Are you a Professional Bassist / Musician? Your definition please

[wiro]

Originally Posted by FLOYDtheBARBER

when i think "professional musician" it means just that; that music is you profession. so, if you make your living from making music, you are a professional musician.

Totally agree. Which means that there are lousy professionals and superior amateurs. If you got paid for something doesn't mean it's good quality.

Me myself is a amateur. If I'm good or not is not for me to decide. I'm subject to this, so I leave it to others to their taste ..... Just let me play as much as possible an' I'm happy. Hopefully I can give others a good feeling too and as long as I've enough to eat this is all what counts.

[ctbass]

If you get paid to play, you should be professional; that is well rehearsed, well dressed, on time, and playing to the crowd and giving all you have for their entertainment dollar. So, you are a professional

The reason many music scenes suck is because the musicians in the scene do not provide the criteria listed above. Instead they whine about how nobody does anything for them. Being a professional does not come from the outside but starts inside. How you conduct yourself determines your status, not if your living out of your car for your art.

IMHO

[tZer]

I have to go with the semi-pro description I have seen in this thread as my descriptor. I do not make my living playing, but I do get paid to play. Now do I make a profit? Nah... all my gig money goes right back into strings, lessons, general maintenance, and gas.

Could I be a pro? Not at this time. I have too much respect for the pros out there who know their craft inside and out to try to include myself in their ranks. I am working toward the goal of being able to be a pro - not necessarily being one.

To the TRUE PROS out there... my hat is off to you!

--tz

[Marcus Willett]

Originally Posted by maxvalentino

As a pro player, I see myself as an independent contractor; hired for my special skills within the industry. Whatever I can do which exploits my skills and knowledge can be rewarding both personally and financially.

As a full-timer myself, I think Max said this well. It's a screwy business to make a living in, but it's beats digging ditches.

[slackdaddy]

I make about 50% of my income through music the rest of the time I am a map maker. I consider myself a professional because I do get paid, I have a working knowledge of the music business, I am on time, I have a good work ethic, I play pretty well (I am sure that there are many folks on here who are better technical players) but one HUGE difference is I listen. The people I play with have confidence in my abilities and show me great respect and I have played with some AMAZING musicians. So, the fact that I only make about 1/2 of my income from music does not make me less of a professional; in fact, I think it is good for my ego.

[corinpills]

Unfortunatly, I've seen a lot of evidence of guys who were absolutely smoking on their instrument who but had a compulsive problem with being too late, too loud, not dressed right, loading in through the front door instead of the loading dock (or whatever). In fact, I hate to say it, but my actual experince has been that there seems to be a ratio between musical ability and a lack of ability in these areas. I really hate to say it, but the amazing, ripping players are very often the ones who breeze in 5 minutes before the start time, wheeling their amp past the clients and guests. Also, a lot of times, crazy good players find it beneath them to play the original bass parts from the songs they play and that's a drag. A lesser player who can show up on time and not cause tension on the bandstand is much more valuable.

[corinpills]

This kind of pertains to this thread, check out who I met on a gig last night:



Here's a little thing I wrote about so I wouldn't forget (I have a new son, all of a sudden I'm interested in remembering the details of things that happen).

I had a very interesting gig with my soul band tonight. My "day job" is playing telecaster in a 9 piece soul band called Flipside which does a lot of high-end corporate events and social functions. I have had my qualms about being in a function band. of course. I kind of intended to be a rock star, but it seems to have not worked out that way, and this is a pretty great gig. For one thing, my guitar playing has really improved since I've been doing it (me actually being a bass player, and there being a lot of really qualified guitarists in Boston, it's rather lucky that I can actually make a good living playing guitar, no?).

Anyway, tonight was a huge event for the American Heart Association at the Westin in Copley Square. It was run by an event company called Rafanelli- basically THE comapny you call if you're having a really serious event. They transform hotel ballrooms into stunning locations with video screens and concert lighting, full production. It's a bit more glamorous than some gigs we do and, quite honestly, I kind of like zooming around downtown hotels in a tuxedo and slipping in through the klitchen like in Goodfellas. It feels professional and grownup and that has it's appeal.

The guest speaker at the event was none other than my man, Bill Clinton. What can I say? I'm a fan. I have a pretty dim view of most politicians, but I just like the guy. The secret service made it very clear that after we played, we were to exit stage right as he would be entering stage left. They said that we could sit next to the stage to watch him speak, but only if we didn't stand or move around once he was in the room. Fair enough. Of course, the bass player's cell phone went off in the middle of his speech and he started rummaging around in a duffel bag for it and the seceret service guys didn't dig that at all, but what can you do? The bass player didn't notice the worried looking federal agent, but I kept my hands visible and eased away.


Bill came out right on cue, looks pretty fit these days. He gave us a little wave as he took the stage, which was nice. He gets on stage with no teleprompter, just a one sheet set of notes and deilvers a killer 15 minute speech wherein he ties heart disease, rising child obesity and the insurance costs on American manufactures in relation to their ability to comepete with foreign countries with healthier citizens into an amazing speech. He's great, people love him, he mentions that he's been in 6 countries in the last 4 days and gave a commencement speech in Louisana this moring and he'd love to stick around, but he has to leave right away.

He starts to leave the stage and i see that out of the corner of his eye, he has noticed our sax player's beautiful black Selmer sax. it's really a striking instrument, I have to say. The President turns around and crosses back across the stage to ask me (that's right, me...gulp) about the sax. I point him to Elan and suggest that we might take a photo and he could check the sax out. He says "Yeah, sure, but in the kitchen so we don't get mobbed". Mind you, the 700 guests at this event have paid $2500 and up for tickets and the President is clearly more interested in meeting the band. He beckons us and we cross the stage with him and enter a hallway of the kitchen where it is literally Bill Clinton, 7 musicians and 3 secret service men- one of whom is taking photos!

He was super nice, spent about 5 minutes with us checking out the sax and shaking all our hands. He was telling us about his sax collection- about 20 including some really old ones. Now, reading this, one might have several smart or even smart-alecky comments that one might think one would make in such a situation. Let me tell you, you'd smile like a fool and kiss his ass, too. The guys is larger than life and ridiculously charming. Our drummer, Pookie, is a beautiful guy and a little bit of a savant. He's just not the kind of guy to speak with a world leader smoothly, but he put his arm around him and said "you know, I think you were the best president ever." and it was somehow just perfect.

So, anyway, photos, he has to go, we have to play. Hilary in '08, thumbs up, see ya. I get back on stage and next to my mic is the Diet Coke that he requested but never opened. As my mouth is inexplicably dry, I figure Bill wouldn't mind. Not a bad gig.

[Fuzzbass]

I believe the definition is fairly strict: if you make most of your money as a musician, then you are a professional. Those who make some money from music are semi-pros.

Musicians who don't get paid from music are amateurs, hobbyists, whatever. Some people believe these are pejorative terms, but they're not! They simply refer to income, and not to talent, attitude, or work ethic. Some hobbyists are better than some pros: they can have better chops, knowledge, and/or practice habits. But if they make no money from music, whether by choice or bad luck, then they can't claim to be professional musicians.

[scottydont44]

my definition of a professional bassist is a person who plays because they would rather do nothing else then play bass and because they love the feeling of moving their fingers up and down the fret board and a bass player is a person who will pick it up just to try and make a quick buck so if i had to define my self i would call myself a pro bassist cause anytime of day i would rather play bass then do anything else.

[corinpills]

Well, if you don't mind me saying so, that definition doesn't coincide with either of the other two ideas previously discusses:

a) someone who makes some portion of their income from playing or
b) someone who treats gigs in a professional matter regarding punctuality, volume, dress, etc.

I can't really see how having a passion for playing has anything to do with being a professional. Matter of fact, most people who love playing are hobbyists, very few can make a living by playing. I have a friend who's insanely passionate about baseball. He lives, sleeps and breathes the Red Sox and plays every chance he gets. By your definition, does that make him a professional baseball palyer?