| LearnJazzPiano.com archives: aspiring jazz musician | |
| tangman06 -- 05/06/2007, 09:58:05 -- #34895 | |
| i am a 16-year-old jazz musician and I would love to make jazz music my career. Does anyone have any "ideas for success", or just any useful advice? thanks in advance | |
| Scot -- 05/06/2007, 19:07:52 -- #34895 | |
| First, make sure look at the available resourced- there are quite a few discussions here regarding your question, and a search box at the top of the site. Now, you don't choose to make music your career, it chooses you. If you can do anything else, by all means do it. This is a difficult life filled with stress and financial worry, and though the payoffs are worth it to the deranged few who do only music for a living, it's still tough. Prepare to die at a younger age. Now, if you still want to follow that path, the plan for success is pretty easy. 1. learn all the songs 2. get to know all the musicians in your area and hang out with them whenever possible 3. learn how to play anything you want on your piano 4. play all types of music - EVERYTHING. 5. play with everyone you can as much as possible 6. make your music about life, not the other way around. make sure you have a life. Travel, road trips, girlfriends, outdoor sports, everything. Without real life experiences, your music won't be a reflection of anything. 7. be willing to travel and don't say "no" to good opportunities for music in far away places Listen, music is a culture, and you gotta live that culture in order to fit in and be a part of it. You have to know the language, both spoken and musical, which is why you must hang out with musicians and play with people as much as possible. And learn the tunes. If you can play any tune written, you'll get hired a lot just for that. All it takes is practice. The best way to learn tunes is right off the record. When you learn a tune that way, words and all, you simply don't forget it, or at the very least, it will come back to you when you need it. Those are a few things I've noticed since turning pro 18 years ago. | |
| Mike -- 05/06/2007, 20:51:41 -- #34895 | |
| Understand what success means in Jazz. Spend some time thinking about how you define success in Jazz. Try to be as clear as you can about your goals before you go chasin after em. What I am sayin is my idea of success in jazz is very different from many others in the world, in acadamia, in the forum and from yours. But I have met and succeeded in meeting my own criteria. To someone else and by someone elses criteria I may be a total hack. Maybe you are not really ready to decide you want to make Jazz your carreer because maybe you do not know enough about it yet. Maybe you are just ready to explore the possability. | |
| 7 -- 05/06/2007, 21:24:36 -- #34895 | |
| To me, success in Jazz means regular gigs that pay decent. You only have to be famous enough to pay the rent. If you cop a steady gig at a local piano bar, that's success. Oh, and Don't Forget to put out the Tip Jar. We all must realize that, not just in Jazz, but in all styles of music, the demographic landscape is changing. The big labels no longer rule. The marketplace has splintered into niches. Find your niche and develop it. If you build it, they weill come. | |
| CynBad -- 05/07/2007, 08:48:40 -- #34895 | |
| Scot, after 1 - 5, how do you find time for #6? LOL Mike & 7, I really like your posts about finding your niche and not trying to do everything. | |
| Scot -- 05/07/2007, 09:34:10 -- #34895 | |
| My problem is after #6, how do I find time for 1 and 5? :) | |
| CynBad -- 05/07/2007, 09:58:36 -- #34895 | |
| Exactly! Either way... when do you sleep? Oh that's right, you don't need sleep... | |
| Whacky -- 05/07/2007, 12:47:11 -- #34895 | |
| It's funny - I told my son NOT to learn anyone else's songs - just to write his own - heh heh I spent 30 years playing everyone else's stuff I forgot about myself... | |
| Scot -- 05/07/2007, 13:42:08 -- #34895 | |
| I think writing your own stuff is very important, I compose all the time, some of it is even pretty good. But without knowing the other tunes that everyone else plays, you won't get hired much. | |
| Scot -- 05/07/2007, 13:43:00 -- #34895 | |
| Sleep- yes, turns out I need some. Turned 40 recently and realized that 4 hours a night just doesn't cut it. Sometimes I need 6 now... pity, those two extra hours were nice to have! | |
| CynBad -- 05/07/2007, 15:07:58 -- #34895 | |
| Life's too short to learn tunes you don't love. That's been my motto since I turned 40. Which is why I hate "audition requirements". | |
| tangman06 -- 05/07/2007, 17:27:10 -- #34895 | |
| scot- by "learning" songs, do you mean memorize them and be able to play them in all keys, memorize them in the main key(s), or just be able to play them well from a lead sheet or sheet music? | |
| jazz jasper -- 05/07/2007, 17:39:35 -- #34895 | |
| I wanted to do what you wanted to do Jazz guy when i was 16, and at the moment i play on west end shows and tours (Broadway musicals but the UK equivelent) and im now 19. I would never say that you should just be into one style, jazz is great and its good to be great at it, but if you really want to make decent money in music, you need to be able to read a part and you must play EVERYTHING! Most of the people on these shows are in their 40's and 50's and they all have done the most varied things during their carrers. A lot of my friends from when i was 16 are still trying to get the odd gig in their local town, and often do, but unless your the next oscar peterson, i don't think that jazz alone can make you good money. I still play a lot of jazz, but the stuff that pays is the reading work. My advice is to really pay attention to number 4 on Scot's list, I also think that you must learn to read music very solidly, then anything thats thrown at you in jazz will be a doddle. | |
| Mike -- 05/07/2007, 20:38:00 -- #34895 | |
| well you see thats what I mean... 7's definition makes sence right??? And by that definition I am one of the best Jazz pianists who ever lived. At least where I live. But I can not tell you how many Pianists i know who can play much more difficult Jazz much better than me that can not hold down a gig. Why? Personality problems mostly.. They are personality challenged... they are not likable people... club owners do not like them... other musicians do not like them and audiences do not like them... But even I will on most days admit they are better players than I. But I out gig them by a long stretch... I can make a living at it ... They can not... So in the end by that definition who is the more successful Jazz Pianist me or them? I am not sure... honestly I can present strong arguments for either side of the debate. Then again my bachelors degree is in Politial Science and i am trained to take either side of a debate. | |
| Mike -- 05/07/2007, 20:45:22 -- #34895 | |
| But at this point In my life I do not really care who people think is better. What is important to me is that I know I am great. That might sound egotistical. It is not something that I say often but it is pertinent to this conversation to make a point. Also it is part of how I am able to play on the level that I can. If did not believe as I do in myself and my own ability level there is no way i could do the things that I do on the piano nor could I take the stage without suffering from stage fright especially in a solo context especially playing on the level that I now play. So I am successful by my own definition is what I am saying and that is what is most important, because that is what allows me to play with my own style... that is what allows me to play like me. that is what allows me to be me. If I did not think I was successful I suppose I would still be just be coping others peoples stuff and playing that all the time. | |
| Bud -- 05/07/2007, 21:14:06 -- #34895 | |
| Is it possible to listen what you are doing, Mike? I am always open to listen to GREAT players... | |
| Scot -- 05/08/2007, 10:02:00 -- #34895 | |
| jazz guy- look around at the guys who work all the time, and I'm not talking about running your own group. You can run your own group and play whatever kind of music you want, but you're not going to make a living doing that, you make a living by getting hired by everyone else who wants you to play piano for them. So, look at the guys who get hired. What do they have in common? They are nice people, easy to get along with usually. They are professional. They show up on time, they dress and act appropriately, they don't do anything that will tarnish their reputation. They also don't need music. They know all the standard tunes that bands in their area play, and the best ones, just know all the standard tunes out there. I'm not talking about looking at music, what if there isn't any music? I'm talking about knowing how a tune is built so you can play it in any key without effort. You dont have to practice it in all keys, you just have to know it so deeply that playing in all keys isn't a problem. I know a bass player named Jeff Johnson who is a complete pro. Sounds like whoever he wants on standup, sounds like the next coming of Jaco on electric. If he doesn't know a tune, it doesn't matter. After the first time through, he knows it. He analyzes the tune as he plays, figures out the relationships between the chords and the sections, and he just does this without thinking. How do you get to this point? You get on stage as soon as possible, hang out with the pros, talk to them, show your interest, bug them about things you enjoy and want to learn about in their playing, and make sure you live in a place where there is a lot of jazz. If you live in some farm town in the middle of nebraska, good luck. Move to NY or LA or Denver or Nashville, or anywhere where there is a big music scene. | |
| sdm -- 05/08/2007, 15:13:15 -- #34895 | |
| Scot - off topic but saw Jeff with Hal Galper here in PDX. Great player! | |
| Scot -- 05/09/2007, 07:23:04 -- #34895 | |
| I love his playing, he's so busy it's hard to hire him, though. I do have him nailed down for a trio gig late in June, though :) | |
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