Call for professional musicians to share their experience

Riccardo Ros

Riccardo Ros

Power User
Hi all!
I know this may sound like a stupid thread... but I'd like to hear your opinion.
The idea of becoming a professional musician* never even crossed my mind, and now, over 40, I regret that I never considered it.

I would love for some professionals* to share their experience or at least how positive or not the choice they made is... for the sake of imagining a parallel universe in which I also made that kind of choice.

Another aspect of interest is, also, how important technique is compared to the ear and feeling the rhythm... I always thought that in order to be a professional one had to be a virtuoso in some way (I come from piano, where it's taken for granted that all graduates play everything) but recently I think I've realized that that aspect is not that important..

Thanks in advance if you would share your experience!


* people who work as a professional musician as main job / income source
 
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define professional. headlining the biggest shows? supporting acts on the biggest shows? or playing music in bars with friends and getting paid?

the number of people in the world who can do EVERYTHING on their instrument is closer to zero than anything else.

be on time, have reliable gear, and do what you do well, and you can be fit into any situation. that's what being a professional means to me.
 
chris said:
define professional
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I got you, sorry for the poor explanation.
You're right, being professional is another concept; the meaning was "people who work as a professional musician as main job / income source"... does this fit better?

chris said:
be on time, have reliable gear, and do what you do well, and you can be fit into any situation. that's what being a professional means to me.
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I cannot agree more
 
Riccardo Ros said:
The idea of becoming a professional musician never even crossed my mind, and now, over 40, I regret that I never considered it.
Click to expand...
I pursued it and did well. I gigged a lot and toured a little. I paid for much of my own education. I learned a lot about life and had good fun. I met the woman I've now been married to for 28 years. I was done with it, though, by the time the dotcom boom began. Now over 50, I am glad that it never went further than it did. When, at work, if I need to travel with an artist on a tour bus, or listen to the same show for the 6th time, or hear about the strife of band in fighting, management headaches (or worse), I joke with my friends, "The best thing that ever happened to me is that my dreams never came true." Don't get me wrong: I truly admire and appreciate those who can, but I love my family and my pets and my backyard and my well-structured existence. Of course, being at Fractal Audio is better than a dream job, but I honestly felt the same when I was working in a corporate cubicle or struggling to run my own business during the in between years.
 
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Touring is fun for awhile, the energy of walking out onto a stage in front of a massive crowd is unmatched by anything else I've ever done in my life, but it gets old after awhile and the glamor wears off after your 10th time in Pittsburgh or checking into your 1000th hotel room or 100th 4am lobby call after finishing load out at midnight, or emergency pooping in a plastic bag on a bus because there's no rest stops, or trying to get someone on the crew back to the bus before bus call when they're blacked out and belligerent. I've definitely made some of the best memories of my life when touring, but it's not without cost, and half of those memories are the sightseeing I've done on a day off in a new city i.e. unrelated to the actual show.

Also most shows are smaller and not nearly as cool as the big arena shows. I don't even do local stuff any more because it's not worth it tbh. I don't need the money any more, the only reason I keep taking gigs is for the international travel. When we go somewhere new and cool I have them book my return flight a few days late so I get some time in a new place.

The other major issue is the serious drain on your physical and mental health. Even after touring for years I've never used drugs in my life but it's easy to see why there's so much alcohol/drug abuse in the industry. If you don't eat, sleep, and breathe your instrument and don't have an iron will to stay clean then I would not recommend it.

It's also really hard to build/maintain a relationship when you're on the road all the time. I'm in my 30s now, most of my friends are married with kids. I'm not saying I regret my decision to tour but seeing my friends' wives and kids reminds me how much of a sacrifice I've made.
 
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i've worked with professional musicians for years now. they primarily play music for income.

one of them doesn't know the name of chords, you have to show the shape and then he knows it. he sings and plays guitar like a BEAST though.

another one has pretty bad time, but he solos insane. so that's his job in the band, never rhythm.

a drummer i know can't be flashy or do advanced fills, but his pocket is INSANE so he's booked on dance gigs.

we all can't do everything. but we can find roles for ourselves. just be open to trying to stretch out a little during gigs.

and if things go wrong, just have a laugh. i've had so many ideas come from legitimate mistakes on stage, and boom, song is better now with a cool new part.
 
I can speak from 40 years of being a professional musician. I made some of the greatest connections of my life through music - to other musicians, to fellow travelers and friends. There are a lot of valuable and positive aspects to being a working musician, including getting to play a lot!
There are some other aspects to it...
  • Lack of predictability. You need to be comfortable with uncertainty. Gig schedules are inconsistent. The pay fluctuates. It's hard to have a reliable schedule, and you'll be constantly working to fill your calendar a few months ahead. This isn't a 40 hour work week.
  • Money. Gig income fluctuates, and you need to be good at budgeting. And saving. It's helpful to have tax / accounting advice too. Unless you are in a very successful band, you probably won't have anyone helping with tax withholding or retirement saving, let alone health benefits. Being a musician is generally as self-employed as you can get!
  • Social Life: You will be on stage with all eyes on you. Yay! But you will spend a very large portion of your time rehearsing, traveling to gigs, setting up, waiting around, playing a soundcheck, waiting around, playing the gig, tearing down, and waiting around. Who will you be waiting around with? You bandmates and support people. For most of your working musical days, this will be your social life. You are likely to miss some social gatherings, events, parties, and milestones. For the two decades that was intensely touring, my social circle was very small.
  • You will contemplate smothering your bandmates with a pillow while they sleep. Your bandmates are probably great friends of yours and on tour you will become close. Spend enough time together in a van, and at some point you will find your close friends very very annoying. Keep a sense of humor. Remember that you're getting to play music, which is a dream for many people. Also, there is a rule against smothering people with a pillow, so don't do that.
  • Gear Considerations: I always took two guitars on tour. My #1 got 3-4 hours of stage use on 200 nights per year. Over the course of some years, that guitar was badly in need of refreshing. The frets where shot, the pickups were getting microphonic, and it had acquired some battle scars. Gigging a lot will put some wear on your gear, so budget money and time for upkeep. By the way, I had that #1 guitar refretted, rewired, and it's back in action. It's been my primary guitar for over 30 years!
  • Physical wear and tear: Playing music for a living means practicing and playing a lot. You need to be aware of your posture and playing mechanics. You can easily develop tendinitis or carpal tunnel syndrome by just playing with poor physical mechanics, and that stuff is zero fun. It can end your playing days. Hauling / loading heavy gear is rough on your back, wrists, and hands, so be careful doing that too.
  • Road touring is dangerous. It is. You are on the road driving around a lot. Under the best of circumstances, this alone increases your odds of being in a vehicular accident. Add in the fact that you're often driving late at night. You're often driving long hours. Plus you're distracted, fantasizing about smothering your bandmates in their sleep. Again, this is frowned upon and should be avoided.
  • Being on tour generally comes with poor sleep, poor diet, and bad habits. If you are going to tour, take care of yourself. Don't party every night. Eat a salad now and again. For bonus points, occasionally work out in the hotel workout facility.
  • Also a tour tip: If you are a dedicated musician and want to constantly learn, take lessons when on the road. I used to schedule lessons ahead of time with well-respected teachers in various markets. It's amazing what you can learn in a single hour with a new teacher.
All that said, I love being a musician, and love (shorter) tours. I work a day job in technology which has given me some stability. I don't regret a moment of all the years I spent on the road. Most friends my age - especially those who worked normal careers - have more money than me, and put aside more for retirement. But so many of them are burned out and regret never having "gone for it" and chased their dream. If it's in you, and you yearn to play professionally, there is nothing that compares to it.
 
I played professionally (as per your description) for only a few years as a much younger man. This was the 1970s and there were lots of places to play and, without a family, I didn’t need as much to get by. It was great fun, but never really went anywhere.

That’s why I’d say your definition of “professional” is off-target. After marrying the sister of a band-mate and settling down to the normal job, I kept playing in bands… nights/weekends, when work allowed. The funny part is that I’ve done that from then to this day, played with many known artists, traveled (very short tours, if you will) more than I ever did when it was full time, recorded in great studios, and played to much larger crowds as a part-time musician than I ever did when I had “the dream.” The fact that it wasn’t what paid the bills allowed me to use gig money to buy cool instruments and gear, and financed any expenses that came from playing. And I never had to play a gig anywhere I didn’t want to go.

In the mean time, I built a successful career that now provides my retirement funding and raised a family… left a real legacy. At 64, I’m still making money part time gigging, and I still enjoy it. So, I feel my life is proof enough to me that you can be a multi-profession-professional and still enjoy the benefits of both, while avoiding many of the downfalls. It’s been the best way for me.

So, no, I never played for an arena crowd. 7000-8000 is the largest I ever saw, opening for The Beach Boys. Now it’s more 100-300, and still as enjoyable. I’ve got several mega-talented full-time friends. I’m happier, healthier, and have a more stable life. I’m not knocking them, or their choices. Just saying I gave full-time music my best shot a long time ago and am now glad that shot missed.
 
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Thanks a lot for sharing your experiences!
I guess that also the origin country makes a huge impact on the choices made.

I had very few opportunities to speak with full-time musicians, I appreciate you took the time to share your thoughts!
 
Although never a gigging paid musician, my suggestion is to read up on folks like Steve Cropper, as well as studio musicians who did per diem work on contracted parts. A person you could ask is Tim Pierce and learn how his career continues to expand with steady work. Rather than ask the only partially successful guitarist, ask the pros, or again, read up on their career path and how they did it. Tim is still with us. You could even ask Burgs, Leon Todd, or John N Cordy. just a thought.
 
The time I realized I wasn't going to pursue a professional music career, was when I found myself questioning whether or not to do it.

The friends I have who have been, or are still professionals never did that. They just 'went for it' because that was their true passion, they literally live & breathe it.
 
I'm 72 and started to learn to play at 16 and never been in a band, so I know what you're saying. For me besides getting married and raising a family which meant a good steady paycheck, and despite everyone who heard me play say I should get in a band. I knew in my heart I was not good enough to go pro, i.e. beyond a local band. So one needs to be very honest with oneself about their abilities.
 
Not a professional musician, but worked for 10+ years in live music. Although I work, chat or just hang out with 50-100 musicians on a weekly basis, it’s really interesting to hear your thoughts. And knowing what you guys think and do is an important part of my job as a booking agent and promoter (and also as a backliner as a side hustle because I love to work with guitar gear). I was supposed to be a professional musician, but ended up on the other side of the curtain. Working closely with professional musicians has made me realize I maybe don’t have what it takes and so it’s not my dream anymore. Maybe someday, but just for fun 🙂

Here’s some thoughts from the other side of the curtain:
  • if you want to make a living as a professional musician or as a professional in any position in music business AND be happy about it, try to cherish the excitement and love for music. Appreciate what you and others are doing and how far you’ve gotten. The better attitude you have, the faster and better position you will end up in. Losing interest and being an asshole can hurt your career in the long run or even end it in a blip.
  • I’ve made a lot of friends by working in this industry. Some lifelong friends even, which are the most important ones. The others will start to disappear eventually if you decide to step away from the industry,
  • touring is really fun and exciting to the point when you’re visiting the same venues over and over again. The bigger and bigger the stages grow, the less meaningful the smaller ones can become. Touring used to be one of my dreams, but it seems I get bored way too easily so I’m not that sure anymore if it’s really for me. Many people try to compensate this with partying and alcohol etc. One of my biggest fears is to just completely lose interest in touring and/or playing an instrument because of just ending up touring too much.
  • the live industry is currently in a pickle in every single continent AFAIK. Covid did some serious damage and the inflation is not helping at all. I really hope as many as possible of the venues and music festivals will survive, but it’s not looking great. That means bands, artists and musicians will take the hit as well.
  • social media is a way too big of a factor these days. Not concerning session or freelance musicians as much, but as an artist it’s such a big stress factor – even to the point where artists stress way too much about their social media presence instead of writing music, which is supposed be the most important thing.
  • public streaming platform numbers (amount of streams and listeners) are really toxic and some artists focus and stress about them WAY too much. Streams are one of the key numbers promoters keep an eye on, but that’s what the promoters have to work with these days. It just doesn’t help to stare at those numbers 24/7, it only wears you out. At least don’t compare yourself to other artists, as there’s always someone who is bigger than you.
 
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