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Becoming a session musician- what does it entail?

W

Waster

Nov 24, 2011
148
3
Scotland
#1
First of all, if this is in the wrong section please feel free to move it.


Hi TB,

I'm Connor, I'm a sixteen year old bassist from Northern Ireland. After I leave school in two years I am interested in pursuing a career as a session bassist. I am hoping to glean information from some of you more experienced players as to what steps I should take to get into this field.
I have been playing bass for a while now, am studying for my grade 8 practical and am working on theory grades too. I study music at A level and play regularly at school functions as well as at church. I am dedicated to my instrument and have a genuine love for it, and I think that I am good at it, without sounding cocky. The two things that I am complemented on most often are my feel and my ability to cope under pressure (which is necessary when working with disorganised worship leaders haha).

Now that I have given you a bit if background, I would like to ask some questions-
1-do the majority of session musicians study music at university?
2-where, geographically, is there a lot of work of this nature? I hate Northern Ireland anyway, and would love the opportunity to move to the US or even London
3-I don't care about being rich, but can the average Joe session player make enough to pay the bills/support a family solely from music?

This is probably painful to read; my grammar's usually better, but I'm tired and in a hurry. Thank you for reading/answering.

Connor
 
#4
obimark said:
I believe the answer is tough, hard and also it would be REALLY tough to break into being a first call session player. NOT Impossible but a slim chance.
Click to expand...

I'm not averse to hard work. I'm willing to whatever I can to play bass for a living. I understand that it would be hard, but why should that stop me?
 
#5
lfmn16 said:
Lots of practice, hard work, contacts and luck. The most important thing is to ignore all the people who say you should get a job as an accountant and play part time. People that are afraid to dream try to kill everyone else's dream.
Click to expand...

Thanks for those encouraging words. I know I could never take a 9 to 5 job; not just because I'd hate it, but I'd be crap at it too haha.
 
#7
Well, you've got better odds than me as I'm 21 and probably in the same spot...

From what I can tell, and have been told by some of the local established pros, super chops aren't that important compared to rock solid basics, a good ear, and professionalism. Time is money, so being able to pick up new tunes on the fly and not screw up (much) is the idea.

I had a couple lessons from a seasoned pro, and he asked me what I wanted. I told him I was feeling stagnant with my musical situation and wanted to up skill key areas that would get me into that professional zone. After assessing my playing he told me I should just focus on getting out there and I would be fine!


Errr, I've forgotten what my point is here... I guess I'm in the same position, though I'm enrolled in music school next year and have been working and saving the last few years. I chose to do a one year diploma in contemporary music and then I will see where I stand. The tuition is just as valuable, the teachers are just as legit as those in any university programme, and success is all about how hard you work anyway rather than whereit is you do that work.

Are you set on being specifically a session player or just support yourself with music? Probably extremely difficult to live off session work alone, but combine it with teaching private lessons, a working band or three plus the studio sessions (and being ok with not being rich, most importantly...) I don't think it seems all that impossible.

BIG FAT PLUS ONE to ignoring the office workers who think they've cracked the mystery of life by fitting in 3 hours of music between their 50 hour working weeks!
 
#8
I do tons and tons of this...

I'll start by noting the following.. I spent a TON more time selling than playing.

Flashy stuff is almost never requested... single take consistent & predictable is what they're looking for.

What studio guys want is someone who is predictable... will listen... do it exactly as requested... and understand how to create/recreate an exact sound.

I commonly will double track.. one exactly reading the chart... one with "ad libs" and "fills" that they can punch in (if they choose)

The "talent" is how fast you can play through a chart... the producer will commonly just sing the vibe they're going for... as we're playing the producer will commonly come on the talk back mic and put in requests "play louder and more active during the next chorus"

I rarely get liner credits etc... I commonly am cleaning up someone else's issues.

Tim
 
#9
Know the answer to these questions:

Who will hire you and why?
Do you know and have experience playing the required musical style(s)?
Do you read music better than most other bass players, and are you working on that skill to get better?
Scheduling a session in a recording studio, hiring other musicians, and going through all kinds of other details for a good session requires time and involves money. What can you do, or have done, that will insure the person in charge that its worth the time and money to hire you?
How many people do you know who are currently producing sessions?
Who and hires them and why?
 
#10
You're probably going to need to move to a major Music Center, although a lot of studio work gets done online these days with sending files back and forth. Your best bet would probably be London, although there are small secondary scenes in different parts of the UK and US besides London, New York, Nashville, Los Angeles, etc.
Most studio players are highly skilled at a lot of different styles, can read very, very well, can compose a bass line on the spot that really works in the song and feels great and have really good people skills.
This is a very competitive field so you are going to have to work very, very hard. Combine that with the changes in the Record Industry and Music Biz that have taken place over the last couple of decades and it's especially daunting. I would advise a young player to learn all they can about playing, become a great sight reader, consider doubling on electric and double bass and be ready for the long haul. Get the best teacher you can and seriously consider a good music school either in the UK or the US. Good luck! If you really want this you can do it, but it will be hard work.
Look at articles 4,5 and 6 of my Music Biz columns here:
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#12
BassChuck said:
Know the answer to these questions:

Who will hire you and why?
Do you know and have experience playing the required musical style(s)?
Do you read music better than most other bass players, and are you working on that skill to get better?
Scheduling a session in a recording studio, hiring other musicians, and going through all kinds of other details for a good session requires time and involves money. What can you do, or have done, that will insure the person in charge that its worth the time and money to hire you?
How many people do you know who are currently producing sessions?
Who and hires them and why?
Click to expand...

-Hmm... Good question. I guess my grades and academic qualifications would prompt studios and producers to hire me. Perhaps proof of experience on a smaller scale, and work my way up to more legit gigs through contacts made/word of mouth.
-My roots are in the blues, but in church I play everything from alt-rock to country to funk to acoustic/folk. One band requires me to play more like an upright bass than an electric bass. In school I play in the wind band, where I mainly play tuba parts to jazz/20th century pieces, some classical. I played in a school production of Bugsy Malone (now THAT was fun) where we played swing/big band music. At home I play a lot of rap, soul, Motown, classic rock, prog, punk, pop and some old-school metal. I listen to a wide range of music; my dad has an extremely wide musical taste, and I listen to everything he does and more.
-I read better than any bassist I know, not that there's much competition. I also play piano and have been reading since I started bass (I did Bugsy Malone weeks after beginning bass and that was all notation, everything in wind band is notation and I compose using Sibelius, a notation based software. I also am doing theory grades, as I mentioned.)
-I am used to playing live on the fly. I frequently am approached by worship leaders days before a service with no chance to practice, and always do alright. A few weeks ago, when sound-checking for a large service in another church, an African choir approached me to play bass for them later in the service. The song they rehearsed with me wasn't close to the song we actually did, but I got a good groove going quite quickly by using my ears/watching the keyboard player's left pinky. I don't have any studio experience as of yet, apart from a BR-600 (or similar) in my school recording studio. My work experience, however, is in a local music centre where many local bands have recorded, so hopefully I'll learn something there, and maybe make some contacts (Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol is heavily involved, maybe he'll ask me to do some bassing on their next album haha).
-My brother's drum teacher is an in-demand session player. Lesson's are frequently cancelled at short notice because he's been asked to go to Canada or wherever for work haha. I don't really know him, but I guess he'd be a good person to talk to. I'll try to arrange to chat with him and ask him more.

Thanks for that list of questions. I'll try to follow them up and gain more experience/talent concerning each.
 
#13
Be well rehearsed.
Be able to read music.
Be extremely diverse musically.
Be professional and courteous.
Always be on time.
Be open minded.

Do your homework and study what all the top studio cats have done. Check out Nathan East's resume to get an idea of all the work he's done in his career! He's easily THE first call session bassist (if they can afford him).
 
#15
You need to be able to record stuff fast and flawlessly and deliver whatever is they are wanting. A lot of the time it's just something clean and pretty sterile with a "typical" kind of tone.

The session guys I know are technical masters but generally don't have tons of personality in their playing. So clean it's a little boring and generic. I guess that's the fine line you might want to walk... you need to be pretty square for session gigs but to be well rounded it's also great to be able to relax that too.
 
#16
IMO the most important thing is your network. I know one extremely famous session player who flat out stated that if he hadn't been bootstrapped by someone he knew at the time, he'd be selling insurance today. All it takes is one contact who helps you at one precise moment, and that can be the catalyst that gets your life as a pro started.
 
#17
Definitely, you want to be able to read and work from charts.

I will agree that flash and dazzle are NOT what most studios will look for, so if you learn all that, learn it for bands or just for yourself, but don't expect to sell a studio on that alone. They want solid(if sterile) and reliable playing. Likely won't give you much space to deviate from the requirements.

Classes and lessons with a good teacher, especially if you could find someone who's been there, will go a long way.

There's always something to be said for making contacts whenever you can. Sometimes they really do make all the difference.

On your own, listen to and play around with many different styles of music. Analyze all different kinds of grooves and learn to create them yourself. Stay open and flexible. Sometimes you might not even know what they want until you walk through door on the day, especially if you're called in "last minute".
 
#18
The 2 most important things whether you are a session player that does recordings or does fill-in gigs.

1. NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK. In your free time, network some more.

2. GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. You need to be able to get it right in one shot. Anyone can do something with enough practice, but it takes a certain level of skill to be able to come in cold and nail it. This is not an ideal, it's a standard.
 
#19
I agree with the sight reading. That's pretty important if you're going to be a session player. People don't want to hang around waiting for you to learn a bass line - they want results quickly.

Studying music at university would really help. It'll fine-tune your skills and also allow you to network. Plus, it looks good on a resumé.

London seems like a good place to go. Try joining as many bands as you can. A lot of work in the music industry is through word of mouth.
 
#20
A lot of work in the music industry is through word of mouth.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you really can't underestimate word of mouth as one of your forms of networking. Get as much of the education we've all been discussing as you can, and try to play locally as much as you can. Get a reputation as a solid player. You never know who's going to be around that can help you. If the right people were to keep hearing good things about you from others in the scene, it just might make some doors open much easier than they would otherwise. If you're serious and dedicated, you can get there, but the right connections really can make it happen faster, as long as you are ready.

This may very well be years form now anyway. You're still young, but it's good that you are thinking about all this and setting your mind to it now. If this is your goal, just stay focused on it.
 

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