with PASSION and you'll catch just the right person's ear who knows that you needed to play that song at that time.)
My go-to songs when I'm out of ideas, and I want to catch someone's ear right away? Iconic video game themes. Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Punch-Out. The Коробейники from TETЯIS. "Eyes On Me," or anything from the Final Fantasy games. Or I'll RickRoll somebody just to make myself giggle. If a policeman walks past, the Imperial March theme from Star Wars gets inserted into my song.
Do take requests. Always. The sillier the better. Don't worry about getting it perfect, just come close enough to make 'em smile. If a dude waves a dollar at me and says, 'FREEBIRRRRRRD!' then you know by god I'm going to segue whatever I was just playing right into the opening chords of Inna Gadda Da Vida. (I never listened to Skynyrd, sorry.)
Note: I will NOT play anything by Charlie Daniels. I do have standards, you know. This has become part of my schtick, since the first thing out of so many people's mouths when they see a fiddler playing something besides classical is DEVIL WENT DOWN TO no I will not play that song. Oh, I can play it, yes. I just won't. Unless you have at least a five dollar bill and know all the words and promise that you can keep a beat, and you can con another five dollar bill out of someone ELSE on the pavement. Then. THEN and only then will I play Fire on the Mountain, Run Boy Run....
You're asking a very open-ended question in a very broad field, so I hope you're not looking for a magical jukebox playlist that will start spitting quarters into your case. However, here's how I've come to tailor my song choices for better response in this unique avenue.
Novelty and familiarity are key. Skill and technique are good, but the goal is not to get to Carnegie Hall. The goal is equal parts to entertain people, and to get them to open their wallets right after you've just given them a free show.
Most musicians have less play in hat lines than jugglers etc, since we're using our audio space to perform rather than to convince people to give you money. Thus, we have to make our audio space do double duty as both proof of our skill, and be interesting enough to get people to part with a dollar while we're playing. I usually flash up the visual space with a loud shirt and an ugly hat so that I'll catch their eye as well as their ear.
Short songs are good. Even just a hook from a song you like, then you work it into some sort of improvisation. As much as I love playing classical, it generally does NOT pay out, except for a few pieces that everybody knows and most musicians get tired of playing. Now, if someone requests classical, do have a few pieces on hand that you can play very well, because those are the people who will sit there for twenty minutes, then drop a ten in your case because you just made their day. I play viola without any backup, so I'll pop off one of Bach's unaccompanied cello suites, or Monti's Czardas with all sorts of gypsy flips and flairs, that sort of thing.
As for the rest of the walking populace, they couldn't give half a bean about your amazing technical skills and polish. They're on their way to the laundromat or whatever, and you're taking up space. Know your audience. I usually set up in front of the county courthouse, so my audience is generally old lawyers who like showtunes and Sinatra, young lawyers who like oddball pop songs and the latest internet earworm, and young defendants who like video game themes.
Play stuff that's completely out of character for your instrument. Novelty begets smiles, which begets dollar bills. As a violist, I've made a habit out of bastardizing Nine Inch Nails and Metallica songs into something where I can intermittently bang an implied rhythm of chords on the low strings while I play the lead parts on the high strings. Rolling double-stops are a beautiful thing, and I'm already fretless.
Learn the art of contrast and dynamics. In low-traffic periods, entertain yourself with improvisational interludes and fantasies, but do keep playing - just in a more ambient fashion. If you stop playing, I guarantee that'll be the moment you miss the guy who had his hand going into his pocket for a five dollar bill, but oohhhh you stopped. (Do take a breather and a drink now and then, obviously, don't be insane, but my point stands. Silence doesn't sell.)
Then when the people start to come up, the music shifts into something exciting! Oooh, the musician noticed me, maybe I should notice him back! Works extra well with kids.
Save the sad songs for your coffee-house gigs. Keep it upbeat and happy, unless you get a specific request. This is the ultimate casual crowd, they don't want a downer spot when you could be putting a smile on their face. (As always, there are exceptions. Hit your sad moments with PASSION and you'll catch just the right person's ear who knows that you needed to play that song at that time.)
My go-to songs when I'm out of ideas, and I want to catch someone's ear right away? Iconic video game themes. Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Punch-Out. The Коробейники from TETЯIS. "Eyes On Me," or anything from the Final Fantasy games. Or I'll RickRoll somebody just to make myself giggle. If a policeman walks past, the Imperial March theme from Star Wars gets inserted into my song.
Do take requests. Always. The sillier the better. Don't worry about getting it perfect, just come close enough to make 'em smile. If a dude waves a dollar at me and says, 'FREEBIRRRRRRD!' then you know by god I'm going to segue whatever I was just playing right into the opening chords of Inna Gadda Da Vida. (I never listened to Skynyrd, sorry.)
Note: I will NOT play anything by Charlie Daniels. I do have standards, you know. This has become part of my schtick, since the first thing out of so many people's mouths when they see a fiddler playing something besides classical is DEVIL WENT DOWN TO no I will not play that song. Oh, I can play it, yes. I just won't. Unless you have at least a five dollar bill and know all the words and promise that you can keep a beat, and you can con another five dollar bill out of someone ELSE on the pavement. Then. THEN and only then will I play Fire on the Mountain, Run Boy Run....