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Am I crazy??? personal help needed!!!!

adisu

adisu

I admit it, I'm a "user"
Apr 8, 2005
319
0
48
Israel
#1
Hi guys.
Just wanted some feedback
A little background:
I'm 28 yers old and i'm making music since I was 14 when I got my first bass and classic guitar.
I played till I was 18 when I was called to serve in the army. At this period I entirely stoped playing because i was coming home for weekend once in two or three weeks and of course I prefered to see freinds and girls and go out at the little amount of time i had at home.
After the army I got into electronic music and while I was living in NYC for one year i bought a synth , computer sequencer software (cubase) and started to make electronic music on the computer, my love to all the sound side of music got even bigger when i returned from the states ,So I decided to go and learn Practical sound engineering.

At my first year there I met some musicians and we started to jam ,I was back to bass guitar playing and to song writing and decided that I wanna' be a musician and deal with the real music and not with the technique side of music (sound) But i kept on learning to get the certificate.
Two months ago (3 weeks before i finished school) I got invetation to make an internship at the biggest studio in Israel to be the sound engineer assistant.
I went there and recorded big artists (Israel standards) ,it was alot of fun but at the same time I was jealous at the artists for playing and recording their music.

When i finished the intership the manager (an main engineer there) asked me If i would like to go on and work as an assistant sound engineer andi said I'm very fluttered but I really prefer to save some money and go to learn music abroad.
Just now I got another message from him that they are looking for assistant again and if i want i should call him.

Now after this long story....am I stupid should I go this way because it's a much safer way to have a good job get money and learn how to be a good sound engineer?? or should I go with my dream to be a musician???
I'm 28 as I said, is it too old to learn and become a musician??I don't know to read notation but I'm working on it together with theory and ear training on daily. basis
What i realy want to be is a musician to write and play music.
BTW I have no engagement (wife, kids etc).

Tell me am i going the right way , am i crazy, should i leave my draem and go the realistic way....even though i don't want to.

Thanks In advance for listening for this long story.
Regards to all.
Adi.

(BTW it's to long for me to have the power to do spell check so i'm sorry if I have typos)
 
#3
Unfortunately your heart doesn't pay the bills. Not all dreams are meant to be accomplished. It depends how important it is to you, to become a musician in the future. It will be a long, hard road, and it isn't guaranteed.

Personally, you do not want to make a decision and end up regretting it. My question to you, is that if you take this job, and end up being a sound engineer or whatever, what is so bad about that. There is nothing stopping you from playing music still, you can continue being a musician. Also, you will meet tons of people in the music industry (engineers and musicians), and maybe something will eventually branch from that. I'm thinking you can accomplish both of your goals pretty easily, but maybe im being to idealistic.
 
#4
How much of your life would working in this studio consume?

I believe I would work at the studio and work up my musical ability as much as I could in my free time.

You may be able to find more opportunity to take advantage of your musical ability while in the studio than outside. Meeting many musicians and making an impression about your character could help you get jobs playing music and being an engineer. Once you have a few years experience, especially in a big name studio, you will probably always been able to find a job as an engineer. It wouldn't be as easy just being a musician.

I believe you have more to gain by working in the studio and playing music in what spare time you have. I believe it would open many doors for you.
 
#7
I think if the guy asked you TWICE about that studio job, you know your job well, and will have no problem finding a job in a studio later on if you think then that it'll be tough to become a musician. I dont know your level so I can't judge, but I'd say go with what you WANT to do, not what will bring money, because it sounds to me like thats an alternative that will still be available if the first doesnt work out.
 
#8
Thanks for your replies , highly appreciated.

One thing I forgot to mention is that my plan was to make some money in a decent work (as a bartender like i did for living for the last 5 years) and then go to learn music abroad, the problem is that if I'll go to work in this studio I'm gonna' get minimum market salary till I'll become sound engineer myself ,so i can't combine the money saving for music studies abroad and the working in this studio.

(meanwhile i'm back to live at my parents house after a long long rime) :crying:

still thinking.
Thanks again.
Adi.
 
#9
What would you do for a job while you are attempting to become the musician you desire to be? If I understand correctly, you cannot support yourself as a musician at this point. I'm not sure that I really see the trouble with working as a sound engineer and working on music in your free time. I'm not sure I fully understand the necessity of travelling abroad to learn music either.

If I were you I would take the job and work on music in my spare time. I'm not you though...
 
#11
Geoff St. Germaine said:
.... I'm not sure I fully understand the necessity of travelling abroad to learn music either.
Click to expand...
3 things:
1.Israel don't have so many options for music education
2.the studies in Israel coast a lot ehile I have german citizenship and european passport and over there it should coast less.
3.The Israeli music market is very small and i feel like abroad i'll have more options.

I think he wants to go to music school, thus why he cant take the job and learn music at the same time. Or did I get it wrong?
Click to expand...
yes morf exactly , I need the time for learning plus if i work at this studio at the minimum market salary (at the beggining) it will take me a few years to earn the money for the studies.
Cheers
Adi.
 
#12
So you want to be a professional musician; and this big studio likes you so much that they have called you -TWICE- to work for them as an engineer. You'll be working in the music industry, alongside big (as as you say, by Israeli standards...) name artists, from who you will undoubtedly pick up a thing or two about playing. Studio experience and contacts out the butt!

I don't see how this is even a question!
Take the job!
Lucky.
:bassist: :bassist: :bassist:
 
#13
hm.. it 's a hard decision. (or maybe not -- take a look at jeff_bass28's post!)

i think i would take the engineering job. you can earn money and work in a creative environment. you'll make connections that maybe you can make good use of later.

you don't need to go abroad and study music to become a great musician. the nice thing about "learning music" is that a lot of it can be done on your own.

sure, a good teacher will help, but who says there aren't good enough bassists in israel you can learn from. perhaps not even a bassist -- learn from any one you know. maybe you get to know a great session piano player in your studio that you can learn from! if some great musician is on tour in israel -- try to contact for a lesson!

you don't need any university theory classes - there are enough books and other resources.

as far as playing -- check out the great recordings! transcribing from the masters will help you get there. read books, submerge yourself in music -- all that parallel to your day job. it's hard and takes a strong will, but it can and has been done by lots of great musicians!

and in the end you will probably be in a very good position to record your own album! :)
 
#14
I would take the job in the studio. Maybe tell the boss that you're a musician too and could do sessions in the studio for artists who don't have a bassist. Or, you could probably even record your own band very cheap if you do all the mixing and mastering stuff.
 
#16
jeff_bass28 said:
So you want to be a professional musician; and this big studio likes you so much that they have called you -TWICE- to work for them as an engineer. You'll be working in the music industry, alongside big (as as you say, by Israeli standards...) name artists, from who you will undoubtedly pick up a thing or two about playing. Studio experience and contacts out the butt!

I don't see how this is even a question!
Take the job!
Lucky.
:bassist: :bassist: :bassist:
Click to expand...

+1 on this.

Come on go take the job!! NOW!
 
#17
I'm trying really hard to think of the most recent Israeli musician who made it in the "big time" outside of Israel.......still thinking......

If you want to be a rock star, you need to leave the job offer behind. Go for it!!

-Mike
 
#18
@ mike
Thanks mate it seems like you are the only one that encourage to follow my hurt and others are much more reasonable (which is good too).

hehehe, you right mate you won't find too many israeli bands that succeeded outside of Israel , except maybe for "minimal compact" who succeeded at europe at the 80's and two more isarelies that established s bsnd called "blackfield" together with steven willson from "Porcupine Tree" (all in europe).
On the other Hand individuals do succeed in a way, for example the guitar player of kelly clarkson is Israeli.

@christoph h.
Thanks for the suuport and yes i can learn music at home through the Net or through books and a teacher but the main things i don't get at home is the musical environment ,meaning:
to be surrounded with people who learn music and want to go that way just like me , the ensembles on those schools are also a good starting point for later.

Anyway,lot's of thanks to all of you for reading and trying to help in my troubles ,I didn't decide yet but i gueess eventually I will go with my heart like I always do I'm in the thought that we live only once so i should try , better than not trying and being sorry for that later.
(BTW if I wanted to learn something that will pay my bills I would have learned to be a lawyer or accountant. :) )

Best regards to all.
Adi
 
#19
adisu said:
hehehe, you right mate you won't find too many israeli bands that succeeded outside of Israel
Click to expand...

I am sure there are a lot of quality musicians in Israel, don't get me wrong. I wasn't attempting to put down anyone. It's just that if a person wants to hit the big time in music, they need to be somewhere where the music scene is already established.

I am confident you will eventually follow a path somewhere in the middle of the two choices facing you today.

-Mike
 
#20
MJ5150 said:
I am confident you will eventually follow a path somewhere in the middle of the two choices facing you today.

-Mike
Click to expand...

No, just not that ,Not in the middle , I don't wanna' loose everything...hehehe :D
I don't have too much time to decide because if not me they gona' take someone else...i'll inform you how things turn out.

Thanks for the support mike I really appreciate it.
(BTW i'm gonna' post a new post with a very good israeli band that makes proggressive rock- take a look).

Salute
Adi
 

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