A question for all y'all buskers out there? How tacky is it to have a cheat sheet with chords/lyrics when you are busking. I am still building my set list but I could play a bunch more songs if I had cheat sheets until I memorize them.
What are your thoughts on this?
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My friend used one taped on the back of his guitar. A quick little tilt forwards and he had " song - chords - tempo - additional info" . Just those 4 things were enough to jog his head. He had a list of about 20 on there.
I do Open Mic and a lot of the kids use their cell phones for lyrics. They may surf the net for all I know which would give you unlimited resources.
One trick my old guitar teacher taught me was to tape your lyrics/cords to your guitar. The audience won't see it and you look like a genius! Only good for a song or two.
Back when I used to busk I knew about 400 songs but not all the verses (or chords) to them by heart. That way if a listener made a request I could usually do some of it and then maybe repeat the 1st verse. That was often enough to satisfy get a couple of bucks tossed in the case. Whenever I tried using cheat sheets it would always guarantee a windy day and it's tough chasing down paper with instrument in hand! I don't think it's tacky to use them - just troublesome sometimes.
Sometimes I'd make up lyrics on the spot to fit listeners - "I look at your face and I notice you're sunburned. While my guitar gently weeps" Stuff along those lines.