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The Art (or Act) of Doing
By Cameron MizellThe purpose of this website is to provide sound, pragmatic advice about making a living as a musician, written by people that have hands on experience. My experience has been as a freelance musician playing my own music, booking my own gigs, producing my own albums, and anything else that falls under the realm of Do It Yourself. I’ve also done my share of gigs as a sideman, accompanist, or ensemble musician. I also have a few years experience on the business side of the industry. What I haven’t done myself, I’ve learned about by reading other musicians’ contributions to this site and talking with friends of various musical backgrounds. I’m still trying to figure this out a little more each day.
My goal is to somehow magically sum up the secret formula on how to make it. I’m looking for the musician’s EASY button. What are the steps to being a successful musician? How many steps are there? Based on some of the things I’ve read in other blogs, it seems like nobody can agree on the answer, and I finally figured out why–the answer will kill your blog. The answer is only one sentence long. How do you keep writing a blog after you’ve revealed the secret?
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A Musician’s Guide to Middle Management, or Leading a Band
By Cameron MizellPerforming with your own band is an exhilarating experience. But before you can have your moment on stage, you need to get a group of musicians into the same room to learn some music. And musicians have a knack at being slightly unorganized, slightly tardy, slightly hungover from last night’s gig, and numerous other habits that made it difficult for girls to introduce me to their dads in high school. Here are some strategies for running a successful band, and have a good time doing it.
The advice I offer comes from my experiences leading my own groups as well as playing in other musician’s bands. Many of the lessons I learned came from looking through the rubble of projects that just fell apart. Had a few things been handled differently, had there been a strong voice of leadership, the band could have been successful. But all too often things aren’t organized from the beginning, the inter-band relationships start to clash, and a lack of honest communication and accountability lead to the band’s demise. On the other hand, successful projects of any genre always have several things in common, and it all starts with the leadership.
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Establishing Good Practice Habits as a Professional Musician
By Cameron MizellOne of the most difficult duties of a professional, freelance musician, is finding time to practice. Yet practicing should be at the heart of the musician’s daily routine. Much like a professional athlete needs to constantly maintain their level of fitness, so must musicians keep their skills sharp. Yet unlike an athlete, musicians’ skills can continually improve over decades before peaking, making for a long, fruitful career. It’s just a matter of focused practicing.
Since college, I have struggled with keeping a steady practice routine. Life has always been full of distractions. Some distractions have nothing to do with music, like day jobs or TV, and others have everything to do with music, such as writing new music or booking gigs. Unlike college, when I’d practice roughly eight hours a day, I now rarely have a solid hour of uninterrupted time for practicing.
But let’s face it, everyone deals with the same types of distractions. The people that are the best at what they do have simply established better practice habits than everybody else. Everyone has their own methods–here are some I’ve adopted to improve my own habits.
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What I Learned Working at Venues
By Cameron MizellWhen I was in college, I had several jobs. One was at a restaurant, one at the town’s best music venue, and I also gigged several nights a week. All at the same time. The experience taught me a lot about what goes through the minds of the owners, managers, and staff at different types of venues.
Know your venue.
Keep in mind that every venue views their live music differently.
Some places are straight up music venues and are looking for bands that will fill the room. That doesn’t mean they won’t support new or young acts, but those acts will get booked on slower nights and less than prime time slots. At these venues, don’t expect a built in audience. One thing I learned is that bands that played on Monday or Tuesday nights and brought in enough people that extra bartenders had to be called in, or better yet, the owner had to jump behind the bar, always got a better night for their next booking.
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Advice on Using a Music Education
By Cameron MizellOver the last few years, I’ve been approached by young musicians that are curious about studying music in college. Selecting their major might be the biggest decision they have had to make so far, and it’s wise to make an informed choice.
As I’ve talked to more of my peers and surveyed some of our readers, I’ve noticed some similarities in how professional musicians use their education. Education can be formally structured at the college level, or learned through real life working experience. Most musicians use both.
If you are a high school student (or the parent of one) considering a music degree in college, or you’re a part time musician that has been thinking about going back to school for a music degree, read this article, ask questions in our forum, and hopefully it will help you make better decisions and get the most out of your education.
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Recording, Releasing, and Performing Cover Songs
By Cameron MizellCover songs have an interesting place in the musician lexicon. The term cover song originated in the early part of the recording era, when record labels’ distribution was often limited regionally. When a song grew in popularity in one region, competing labels in other regions would record and distribute the same song to cover their region. This same practice occurs today, on iTunes. Some popular bands refuse to sell their music on iTunes. When they release a new album, a cover version of the single will invariably appear on iTunes, often by a studio band.
Cover songs reveal much about artists, from their ability to simply sing or play their instruments to their own tastes in music. For independent musicians, cover songs are usually a way to make money, grow your fan base, and a means for creative expression.
Many of the musicians I know and work with play in wedding or dance bands. They are expected to know a long list of popular tunes, and play them exactly as they were originally recorded. These cover band gigs usually pay pretty well, and perform frequently. Steady, paying work is something every musician needs, and this is one way to get it.
Hauling Your Music Gear On Mass Transit
By Cameron MizellIf you plan on moving to New York City, Chicago, or another large metropolitan area with any kind of mass transit, this article is for you.
When I first went to college, hauling a guitar and amp across campus to the…
Creating Income with Your Original Music
By Cameron MizellMy mom had a cousin, Bob. On some holidays we’d go over to his house, where I spent a lot of time playing foosball with the other kids in the…
The Truth about Booking Shows for Musicians in New York City
By Cameron MizellWhoever said, “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture” must not have read Jack Kerouac. In On The Road there’s a passage about a tenor saxophonist killing it in…
Metadata for Musicians
By Cameron MizellMetadata is your digital liner notes, embedded in every file. As more music is consumed digitally, both bought and traded, the metadata in those music files matters. At the most…
Be Your Own Expert
By Cameron MizellIf you’re an independent musician trying to carve a career out of your own music–writing it, recording it, selling it, performing it, and hopefully finding some fans along the way,…
How To Effectively Promote and Sell Your Music on iTunes
By Cameron MizellIf there’s one small piece of advice I can give other musicians in regards to promoting their music, this is it. This is the one thing I’ve done that has…
The Recommendations Game
By Cameron MizellWord of mouth has always been the most invaluable form of marketing. In fact it’s so invaluable, you can’t buy it. People have a way of seeing through paid actors…
Your Music + Playlists = Discovery
By Cameron MizellRemember when you’d make tapes off the radio? Sit around, wait for your favorite song, and hit record? If you really wanted the first note, you’d hit record before you…
Top 10 Blogs for Musicians
By Cameron MizellOne of the first things I do every morning is read or scan through a variety of blogs, most of which are sent to my inbox. The blogs range from…
Do I Need a Press Kit?
By Cameron MizellPress kits, in the traditional sense of a folder filled with printed reviews, various promotional information, bio, photo, and of course CD, are obsolete. As a musician, I’ve had to…
Before Designing Your Next Album…
By Cameron MizellIf you’re going to the expense of manufacturing CDs, vinyl, tapes, memory cards, download cards, anything tangible that will either be sold or given away, make it look good. Even…
Music Notation for Guitar
By Cameron MizellIf you’re a composer or arranger that plays any instrument other than guitar, this is for you. Creating sheet music for a guitar player is simple, but like any other…
How To Find Private Music Students
By Cameron MizellTeaching private lessons is a great way to create some income as a musician. There are several way to build your roster of students, like talking to your friends or looking for after school music programs that organize private lessons at public schools. But at some point you’ll probably need to take out an ad or make a post on a website like Craigslist. Creating ads can be tough because you have to sell yourself. Here are several keys that have worked well for me:
- Be honest about your experience, credentials and expertise. Highlight what you do best. This paves the way for honest students.
- Include some kind of expectation in your ad. I always say something like “Serious students only. Beginners are expected to practice 15 minutes a day.” All of my students have told me that this is the thing that made them contact me over anyone else. There’s no short cut to learning music, and students that understand this show the most improvement and stick with lessons the longest.
- Offer a free trial lesson. Sometimes sitting down with somebody for half an hour, playing your guitar and giving them a few immediate corrections and tips will make them feel more comfortable hiring you as a teacher.
