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Music advice.
DarkSymphony
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
ok so in the past few months I've *very strongly* decided what I want to do with my life. Going through job after job and just figuring out what it is I love and hate I've decided I want my life to be about music. I've been playing guitar for a few years and I'm getting some advanced lessons right now and I just feel all this strength with my determination and motivation. I'm 100% willing to sacrifice a lot to get where I want to go. I've been trying to tell my friend to pick his Bass back up and practice like he used to. We keep having these conversations at work (he works where I do) about doing anything it fucking takes to create a band and do everything we can for it. He agrees and wants to have it be his life. not just a part of it, but to be his life.
The thing is I'm good enough right now to play in a current band (my friend has invited me to go try out for his band) and I'm unbelievably excited to get this going....but my friend just isn't putting his all into it. He tells me all the time how much he wants this and then tells me that instead of practicing the bass, that he's writing lyrics. I figure it's all well and good just as long as he's practicing his instrument, but I don't think he is. The advice needed is....do I move on without him? do I wait? He's my best buddy and has been since we were little kids. I love him like a brother and I want to push further and try to succeed with him, but I'm dying so badly to get things moving soon. I've been thinking about this a lot. any ideas?
The thing is I'm good enough right now to play in a current band (my friend has invited me to go try out for his band) and I'm unbelievably excited to get this going....but my friend just isn't putting his all into it. He tells me all the time how much he wants this and then tells me that instead of practicing the bass, that he's writing lyrics. I figure it's all well and good just as long as he's practicing his instrument, but I don't think he is. The advice needed is....do I move on without him? do I wait? He's my best buddy and has been since we were little kids. I love him like a brother and I want to push further and try to succeed with him, but I'm dying so badly to get things moving soon. I've been thinking about this a lot. any ideas?
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Even the members from some of the biggest indie acts (The National, Frog Eyes, The Hold Steady) have day jobs that are all over the place (bartender, drug store clerk, web design consultant).
Another huge thing to keep in mind is that it doesn't matter how skilled you really are on your instrument, it matters how creative you can be with the skills you have. There are tons of bands that shot to classic levels of revere that started with no idea how to play their instruments (a lot of punk stuff, and bands like Sonic Youth or Black Flag that followed in its wake).
So there's probably no real need to rush this as much as there is a need to just cordinate it and set a pace for yourself and those you wish to include.
Edit: Also keep in mind how much of a fluke rock success can be, as a lot of the rock that breaks into the mainstream radio charts is just awful.
I've been working really hard on creating licks, riffs and intro's. My friend is working on lyrics which is really awesome, but again the main problem with that is he is neglecting his instrument. That's my only complaint and I desperately want to include him, I just hope I'm not waiting 5+ years for him to come around. yaknow?
If you are gonna get signed you need to be where the action is, and thats the best way to get noticed.
ok so I dont have a step two, but realize that depending on the style of music, the bass... is well... basic. plunking out a bass line is only a difficult task if your name is Flea or Les Claypool.
Oh and don't waste your time in college, you don't need a degree to ROCK!
This is your dream, not your friends, and even if he sounds excited about it he may not have his heart in it the same way you do. If you want to play rock music, you need more than just you two guys anyway -- and you probably need a bass player who will at least practice a lot.
Is there a local craigslist? is there a "scene" in your town/city? One of the best ways to get better at playing music is to play songs outside of your comfort zone, which often means joining a band that plays songs you normally don't like. You don't have to be a permanent fixture, but playing and performing songs that you would otherwise ignore can teach you important things about genre, tone, sound, style, etc.
Finally, many musicians make a career out of playing an instrument by becoming session musicians. By trading glory, you gain a more steady paycheck
I'm not sure how much is going on in Vermont, if you still live there, but it might be worthwhile moving somewhere close by like Boston, where there's a larger music scene.
Also, you need to have better connections than everyone else.
And you need to be better than everyone else.
And you need to be different in some way.
Also, you pretty much need to devote as much of your time as possible to getting better at your instrument and other skills, because you won't always be asked to be a guitarist. And if your friend isn't pulling his weight, then start playing with other people. Playing with someone isn't like a relationship, there's no assumed exclusivity. If you get an opportunity to play with people, you play with them. You take as many gigs as you can get without them interfering with each other, even if they don't necessarily pay, or pay well.
For instance, I'm a composer. But most of my income comes from my jobs as a Copyist and Pianist, and I often have to record and mix demos. I'm learning guitar so that I can fill in another job if I need to, and I've got all my recording equipment in case I need to bring or use that. Yeah, I'm best as a composer, and I'm focusing on that, but if someone offers me $500 for a gig on piano, then I'll take that gig in a heartbeat, and if I have to I'll be practicing 7-8 hours a day until I can play it, depending on the notice I get.
Also, I work with a lyricist, but that doesn't mean I only do pieces that are with him. Currently we're working on revising our last musical before submitting it to a theater festival, and writing a new movie-musical, but I'm also working on a classical piece for Jazz Band, and he's also working on lyrics to a musical with his old professor. If you're doing music for a living, you take every opportunity which you get, and you expect everyone else to do the same.
Also, be prepared to pull nights with very little sleep. I've had times where I've worked as a copyist on a project starting at 8AM, then gone straight to a rehearsal, where I'm playing piano, before a small break where I email my lyricist with a new version of a score, before going to another rehearsal in the evening before rounding out the night with a performance and then some social networking to make sure my name sticks in peoples heads, where I get home at 2-3 AM if I'm lucky, before repeating the process the next day.
So basically... if you're serious about it, then take every opportunity that you get, and work your ass off. It's a great life, and personally I wouldn't trade it for anything, but it's grueling. Also don't worry about not playing with friends for something. If you're serious about it and he's serious about it and you have the skills to get by, then you'll end up playing with each other, because people will ask both of you.
To be blunt, your starry eyed vision of life as a musician is fairly far off base. If you can't sight read you're shit out of luck.
You would probably be more successful if you played more than just guitar, or could also sing or something. Not so that you had to, but so that you could if the opportunity came up.
Keep in mind that the odds are against you; you're not a professional musician (which takes you out of most session gigs and teaching spots) and you're a guitarist which last time I checked there are boatloads of everywhere.
If you want to make some money you need to find someway of distinguishing yourself from the other crowd of guitarists out there who are probably better than you.
I myself am going into Pharmacy, but I definitely want to pursue music. The way I figure it, I play both electric bass and saxophone which are both fairly "in-demand" instruments. That should double my chances of finding people to play with and/or gig.
I think that's the hardest thing to find in a musician, is a common interest and a level head. Now, i wouldn't put too much stress on you're friends talents (there are plenty of people with no talent who make it big). When i say talent, i mean technical abilities. Most punk rock is a total of 5 chords per song. What i recommend focusing on is the songs you write, and if other people recieve them well.
If you only want a select audience, then that's cool, but i don't recommend putting any type of limits on the music you produce. If you believe you're music will sell, then just stick with it. If people keep telling you that you're music is unoriginal and it hurts their ears...you might think about changing it up.