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RE: Need opinions EXTREMLY IMPORTANT
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Pimientito
Posts: 2481
Joined: Jul. 30 2007
From: Marbella
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 RE: Need opinions EXTREMLY IMPORTANT (in reply to Guest)
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quote:
family, friends that most of them are opprtunist not the real thing, they just want money or something else from creating real music
Hey Kahati
This doesnt make sense to me. On the one hand you are saying that you dont have the opportunity to make a living playing flamenco, next you mentioned that your family are helping pay for your survival.
At the same time you believe that if you were making money from your art, it is somehow fake or opportunist.
You cant have it both ways...either you want to be a musician and make a living at it......or you want to do be completely free creatively and not have to worry about money. The truth is that unless you are Paco de Lucia, you really dont have that choice. As a musician you have to compromise. As Ricardo said, he has to do rumba gigs to get regular paid work. I have to play weddings a lot in summer to supplement my income, up until a couple years ago Flo was working shifts in a factory in a job he hated to be able to play guitar at night.
Every musician on this forum has had to do their share of weddings, restaurants, parties, bar gigs etc. as a way to fund their guitar playing and musical development.
I never had any support to play the guitar from my family. In fact early on, my father thought it was a waste of time. I still managed to run away to Spain, live here and work here and develop on the guitar in my own way. The truth is that it was hard....just hard all the way....the gypsies didnt want to know me at first and in fact were pretty mean to me for the first couple of years. I was constantly told to give up, had a guitar stolen, went bankrupt, lost my wife...and went through a whole bunch of bad stuff over the years to get to my level today.
Of course it wasnt all bad, Ive had a lot of fun over the years, met great artists and teachers, had a lot of support from friends and guys here on the forum.
Nothing comes from sitting around. You have to get out there, start playing for people, think positively and be strong. Flamenco is difficult music that comes from a deep emotional place. This forum is a wealth of information, videos, tabs, teachers and freindly people who can really help you improve...but you got to be prepared not just to be a good guitarist but someone who will go out with a positive attitude and play....and I assure you that people will start to listen to you, start to build a small following and allow you to make a living.
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Date Feb. 24 2012 16:39:41
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Ron.M
Posts: 7051
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Scotland
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RE: Need opinions EXTREMLY IMPORTANT (in reply to Guest)
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Olé kehati!
I think you play very well.
quote:
but in my country they made us who really talented have no place to be at.all of them locals didnt want us to get through for it might make them loose their fame or theirfans, and aoutomaticaly will loose their money
Are you sure this is the reason for lack of interest of those people?
Don't forget that Flamenco is a very niche market.
There are very, very few Flamenco shows or concerts here in the UK.
In the USA, Canada, Australia etc etc, it still forms a tiny part of the overall music listening audience who are more into rock/pop etc.
How many folk do we know at school, college, Uni or work who are into Flamenco, or understand anything at all about it?
You are very unlikely to ever become a concert player and make a living from it.
Many, many guitarists think themselves lucky to get a regular gig at a bar or restaurant and make up their income from teaching and playing at dance schools and maybe one or two dance/singing/guitar Flamenco shows a year.
Corporate events are great if you can get them.
You are very unlikely to get rich...or even make a fraction of what you'd make in a decent regular job.
cheers,
Ron
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Feb. 24 2012 19:03:50
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vuduchyld
Posts: 170
Joined: Feb. 20 2011
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RE: Need opinions EXTREMLY IMPORTANT (in reply to Ricardo)
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Great playing, for sure!
Now...go get an effin' job and support your family. Seriously. I'm not going to sugar coat it. As good as that was, you really aren't doing anybody in your life any favors by sitting around and letting your family pay for your lifestyle while you diddle around on flamenco guitar in a place where PEOPLE AREN'T GOING TO PAY TO HEAR IT.
It's very simple. Every business student learns The Three M's in their first year of business school. You have to have Management, Market, and Money to succeed, and you're living where there is no Market. You're not going to convert a Brittany Spears fan into paying to hear Led Zeppelin and you're not going to be able to earn a living where no flamenco community exists. You might get a paying gig or concert occasionally, but it won't support your family.
So you have two choices.
1) Move. Go somewhere where you can get money for playing.
2) Stand up. Be a man. Support your family like a mid-career adult should be doing, and enjoy your flamenco guitar as a hobby and pleasure.
And while you are good, I would honestly give you the feedback that there is a big difference between what I saw in that video and what I see from professionals who make their living playing flamenco guitar. So I'd say you should go with option #2. Go to Spain or anywhere else with a thriving flamenco community where you can't swing a dead cat by the tail without hitting a flamenco guitar player and I don't think you're going to stand out enough to earn a living.
That's not to diminish your playing. You are a good player, who, in my opinion, is not professional level. Sorry to be the bad news guy here, but that's how I see it.
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Date Feb. 25 2012 2:08:20
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Florian
Posts: 9282
Joined: Jul. 14 2003
From: Adelaide/Australia
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RE: Need opinions EXTREMLY IMPORTANT (in reply to Graham_B)
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quote:
So you have two choices.
1) Move. Go somewhere where you can get money for playing.
am i the only one that thinks hes sitting on a gold mine ? no flamenco , no competition ? there must be hotels, clubs, restaurants, weddings, functions there...
Imo the only thing he needs to do is get the word out about himself, through a demo cd ( infact kehati that's exactly what you should be doing right now), business card, approach restaurants, hotels, television stations, festivals ....you are sitting on a gold mine, could possibly be working every night of the week playing guitar
if there's isn't any flamenco there it will catch on soon, not a question of if just when, one wouldn't have thought Japan would be the biggest flamenco country after Spain but it is....u don't necessarily need the people in a particular country to know about flamenco to have a market..there's alot of Flamenco shows in Australia, approx 15 bigger shows a year in my city alone...its not like the general public has any idea about flamenco..
kehati heres your homework this week, record about 3 to 5 pieces of guitar, mix between flamenco and slow "pretty" romantic melodies more suited for restaurants, weddings etc..burn about 200 copies on your computer, make 200 business cards to begin with with your name, phone number, say Spanish guitarist available for weddings and functions, put some prizes you would like to charge...i dont know your market so u need to decide whats fair to charge where you are..since u have no competition u can afford to charge a little more... then find any restaurant, any hotel any function center, any wedding shop and drop off a cd and a business card...or if you wanna skip the business cards put your information on the cd....( but on a nice label so it looks professional)...ps. when you do this go in a suit, no t-shirt and jeans, sell class, look professional
dont wait a second, DO this...you will be back here thanking us in a month
you dont need to do something you don't like for money or sacrifice your happiness when you could be playing guitar...you are in a great position to simply because you would be the only one there, or atleast give yourself a chance to succeed, noone is going to knock on your door and ask you if you can play flamenco
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Date Feb. 25 2012 13:18:05
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give me about 18 more years to catch up 
(a bit ironic) 
