There’s an interesting discussion in facebook that came up, that intrigued me to follow, and people were trying to define what a “professional” musician or a hobbyist is. There were some facebook users getting into that discussion and even I got into it a little bit as well. It seems like everyone has their own definition of what a professional musician is. It has been debated by musicians for years and there is always crazy myths about it. Everyone else thinks their version of “professional” musician is exactly right and thinks they have it defined.

In my opinion, I think a “professional” musician mean 3 different things:

1) If you make good money doing it

2) Your playing ability and skill. If you’re in the advanced level of playing your instrument and pretty much mastered it, you’re a professional.

3) Your professional attitude. Meaning being polite and courteous to everyone. Keeping negative opinions to yourself. Just having a positive attitude as a musician just like you would do on  your day job.

If you have any of those three things, that’s a professional musician, in my book.

A”hobbyist” (or an amateur), is someone who plays music just for fun, and doesn’t really look at it as a job (or a career). A lot of people want to mistakenly view an “amateur” musician as a crappy musician, but that’s not the case here. There are plenty of VERY talented musicians in your hometown and plenty of great guitar players in youtube showing off their stuff, but they play music as a hobby. Just because you maybe an amateur, doesn’t make you talentless. Some of these guys just don’t care to make a name for themselves. So they just play their music at home, show off their talent online or play local open mics occasionally. They never really cared to get big. This is where I fall in.

I never saw myself as a professional musician, even though, some folks out there would mistakenly see me as one. I don’t take the “career” thing seriously, even though some people would like to see me move forward and make a name for myself. I just do it for fun. Period, end of story.

It’s crazy how, most musicians want to see themselves as “professional” ’cause they get so caught up in delusions of grandeur. They all want to see themselves as professional. Think about it. You wouldn’t be a real “professional”, if you weren’t online, trying to define it. Why are they on here, trying to define “professional” musician? I’m not afraid to say this, but it’s gonna be said. It’s because they are scared of the truth. They are worried that they really may not be a “professional” musician, and it’s bothering them a little bit.

If you were a real professional, you wouldn’t be in facebook. You would be working on your albums, playing your gigs, doing your marketing, and just keeping, busy, busy, busy. If you were wealthy and make good money off of music, you wouldn’t be online much. I’m not saying these guys are not, “professionals”, some of them are, but I’m pretty sure a lot of bands around here don’t make a lot of money playing music. Some of these guys are afraid to admit that they are not really professionals, but I’m not afraid to admit it.

Now to be a professional musician, you don’t have to be a big name solo artist, or play in a huge band. You can be just a session musician. Session musicians are considered professional too, but they are smaller gigs. Subbing for members in other bands, and collaborations. Things like that.

To be a professional musician requires those three things I pointed out above: 1) Making a living off of music 2) Having the skill and talent 3) Having a good attitude. All those counts. If you don’t have any of those, then you don’t have a right to call yourself a “professional” musician. I’m sorry. Just being realistic here, folks!

Kev

While I am proud and happy that original music has finally taken over the music scene, my only complaint is that there are a lot of original bands that are so obsessed with being a party band. Sure, you can only be a party band when you’re a cover band, but you can still be a party band with original music. Allow me to clarify. When an original band wants to be a party band, they want all of their music to be upbeat and tight, so their fans can dance to their songs at all of their shows. Nothing wrong with putting on a tight and upbeat show playing fast songs, all night. I know that stuff can pull people into shows, but one thing to keep in mind folks, that original music don’t always have to be a “party” kind of show.

I mean, what the hell happened to art of writing music?

If I ever get myself a band going one of these days, I’m going to completely focus on the art. Yes, I will write fast, tight and upbeat songs for fans to dance to at the shows, but I’m not gonna obsess with it too much. I don’t care how the tempo of a song is, whether the song will be slow, moderately fast, or upbeat. They are going to get played at the shows. Just make music from the heart. Songs don’t always have to be dancy.

I love those type of bands that concentrate on the art with music. The bands that don’t care to play “hit singles” or don’t care to get the audience dancing. The fans will stick around and listen to you, no matter the tempo of the song. I understand bands want to put on an exciting and fun show, but don’t always be, “the entertainer”. You want to be, “the artist”.

My original music has always been about the art. I never cared to write radio friendly songs or write songs that people can sing along to, I just wanted to write, and I will continue to have this method of songwriting. That’s how Neil Young and David Bowie has always been.

I’ve been silent a lot more often in this blog ’cause I’ve been practicing guitar a lot more. I’m really am desperate in trying to get better. Like I said, I’ll start writing songs when I’m ready. I’m mostly focused on trying to get better at lead guitar currently, ’cause I want to be able to play my own guitar solos over my songs and be good at it.

Kev