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Paleto -> RE: Playing music for a living or or occasionally for money (Dec. 15 2003 19:43:22)
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Jon,
Thanks for the thoughts.
"Yes its tough, but if you want something badly enough you will drive your
life in that direction, regardless of your circumstances."
This is something I have been thinking about too. Am I willing to work hard to
make it happen? Yes. How hard, only doing it will tell me how hard I'll have
to try. I need to be asking myself how much sacrifice I'd be willing to endure.
"I started getting live solo experience by busking and doing 'open mic'
slots, and then began the hard process of finding gigs. As the money start
to come in, I invested in better gear and started to cut down on the day
job. My plan is to reduce the day job further, so I can invest more time in
my music as there is so much I want to do."
This is very similar to what I have been forseeing for myself if I try it.
"Opportunities for flamenco guitarists? Forget it in this country (UK). You
may pick up the occasional gig, may get really lucky and find a dance
company to work with, but unless you are world class you will be playing to
a local audience as Mike says. If you want to work as a guitarist, you have
to be very flexible about what you play, and that means playing tunes people
can recognise. If I play a Solea at one of my restaurant gigs, I'll get some
polite clapping if I'm lucky, whereas there've been times when I've played
'Romanza' and practically got a standing ovation."
I live in large city, probably more than 3 perhaps even 4 million in the
county, and growing... There is much work to be done, but just like you,
it'll take some serious marketing and hard work. My wife has been warning me
about having to play standards, things like Romance anónimo (Romanza, the
one you mentioned?), perhaps some jazz (which I would like to learn a few)
or some nice classical pieces (which I don't mind some of [I love much
classical, especially Bach, Barrios, some Lauro, as well as lesser known
pieces which are not overplayed/overrecorded] and would be willing to make
them part of my repertoire).
"Competition? Not much, thankfully. There are three other gigging guitarists
in my city (population 250k) playing similar-ish material to me, and at the
moment I am getting the most gigs (at least, public ones, I don't know about
their private ones). It is all down to marketing, creating a niche and
developing your market as I have already said - this is actually more
important than your skills as a guitarist, although obviously you need to be
of a certain standard. I advertise, have a website, I'm listed with
agencies, I'm in the phone book under musicians, I network like mad, etc.,
etc. I now probably spend more of my time on marketing myself than I do
actually practising the guitar - that is the reality if you want to make a
sustainable living out of this.[8D]"
There is plenty of competition here, but I see myself developing a really nice
repertoire, most of which no-one else here will be playing. I also have some
ideas for marketing and recording a demo cd for possible clients (but this
is still probably ~2 years in the future). Others do similar, but each guitarist I know here plays differently and is after their own sound, as am I.
"For me, music, and guitar playing in particular, is far too important to be
wasted on something as trivial as a hobby. That does NOT mean I think that
hobbies are trivial, or that its trivial for other people to be doing this,
I am talking about my own *personal* thing."
I agree here. There is an important point I have been wanting to make, and
this is rather far into the post to make it, but I will take the time here
to make it anyway. Hopefully, others will take the time to read this entire
post. Here it is:
I think some portion of the population on this planet has some kind of biological predetermination to be musical. An even smaller sub-group will be able to express it. And an even smaller group still will experience very strong emotional rewards listening to and playing music. In any regard, why should a certain group of people, who are deeply passionate about music have to deny or at least ignore to some degree this important part of their personality to work in something to which they are not necesarily well suited?
The question of artists making a living doing their art is vastly complicated, at least I think. And there will always be people who use clichés and stereotypes to denigrate musicians and other artists, saying oh they just don't want to work, or oh they are a bunch of liberals, or whatever stupid reason they happen to come up with. But the fact remains that some people really, fundamentally, need to do music or whatever the art form is they feel is right for them to feel fulfilled in life and career.
I think I have some characteristics that make me suited well to music, perhaps a couple other characteristics less so.
I also think there is still a lack of interest just generally speaking on the part of non-artistic people and at least in the US, the cuts in funding for the arts in public schools is exacerbating the problem. There are currents to contrary, but they seem too little too late somtimes.
There are concert goers and there are well off individuals who both employ artists for their events or who fund arts through a university or through other means, but it seems to me on the whole to be of far too little value in a general way..
The above is not perfectly coherent, and may sound like just general complaining, but the point is to try to come to a realistic perspective which accounts for the status of artistic enterprise as it fits into the larger social and political context.
Anyone have comments.
Anthony
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