The Professional Musician Realises that His/Her Job is No Excuse for a “Rock n’ Roll Lifestyle”

So you want to party – great, but do it in your own time and never let it impact upon a rehearsal and/or performance.

For most of you it has probably taken years of practice and more practice to get to where you are today, don’t blow your reputation by turning up not clear headed and ready to play.

Don’t trash your hotel room it not only is going to cost you money, but will seriously impact upon your brand.

So party with your friends, have a great time, but make sure when you go to work you are ready to give your best performance.

The Professional Musician is Musically Educated

As with all trades/professions there are a variety of ways to learn and hone your craft. Some follow a practical route, whilst others are more academically inclined. The one truth in either approach however is exposure. 

Always seek to expand your knowledge base. Listening to a variety of styles does not hurt, nor does discussing techniques with those who are better than you, mentors are a fantastic way of gaining practical knowledge, and mentoring and helping others is another way for you to cement your knowledge base – if you can’t explain it, then you don’t know how to do it. 

Musical education does not end with the ability to play, as a professional you must also be aware of your space and how you sound in the acoustic space you have to work with. Understand how different surfaces reflect sound waves, and how ambient volume can be affected. 

Remember you are promoting yourself as a craftsperson of your trade, by understanding what tools will deliver the best results you are at least ensuring that you are perceived as being professional.

The Professional Musician Is An Ambassador of Music

This is an area which is given too little emphasis, it is difficult to master, but it probably is the most important area of being a professional musician. 

Every time you are on stage, you are not only representing your brand (i.e. yourself), your band (your occupation), but most importantly you are representing the music industry and musicians. 

The public will tolerate ego, especially when tempered with maturity and humility, they will not however stand being treated with disrespect. Self-Belief is great, and you are going to need it to get up on stage and perform, be careful however for the euphoria to not go to your head. Words and actions can be misinterpreted at the best of times, without the added injection of endorphins of a show. 

The professional musician knows that the audience and their support network are the key to their success. Therefore, no matter how hard it sometimes gets, always be courteous, polite and NEVER arrogant – remember that person wanting to chat with you might be your next client, or an A&R agent – they may even want to “buy” your music. 

You rely on a lot of people to make you sound great, give them due credit and keep the ego in check, always remember that the music industry is tough enough, don’t make it any harder for others to succeed and don’t make it impossible for you to succeed by behaving immaturely.

The Professional Musician Uses Discretion

“Leave your home life at the door” 

As with any profession, you are expected to behave and perform your task in an appropriate professional manner. “Office politics” exist, it is a consequence of being the animals we are. However, and organisations spend a lot of money on this, management of self and others is critical to success, especially in small interconnected, highly reliant groups. 

At all times when you are with the band, you are representing yourself as a professional therefore behave as you would in any other paid employment.  Therefore:

• Criticism must be constructive, not a whinge;
• There is no room for negativity in the workplace;
• Always seek an answer;
• Never argue in public – when you are on stage, you are very much exposed, if the band is bickering they will see it;
• If you have a problem with a band member, discuss it with them, not with everyone else.

Notwithstanding members will come and go, bands will form and disintegrate, that is life. However, what you can ensure that you do, is always be respected for your professionalism and never burn a bridge.

The Professional Musician is Always Prepared

As Robert Baden-Powell suggested: “Be Prepared” 

For Rehearsals/Performances
Bring everything you need, from the massive to the minutiae.

• Do not be that guy/girl who forgets their strap, or has “lost” their sheet music.

Make sure your equipment is in working order

• Check fuses, wear, electrical contacts, pins and plugs – ensure that your equipment is up to standard and can be relied upon.
• Expect the unexpected
• Have a backup plan for worst case scenario.
• Prepare an equipment “first aid” kit and have it to hand.

Check out the room

• Is your equipment suitable for the room you are going to play?
• What equipment does the venue offer?
• What are the acoustics of the room like?
• Do you need to be amped, or perhaps does it require an unplugged session?

Do your homework

• Rule of thumb – be able to play new music by second rehearsal
• Do not be the guy/girl who still needs to work out their parts.
• You will find very quickly that you are no fun at work with and people will stop asking you to play with them.

Practice

• You must be technically competent before you can add flavour and nuance.

Meeting Client/Employer Expectations 
Get to know what your client really wants from you/your band. 
Do not sit back rely upon the tired old cliché – “I am a musician/artist”. It really does not cut it now-a-days. Client’s expectations include but are certainly not limited to:

• Desired atmosphere
• Desired volume
• Crowd participation
• Finance and Band Management

Remember you are being paid to perform a task for them, ensure that you meet their requirements, not your own. 

Supplier Payments 
Make sure that your suppliers are paid on-time and the amount that was agreed. You will struggle if you become known as a band that does not pay for rehearsal time, or makes fill-ins and session musicians wait for payment. If you need to hire a venue or get a fill-in, make sure you have the money first. 

The Professional Musician Is Never Late

To be early is to be on-time; 
To be on-time is to be late; 
To be late will never do.
 
From the organiser’s/your employer’s perspective, you are contracted to perform between A – B. You are not being paid to warm-up, set-up, sound check, find your music and generally get organised – ensure that you are ready when you said you would be.
 
From a band’s perspective, always be on-time to rehearsals, meetings, and gigs. No-one wants to work with a person, irrespective of how good they may actually be, who is always late, unprepared and has not “done their homework”. Not only does this attitude lack professionality, it also lacks common courtesy and respect for other professionals/band members, and most importantly yourself as a professional musician.
 
There are numerous reasons why a professional is never late, however they all boil down to a couple of core reasons:

• You are being paid to perform a task; and
• Your brand either individually or as part of a team(band) lives and dies by the respect which you can generate for it.

The Professional Musician

We cannot tell you how many times (suffice to say – too many) a band has either made or destroyed an evening/function/corporate event, and in doing so has either reaped the rewards or caused irreparable damage not only to themselves and their act, but more-so the live music industry.

In holding events ourselves and by working with venues we have come up with a list that hirers and event co-ordinators consider as the “bare minimum” expectations from bands/musicians, and over the course of this series of blogs we will discuss these under six headings, they are:

1. The Professional Musician is Never Late;
2. The Professional Musician is Always Prepared;
3. The Professional Musician Uses Discretion;
4. The Professional Musician is an Ambassador of Music;
5. The Professional Musician is Musically Educated;
6. The Professional Musician Realises that His/Her Job is No Excuse for a “Rock n’ Roll Lifestyle”.