It is
TOUGH.
To make it big is a dream and 99.9% of those that try fall short...mostly because they are the talented ones who arn't leggy 19 year old blondes...but I'm a cycnical git me...actually it's fair to say that like me those that dont make it didt try hard enough perhaps...or that the price that has to be paid was to high...whatever.
You can make a living without being famous but it wont be such a great living & it will be hand to mouth one day at a time mostly.
As a musician you can play in a band...better to play in several bands...tributes and cover acts for weddings etc are your daily bread....I hated that. You also get all manmer of shite, like band arguments, a Massive and never ending equipment bill and unlimited prats who want you to play freebird all night..or even worse some bollox by oasis or robbie williams or something. Then there is the van (s), late nights, beer spilt on your SOTA midi rig my some chavvy oik loser punter ..and...well...it goes on.
if the band take soff that is when you'll have to make choices between life 'on the road' and family...which is when (after you ditch the family) the rest of the band quit and all stick with the day jobs...
Session work can be fun...but VERY tough to get. It's all done by word of mouth..it's who you know that'll get you the work. You have to me GOOD, have all the right gear and know how to use it quickly and effectively. In a studio time is money, and trust me there is no room for noncy prima donas in a recording session. IN do the busines and **** off...thats the deal. Sight reading music is pretty much a must in many sessions...you wont be given time to rehearse your parts...you need to know them before you arrive or be able to nail the take from a score. In short you need to be a pro....keep the rest of your life out of the studio. Getting to do session tracks on line is where life could be easier...but the same rules apply about your playing ...and you'll also need to be clued up on the engineering side of things and have the right gear at home to pull it off...I know drummers who make a living doing liv edrum tracks for home musos/hobbyists...it's tough but can be done.
Also to get the work you need to be able to do lot's of styles...it's much easier for a producer/engineer to give you the session if they know and trust you , your atttitude and your playing ...they'd rather use someone they can trust than have to deal with loads of different characters and not really know if they will be able to cut it.
Most musos have day jobs...thats the reality.
if you want to make it as an engineer you will REALLY need to know your stuff big time.. and be capable of work on a range of SOTA rigs on a freelance basis maostly in the record industry anyway. Agin you need to be ultra professional, effective and quick. Engineers in pro studios work LONG hours and are under a lot of pressure to deliver on budget on time. Those that consistantly deliver get the reputation and the work. Competiton is immense...espaecially now that every spotty teenage oik has access to free digital multi track DAWS if they know where to look....so they can produce hit records at home if they are good enough (and some are). I have a friend who is a freelance engineer, has done work for EMI and engineered at Abbey road and dave Gilmours boat on the Thames etc...nice guy, very technical...very unfit and highly stressed...looks 20 years older than he is...I know he has some financial issues as well even though he is a dam good engineer.
Sound engineers etc can get more 'steady work in the broadcasting industry ...but i know nought about that.
..but to get back to bands...and reality...learn to play well, learn to play several instruments well (if you can play the guitar you already know how to play bass but you need to tidy it up a bit)....play in several gigging function bands...keep you equipmet simple and effective...don t behave like an arse and walk away from those that do. You can sell your music on line these days pretty easily..well easier than it used to be...but again you'll need to market it and drive punters to your site. The web is a big empty space full of billions of people who cant find you.
Another avenue might be teaching...schools, academies etc....again you need to read music mostly especially for the classical instruments. Mostly this type of work will involve getting little Johny and samantha to play some basic chords on the guitar ...the bread and butter work is often at the entry level...but you can find yourself teaching some seriously talented musicians...often thats ok if they are better than you...it's like alex feguson coaching ronaldo...he still has a role to play.
Luck and who you know plays a huge part. I know this to be true because I never had any luck and I dont know anybody
!
..having said all that you might just write the next No.1 song the first time you pick up a guitar
Just for a laugh here is a 1 minute Jam I did in an hour this afternoon on a new DAW I've never used or worked on before...I was only doing it to learn how to drive the DAW as I'm a beginner at that.
http://www.yousendit.com/download/WnBRYlJRaFJnYU5MWEE9PQ
I play everything you hear except the drums which are played by Scott Rockenfield (top class drummer from queensryche who is also selling his loops on line and doing session work at the top end)..
..
, so i wondered if you're good enough you can make average wage playing rock/pop music.
