I'm not trying to dissuade you but my music teacher when I was a kid worked very hard and was a very talented. But on top of studio work and gigging he had a day job and gave lessons to make ends meet. And then he died in his fifties from a heart attack. Make sure you have a fall back skill that can still bring in money. And general advice that I give to anyone in their teens or early twenties. Do not do any of the following until you're in your thirties: get married, get pregnant or get someone pregnant, buy a house, get a pet, or make any life decisions based off what a girlfriend/boyfriend wants, or use any opiates ever. This portion of your life you need to be able to take risks to achieve your goals all those thing will hold you back. Family can hold you back but they can push you as well. Consider their advise but remember its your life not theirs.
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How to become a pro bassist?
- Thread starter Jay boogs
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This is not a music problem. This is a head problem. Every bass player that ever was or will be started out by not knowing how to play the instrument. Keep your hopes high, your expectations low, and know that the only road to proficiency is to work at it.
If you wanna be a pro, master music.
-learn music theory, how to read notation, how to read charts. Know key siganatures, time signatures. Understand how to put everything in context.
-learn everything by ear. How all the intervals sound(ascending, descending, harmonically), How modes/scales sound, how different rhythms and time signatures sound/feel, how different chords/arpeggios sound. Practice dictation/transcribing until youre able to hear songs and play them.
-master technique, learn how to improvise, learn how to play in every style. This just comes from experience and practice.
Once music is taken care of comes the other stuff. Build a network, promote yourself(website, social media, etc), have a presentable appearance. Diversify, learn to sing play other instruments, how to do sound(produce, mix/master, live sound). Be on time for gigs, easy to work with, prepared, friendly, be a pro.
What is it that you want out of music though?
Keep in mind being a pro could mean you'll often be playing music you don't love with people you don't like. Could mean teaching and other ways of supplying your income.
Also, Im not sure luck has anything to do with it, I don't really buy into that. But either way the harder you work, the "luckier" you'll get.
-learn music theory, how to read notation, how to read charts. Know key siganatures, time signatures. Understand how to put everything in context.
-learn everything by ear. How all the intervals sound(ascending, descending, harmonically), How modes/scales sound, how different rhythms and time signatures sound/feel, how different chords/arpeggios sound. Practice dictation/transcribing until youre able to hear songs and play them.
-master technique, learn how to improvise, learn how to play in every style. This just comes from experience and practice.
Once music is taken care of comes the other stuff. Build a network, promote yourself(website, social media, etc), have a presentable appearance. Diversify, learn to sing play other instruments, how to do sound(produce, mix/master, live sound). Be on time for gigs, easy to work with, prepared, friendly, be a pro.
What is it that you want out of music though?
Keep in mind being a pro could mean you'll often be playing music you don't love with people you don't like. Could mean teaching and other ways of supplying your income.
Also, Im not sure luck has anything to do with it, I don't really buy into that. But either way the harder you work, the "luckier" you'll get.
Really don't understand this. I'll assume you are saying you are ON bass, because the words "I'm ONE bass" don't make sense.
Yes,I know you are on bass. My assessment was of the band as a whole. That was not a good performance. That is how the audience would see it. You can be a kick-ass bass player in a bad band. The audience sees a bad band.
Matt Stafford is an awesome quarterback. He plays on the Detroit Lions. People don't think much of the Detroit Lions. When they get better, people will start to notice Matt Stafford. If you want the band you are playing in to be better, you can help them by telling them to lose the phones and polish their rhymes. Then the band will be received better, and so will you. Otherwise, the entire band looks / feels / sounds second rate.
There are people that make money and support themselves by playing bass. They are very, very rare. You need the skills, the connections, the opportunities and the luck to make it happen. A lot of it is out of your control. Go for it, but have a backup plan.
I'm just curious how much does a Session musician make per year? Can they live off that salary?
Surveys say that studio musicians average $60k / year. But that averages in NYC and California which cost a lot to live in. If you're a song writer, you'll make a lot more than just the guy that plays bass or drums. They typically get no song writing credits and, thus, no future royalties if a song becomes a hit.
- Sep 4, 2010
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Since you are in NY, I'd suggest to find people who meet your definition of "pro", regardless of musical style. Go to their gigs. Talk to them and ask them what they do and what it takes.
For the record, practically every musician I know out here, whose income comes from music in one way or another, earns a substantial part of that income through teaching.
And writing and dj-ing as alternatives are smart choices. Good luck!
For the record, practically every musician I know out here, whose income comes from music in one way or another, earns a substantial part of that income through teaching.
And writing and dj-ing as alternatives are smart choices. Good luck!
I assume that's all 1099, so you have to pay taxes and benefits out of that, so it dwindles quickly. If you want to be a successful musician, get a spouse with a really good job.
Get a t-shirt that says, "PRO".
Grats. You're now a pro. See how easy that was? Now you can do whatever want, because you're a pro.
Grats. You're now a pro. See how easy that was? Now you can do whatever want, because you're a pro.
I was a "pro" bassist for many years, which meant playing every kind of music under the sun that was called for, and being able to read it down, or feel it even if you don't know it.
It means playing for touring theater groups when they come to town, for puppet shows, for little kid parties, or read down an entire night of music for comedians and singers after one 2 hour rehearsal. You will need to play in churches, strip bars, and casinos, dives, in tents in the rain, and for weddings, and wear a tux, a sombrero, or some other goofy outfit the client wants you to wear
And some aspects that may not have been mentioned.
When other people are out partying, you will need to work, NYE and most and other holidays. If you have a girl friend or boy friend, when they want to go out, you will be working. If you get married, you will be asked why you need to work all the time, but also why don't you bring in enough money (divorce is almost certain). Health insurance will be either nonexistent or so expensive you won't be able to afford it. If you go to a bank to get a loan, you will be turned down, because you don't have a stable income as a musician. You will drive more hours than it takes to do the gig to get there. You will work until 4 in the morning and have to get up at 8 to do another gig, or give lesson.
Not to mention spending hours with people you may not be able to stand, or have met before.
I wouldn't trade it for anything, but it sure wasn't easy.
It means playing for touring theater groups when they come to town, for puppet shows, for little kid parties, or read down an entire night of music for comedians and singers after one 2 hour rehearsal. You will need to play in churches, strip bars, and casinos, dives, in tents in the rain, and for weddings, and wear a tux, a sombrero, or some other goofy outfit the client wants you to wear
And some aspects that may not have been mentioned.
When other people are out partying, you will need to work, NYE and most and other holidays. If you have a girl friend or boy friend, when they want to go out, you will be working. If you get married, you will be asked why you need to work all the time, but also why don't you bring in enough money (divorce is almost certain). Health insurance will be either nonexistent or so expensive you won't be able to afford it. If you go to a bank to get a loan, you will be turned down, because you don't have a stable income as a musician. You will drive more hours than it takes to do the gig to get there. You will work until 4 in the morning and have to get up at 8 to do another gig, or give lesson.
Not to mention spending hours with people you may not be able to stand, or have met before.
I wouldn't trade it for anything, but it sure wasn't easy.
I am going to disagree with your post - but only slightly. I began playing in the middle 60s. Back then, I learned all the songs we were to play (I was 15) by ear and we played every weekend - usually Friday and Saturday. We had FUN! Rehearsals were usually a mangled mess, but we eventually got there.
I made (usually) between 50-70 bucks a night although some nights were paid for in hamburgers.
So, basically $130 bucks per weekend. Now, in the middle 60s, that was decent change. Hell, a lot of folks back in those days made $150 A WEEK! Fast forward to today. I NOW make $75-100 bucks per weekend night. Some weekends are better than others - but rarely. So, calling myself a "Pro" is sort of a misnomer...my day job (my REAL job) paid me $1500-1700 a week and allowed me to raise a family until I retired. So, the idea that a Bass Player who makes 100-200 a weekend, while technically a pro, hardly qualifies....if you know what I mean.
It's rather hard to live on that....I guess what I'm saying is that I have always believed that if a band, or a band leader demands THAT much from a bass player - he (they) had better have a damn fine bank account to pay me a decent salary.
Of course, if they are gigging as a "Wedding band" or doing Corporate gigs - then of course the money is much better..but let's face it....the days of A&R guys walking into a club and signing your band to a record deal and offering the "world" is all but gone - forever.
Agreed.. If i decided to be a full time bass player (not that i am at that level) i would do big money gigs like weddings, etc to pay the bills. I know to a lot of full time musicians that is a fate worse then death, but you have to do something to have an income.
I do tend to pick up bass lines but ear and play with them on their radio now for the reading music part I plan on doing that before the summer is out
To add on to that even when I practice I usually encourage my bandmates to practice especially when they tell me their part is hard to remember but honestly I have played with some drummer that struggle with tempo and that cause me to struggle because then I have to match with the tempo change of the drums and when I mean tempo change I mean unknown tempo change, so how should I work with a drummer like this
Run away?
Yeah, playing with a bad drummer is about the worst thing ever - and playing with a good one is the best. I don't much care what the guitar does. Drums are everything.
It's not so much a matter of what you can do, but what he can (and, depending on the situation, what you can suggest he do). The main thing, really, is for him to practice to a metronome. Those buggers are merciless and don't let you get away with anything. But it takes a guy who knows his limitations AND is willing to work on improving to buckle down and do that.
As far as the "pro" thing goes, as the discussion here has gone (and I didn't read every page), that can mean a lot of different things. I think of a "pro" musician as a guy who can pay his bills on music alone. As most have indicated, that means both musical proficiency - like being able to read a score, not do everything by ear, and to play every genre - and a lot of hustle, because as soon as one gig ends, you are unemployed if you don't have another lined up. Teaching, weekend gigs, studio sessions, royalties from a commercial jingle you wrote, weddings... scrounge up the work wherever you can find it. You need to push yourself relentlessly on your musical skills and also learn how to network, how to promote yourself, and how to act professionally so that people want to call you when they need someone.
Some have said "luck," and there's an element of that, in that lots of great bassists never get the opportunity, but then it's also the case that some people figure out where the lightning is most likely to strike, and are ready for it when it does.
There's also the level you might call semi-pro, much more common, I guess where I'd put myself. That's getting paid to play but not to the point that you can quit your day job. I've been given a couple hundred bucks to record a studio track, I've played birthday parties for $150 and bar gigs for $100 and a restaurant thing for $25 and a sandwich. My gear has largely paid for itself (or at least, it had at one point - now I'm behind again!), and there's been times I could cover a tow truck or buy a birthday present for my daughter, even though we were strapped, because I had cash in pocket from a gig the night before. But it's never paid the mortgage.
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