1. Protect your hearing every day, every time. Ear plugs are NOT optional.
You will be asked to play with many IDIOTS- who either play the drums too loud, usually play there guitars WAY too loud, or even sometimes turn up the vocal monitors to a painful limit.
2. Protect your hands- practicing 8 hours a day is stupid and insane and you will pay a price for it down the road. Trust me. Stretch them, and wear gloves in cold weather.
3. Learn keyboards some, as well as Double bass- then you can become a producer down the road and that is WHERE you could make a very sweet living. (as live music is slowly dying other than for the very well known bands)
4. Learn to play well with a PICK AND FINGERS- you will thank me later. Neither is optional regardless of the "advice" you get on this board.
5. What I WOULD DO IN YOUR shoes- get some kind of repair training, electronics, small engines... something that pays OK, but you can fall back on when needed. COuld be 9 months of votech, you don't need a 4-year degree.
6. You aren't playing in a band now? You are NOT very good then. Playing with a band will get you good- correct that ASAP> Bedroom wanking, and band playing are TWO very different things.
7. Learn to read music- in BOTH treble and the BASS clef. You will need both if you want to be a session dude. The days of the non-reading Jamerson's are over.
8. Get in reasonable shape- noone wants to see these 300 pound uber-gals and guys on there stage unless they have no other choice. (other than gangsta rappers/wannabes)
Excellent stuff in this post.
MUSICIANSHIP: Don't just focus on the electric bass. If at all possible, learn the upright bass as well. Also work on the piano, too. It's a tremendous tool for understanding the big picture of music theory and harmony. Skills on guitar can be very helpful, too.
EDUCATION: There are a number of good music schools out there. If you pursue that, great. But you should also educate yourself in the business of music, too. Performance is just one aspect of the music industry. And there is still work out there for people with skills in writing, arranging, producing, recording, management, licensing and law. One university near me with a reputable music major has a curriculum that includes performance as a focus, but also stresses the business aspect of the music industry. A good friend of mine who graduated from that program was a very talented bassist, but was ultimately able to make a career for himself in music management thanks to that education.
And it can be very beneficial to you to have some significant skills in IT. Some of those skills can cross over into music related work, and it's an industry that is very much in demand in non-music related business.
JOBS: There's more to the music business than playing in a band or being a session musician. Even the legendary session musicians of the 1970's and 1980's are having a much more difficult time making a living from that sort of work alone. See Bass Player Magazine's recent article on session legend Will Lee if you don't believe me.
If you want to make music your life, you need to immerse yourself. So if you need a day job, try finding something in musical instrument sales, backline rentals, management, live sound, or a recording/rehearsal studio. Putting yourself in situations like that can open on the possibilities for some opportunities.
