Professional bassist advice

[vade700]

Hey everyone I know this doesn't pertain to a band per se but I think this is the appropriate place to ask this. I am in high school and I have been playing the bass for just about two years, I'm not the best or even that good in my opinion but everyone needs a bassist and I play with quite a few people i just started taking lessons and my bass teacher graduated from Berklee School of Music in Boston and offered to train me to get in. What I want to know is if getting a degree there opens you up to higher paying gigs or makes other musicians want to work with you, I coul move out when I'm 18 and just start playing as many gigs as I can but I really want to make a living off bass playing (doing stand ins, recording here and there, giving lessons etc) I already know I'm goin to be playing bass for the rest of my life. Please give me advice, and any other helpful tips on how to make a decent living doing the thing I love most of all

[plankspanker13]

There are no guarantees. Develop as many skills as you can, including some away from the bass.

Good luck.

[Got2SadowskyNYC]

It can help you get gigs because it's seen as a sign of ability. You're responsible for keeping it after that.

You'll also meet a lot of other musicians while there so the future potential is better.

You'll learn a lot of very useful information that you'd never learn on your own.

Looking back 22 years about half as professional, I wish I would have gone to school longer.

If you can, do. Berklee is one of the best and is hard to get into. You're crazy if you don't at least try.

(God. I sound like my parents.)

[DWBass]

I know several Berklee grads. One is playing in a local cover band and the others are teaching music. No guarantees.

[CTC564]

Originally Posted by DWBass

I know several Berklee grads. One is playing in a local cover band and the others are teaching music. No guarantees.

This is my experience too...

Graduating from Berklee doesn't guarantee anything...it can introduce you to situations, contacts, etc. that you probably wouldn't have been able to achieve on your own.

[jonas_24112]

No guarantee. My first choice to sub for me is a Berkley grad. He's a great guy and has played in some really great bands locally, but he has a family, so he holds a steady job and plays part time for fun. Nothing wrong with it, but making it is HARD!

[JimmyM]

I've actually met Berklee grads who make less than I do That said, some training never hurt anyone's musical abilities. But do it because you love it, not because you expect it to make your price go up.

[fdeck]

I've mentioned this in other threads: Virtually everybody I know who is making a decent middle class living as a musician, teaches classical music to children. I know two Berklee grads, husband / wife, who have a successful touring band, and also teach locally. I don't have a music degree myself, but from what I've observed, going through a good music school rounds you out into a more "complete" musician, capable of doing things like composition and arrangement, which enable you to be less dependent on competing with guys like me for sideman work.

For better or worse, everybody does need a bassist, but not everybody seems to need a bass teacher. One other thing you could do in college, to round yourself out, is to learn upright.

[Kryptos]

I will take the dissenting opinion. Go to college then go to graduate school.

[Bass_Pounder]

Originally Posted by vade700

I coul move out when I'm 18 and just start playing as many gigs as I can but I really want to make a living off bass playing (doing stand ins, recording here and there, giving lessons etc) I already know I'm goin to be playing bass for the rest of my life. Please give me advice, and any other helpful tips on how to make a decent living doing the thing I love most of all

You, and every other 18 year old musician believe this to be true.

You stand a better chance of getting hit by lightening while holding a winning lottery ticket then "making it" in music.

Explore other interests, and get a good college education, but do not put all your hopes in a music career.

Like others have stated, I knew people that went to schools like Berkley and got nowhere. I strayed away from my muso friends and their dreams and went traditional school and career and do not regret it. I did well enough for myself that I retired at age 40, while some of my teenage day muso friends will be working till social security age and beyond.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by Bass_Pounder

You, and every other 18 year old musician believe this to be true.

You stand a better chance of getting hit by lightening while holding a winning lottery ticket then "making it" in music.

While that's true, it's entirely possible to make a decent middle class living from it, and some folks have parlayed it into a 6 figure income or better by doing other things along with playing an instrument. It's not easy, and it may involve playing music you may not always care for, but like I always say, there's money in music that musicians hate.

[Kmonk]

Originally Posted by DWBass

I know several Berklee grads. One is playing in a local cover band and the others are teaching music. No guarantees.

Same with people I know. Many musicians think that a degree from Berklee is a guarantee to get gigs. An average musician with great contacts has a much better chance of getting great gigs than someone with a degree and little real life experience who hasn't developed a network of contacts.

[skychief]

Originally Posted by Got2SadowskyNYC

You'll also meet a lot of other musicians while there so the future potential is better.

You'll learn a lot of very useful information that you'd never learn on your own.

+1

Always endeavor to surround yourself with better musicians. It forces you to rise to the occasion, so to speak.

Im always the weakest link in all the bands I play with.

[Rockford]

College is one way to develop as a musician. You can get all the same info on your own but college offers a time proven program that includes stuff you need to do but might find boring or irrelevant and not do if left to your own devices. Easy to get sidetracked on your own. Also, in the college environment you're surrounded by other motivated musicians that hopefully will become your friends and contacts. Surrounding yourself with the right teachers and students can create a good support group and motivation when you see other people striving for and achieving success. Good luck.

[bassgod0dmw]

3 of my buddies went to Berklee. 2 of them are in my band. We play covers and gig fairly often , but not nearly enough to sustain even a life of necessity. They both work a normal day job as well. One teaches percussion in middle school, the other is in sales working in the music industry.

The 3rd is a pro. He is the lead guitarist for a very well known singer and tours the world with him. He makes decent money, but is not on a retainer when they are not on the road so he needs to constantly play local gigs to make money. Sometimes he'll gig with us when he's home.

I did not go to Berklee or any music school for that matter, but I get to play with Berklee grads and make the same amount of money

They all say that networking was the best thing they got from going there. Not only do you get to hone your craft and earn a degree, but you meet plenty of like-minded people and will hopefully continue to be in contact with them once you're out.

[T_Bone_TL]

...and you can make contacts quite well by going to (any) college, majoring in something else, and playing a lot of music - with or without taking any music classes, as you prefer. I've known a few high school students who were quite talented young musicians who went to Berklee, and found that they were not made for that particular mindset/approach - I haven't been there myself so my impressions are second and third hand, but it seems a bit pressure-cookerish.

I would suppose in the current state of social media that you could probably find some recent dropouts, even if the administration might not want you to. While they would obviously have bias, you might want to integrate what they have to say with what the admissions department and graduates have to say about the place to try and get a fuller picture of the current culture, and whether it might work for you.

The one guy I know from my high school days (way before you were born, kid) who was in a "real live touring band" for a number of years is now a tax professional...he went to a fairly serious university, not Berklee. The guys with the serious rock band setup while in high school that did not go on to college are mostly in car repair, and so far as I know never did enough in paid gigs to even pay off their gear purchases...

Someplace with a broader range of options might be worth seriously considering. I know it's all too easy to get your mind set on one thing and think that it will be the "simple, easy solution" to what you're doing with the rest of your life, but now is the time to really consider your options - having plans B and C worked out is almost more important than what plan A is...

At least one of those Berklee dropouts (a very talented guitarist/composer) I know spent a while doing landscaping to pay the bills, though I think he has moved on to more music related work in time - it's been a while since I've spoken to him.

Unless your family has money out the wazoo, you might also need to have a broader range of colleges in mind to find one you can afford (with financial aid.)

A third option with a different array of contacts and a really serious Plan B (for Bass money) would be to consider if you have the mindset for going into the trades - well paying, hard to offshore work - if you happen to choose something like Electrician, you can work on those contacts by working on stage and venue lighting, etc...

[Jeb]

Originally Posted by plankspanker13

There are no guarantees. Develop as many skills as you can, including some away from the bass.

Good luck.

You've just got to play (if thats your passion) with anybody and everybody that meets your good judgement standards. Take every gig you can if you want to play. Take your lumps and gain your experience. The players that want it bad do that. They just play because thats who they are. They are hungry so do what they do if you're serious. That and what plankspanker says.

[JumboJack]

Minor in music.... Major in business..

[Munjibunga]

Originally Posted by plankspanker13

There are no guarantees. Develop as many skills as you can, including some away from the bass.

Good luck.

No guarantees, but it will give you skills, experience, and connections that will put you way ahead of people without. Interpersonal skills are equally as important as musical skills. Nathan East is a perfect example of what the combination of musical talent and interpersonal skills can do for you.

[fdeck]

Noting what you said: "I'm not the best or even that good in my opinion..."

Perhaps above all else, you need to be filled with a burning desire to become a killer player.