Re: On becoming a professional musician...

"Jim Carr" <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:4c68ea7d$0$10334$c3e8da3@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The copyright and lawyer stuff is extremely important if you want to make
money with your original music. I agree that most people won't make more
than pocket change on originals, but if you're going to try it, do it
right. Don't be one of those countless idiots who didn't make all of the
money they possibly could when their music did actually sell.

And if you are fortunate enough to be offered a contract, bring it to a
lawyer.

I agree that it's good stuff to look into. I just felt that the
majority of professional musicians don't make their living by copyrighting
their own material. Many people do it at one level or another, but I think
for most of us regular Joe's the legal side of things has zero to do with
paying the bills. If I were making a list of things to know about being a
professional musician I'd put registering music, understanding copyright
law, and having legal council (that represents you on music-related issues)
pretty damn far down the list. In fact, I'd put "own a nice pair of shoes
and at least one nice outfit" way ahead of that legal stuff.


The reality is that in the every-day working cover band environment, the
audience would never notice the difference between myself and lots of
these guys. I can play "Brick House" and "Rock This Town" just as well as
they can. In my experience it's rare to be asked to play really difficult
pieces in money making cover bands playing clubs, weddings and special
events. That's not to say that such gigs don't exist, but there's plenty
of meat and potatoes work out there.

I think the most important skill is understanding how to apply your
knowledge on the fly. Knowing a bunch of modes doesn't do you any good if
you can't use them in a song you've never played before. Understanding
chord theory, or syncopation, or techniques like thumping or tapping, are
nearly worthless if you can't apply them directly into the songs you're
asked to play, and use them appropriately and without planning in advance.
For a bassist, the really important skills aren't going to leap out at
the audience in the first song; you won't be struck by a blistering drum
fill or a ripping guitar solo. But if you can write a chart quickly and
diagnose a song's structure on the first take you'll get calls. The
audience will never know that's what got you the gig, but those little
things make a big impact when it comes to finding work.

One thing I did notice at School of Bass is that many of the people who
could play all sorts of fancy slap stuff really struggled with the basic
stuff. They were slow to learn rather simple parts whereas I picked them
up rather quickly.

I'd say in the world of working bassists, the ability to quickly pick up a
new song and keep the groove is something that will go a long way to
keeping you booked. Spending many hours learning some Jaco stuff is a
great experience, but in practical terms I'd say turning on the radio and
trying to pick up songs on the fly will have more benefit in the long run
if you want to be a working sideman.

In my opinion, it's all about how you practice and how you prioritize
your practice time. Some people spend all their time learning technical
bass stuff, and they do it by looking at instructional videos or reading
tab. While they pick up a lot of technique, that practice time doesn't
build on many other areas, such as ear training. Another player might
tackle the exact same song and do it by playing along to the record and
charting the tune out on their own. In the end, both players will know the
same song, but the second one has also developed his ear, his ability to
take notes and chart songs, and has probably internalized the song in a way
that the first player has not.
-Jonathan


.

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