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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Make money with your harp skills.
Make money with your harp skills.
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tookatooka
2416 posts
Aug 18, 2011
4:07 AM
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I've been thinking of ways to make a little money using my harp skills. The economic situation is getting pretty dire and it would be nice to know that there may be something I could turn to should the worse happen. If you have any good ideas, let's hear them.
These are ideas which are a bit different from the usual ones e.g. Harp Lessons, Busking or Customising. They may be a bit off the wall but they could have legs.
1. Blues Harp-o-grams. You turn up at a celebration and play Happy Birthday blues-style and then give little blues rendition of popular blues tunes. Small battery powered amp with backing track would give a nice touch. Like Stripper-grams but for blues music fans. I suppose you could pull a harp out of your posing pouch if that's what you like. Advertise in the local press.
2. Market stall selling harps. You set up a stall and play through a small battery powered amp to pull the curious customers in. Who could resist buying one. Get a stock of cheap but decent Chinese harps to sell. Could be a money spinner, if not it'll be a good practice session. Kids would love it. Harness the pester power of children. If sucessfull you could also sell, blues paraphenalia, cd's instruction books etc.
Just a thought. Any other ideas out there guys.
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HarmonicaMick
286 posts
Aug 18, 2011
4:59 AM
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From time to time the same question passes across my neurons and I always fail to come up with any sensible ideas other than the usual ones.
As far as I can tell the best model I've seen is what Doc G has come up with, which is the opposite of what my mother calls 'offering the sprat to catch the mackeral'. He offers mackerels - or salmon - for free and then sells the smaller stuff to those who want to buy it. Everyone's a winner.
The only trouble with that model is that it requires a great deal more expertise than the average player has; he is, after all, a pro.
When one considers the extent to which everyone in the Western World is being shafted by the banks with the collusion of their chums in Congress and the various European parliaments, I think a more prescient question is this: how can I safeguard the money I still have left. Back in 2008, when the proverbial brown stuff hit the fan, we in the UK were hours away from putting our card in the wall and finding that there was no money in there to draw on.
So, while I can't add any ideas that rely on harp skills, I can suggest that it may be more worthwhile to think of ways to get any money you do have out of investments that are directly connected to the US$, the Euro and any other - what's the term? - fiat currencies, I think it is. After all, a 100% of zero is still 0.
Hope I've not hijacked the thread, but I am being completely serious.
EDIT: I meant to add this. I remember one time on here someone asking, 'What's the best way to make a million dollars playing harp?' Someone chimed in, 'Start out with two million dollars.'
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YouTube SlimHarpMick
Last Edited by on Aug 18, 2011 7:01 AM
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nacoran
4472 posts
Aug 19, 2011
10:37 AM
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I've run the same thought experiment in my head. I've thought of busking with some new harps available for sale. You could do blues tee shirts and maybe sell some other highly portable instruments (ocarinas, tin whistles, etc. Of course, being allowed to busk somewhere is different than being allowed to peddle, so you'd have to check into local ordinances.
I think at one time I saw a jar of the cheap plastic Hohner harps. Wholesale they were only a buck or two a piece and they were all in C. If you had a jar like that, then handful of BluesBands, a couple Big Rivers and then maybe some MBs. Keep everything in C so when a parent buys one for a kid you can show them a couple songs and all the kids will be in the same key. You might want a recording of yourself to play while you're making transactions or when you just need a break. If you spent the time you weren't playing tweaking harps where people could watch you could show people the insides. Of course, CD's... you could sell teaching material too. (Or watercolors!)
And make sure everyone gets a card listing your website. Just business cards if you don't make a sale, but maybe a full sized card for sales, like you'd send with a gift?
I read somewhere that if you have a business you should keep adding new things to make money with until you run out of floor space (for a busker it might be until you can't carry anymore).
Books
CD's
Harmonicas
Other instruments
Harmonica Art
Lessons
Live performances for tips
HarmonicaMick, just be careful... most of the people pushing gold are selling gold, and even although currencies can go to zero they rarely do. Inflation is still low and gold is probably overpriced right now. If you have dry storage space stocking up on long lasting essentials is a good hedge against inflation, and if you don't have to take a loan, real estate is pretty cheap right now. If you are convinced inflation is going to hit, really convinced to the point where you are willing to bet the house on it, borrow. Borrow like there is no tomorrow. When currency goes to zero you will have the most stuff, and thereby win and be able to pay off your debt in no time. And remember, the price of copper is pretty high right now. What has copper? Brass! What has brass? Harmonica reeds and reed plates! Invest in harmonicas! :)
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Nate
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eharp
1412 posts
Aug 19, 2011
11:08 AM
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great ideas, took.
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HarmonicaMick
289 posts
Aug 19, 2011
11:23 AM
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Nate, many thanks. I'm going to do an awful lot of research before I start moving my loot around. I must admit that I didn't read your post really closely cos I'm in the middle of watching a film a like on the telly. That's a rare thing for me these days. Anyway, I'll re-read your post later and be very careful about what I do. Thanks again.
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YouTube SlimHarpMick
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Andy Ley
151 posts
Aug 19, 2011
12:17 PM
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I had the pleasure of attending a harmonica workshop hosted by Brendan Power the other week. 20 - 30 people turned up paying £8 a head, many of them having very little harmonica knowledge (one lady had 'never even picked one up').
Brendan made a few mentions to his own brand Power Benders, and played a few tunes on them. At the end of the workshop he sold (from what I saw) at least a good half-dozen of them at £20 a pop (including to the lady who had never touched a harp in her life). He also mentioned that he would have a supply with him at his gig that evening.
Admittedly the workshop was a part of Sidmouth folk festival, so there was a musically interested audience in the area, and it was the only harmonica workshop at the time; but by being gracious, knowledgable and generous with his skills and knowledge Brendan had the whole audience eating out of his hand by the end.
I can see how with the right publicity, and by targeting music events, groups/clubs, markets and festivals in your local area you could turn quite a profit doing something similar on a regular basis.
Last Edited by on Aug 19, 2011 12:17 PM
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earlounge
336 posts
Aug 19, 2011
12:32 PM
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Build a website or make youtube videos... enough traffic can produce a significant amount of ad revenue.
Good luck... you will need it!
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clyde
128 posts
Aug 19, 2011
6:05 PM
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sell your harps
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