Musicians as Their Own Worst Enemy

[BlackDog Music]

As many of us are wont to do, we were complaining the other day about the general lack of pay many venues offer (here in Maine), and the usual suspects came up - club owners, cheap patrons, so on.
However, I think there’s another culprit that many of us like to willfully ignore: the musicians themselves. Over the years, I’ve met MANY musicians (usually guitarists - sorry) who like to foster this ridiculous myth that music, and the creating of music, takes little or no effort - “I just smoke a bone and the magic flows!” When the musicians themselves try to pass off the countless hours of practicing, rehearsing, loading in, set up, tearing down and driving to and from the gig as “effortless,” it’s no wonder that the average Schmo thinks it’s all for yucks and giggles. I’m not sure how this got started - is there some kind of perverse pride in making people think that playing an instrument is “easy” for the gifted few? Do we play into stereotype to be “cool?”
Anyway -
Just a rant. I guess I’m tired of people devaluing what we do and the lack of recognition for all of the un-sexy work we put into this craft...
Thoughts?

 

[bholder]

Well, there really is a gifted few for whom it is really is that easy, but there's not very many of them. Sounds like your guitarst example are just wannabes. The other annoying extreme is guitarists who want you to know just how much they "suffer for their art" - also insufferable.

 

[BlackDog Music]

Well, there really is a gifted few for whom it is really is that easy, but there's not very many of them. Sounds like your guitarst example are just wannabes. The other annoying extreme is guitarists who want you to know just how much they "suffer for their art" - also insufferable.

Hahahaha - yes. That’s extremely annoying too. The idea that only good art can come from the most f#$%ed up people - I think that’s actually just another excuse to get wasted.

 

[JRA]

i don't think that being a musician is easy, but i think if you are one = you're lucky! (i'm sure most guitar players confuse the two concepts.) also: if delivering pizzas is on the path to your dreams: where's the heartache?

i think we are all "our own worst enemy" when called upon!

 

[BlackDog Music]

i don't think that being a musician is easy, but i think if you are one = you're lucky! (i'm sure most guitar players confuse the two concepts.) also: if delivering pizzas is on the path to your dreams: where's the heartache?

i think we are all "our own worst enemy" when called upon!

True - I WISH I could actually pay my bills with music alone. That, to me, is being an actual rock star.

 

[Jimmy4string]