Career As A Guitarist Options

[AyanG]

Hi,I am currently working as a software engineer....but I want to make a career as a guitarist....its hard for me to leave the job and only play guitar due to obstacles,like family,a career supporting my living.....I would like GMC ERS to shed their thoughts over here....what are the career choices of a guitarist and what steps should I take to leave job and make music my career

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[Todd Simpson]

It's a hard road to be sure. But it's possible The first thing to do is get "Good" at your instrument. Good enough to teach others, as that is one of the key parts of income, especially at first.

It would be great to just skip to "Pro Touring Musician" but that is usually after you do a few other things first. One way towards your goal is to become a guitar Teacher. It's a paying gig, it makes you a better player, etc. Try to get as many students as you can. This can help you transition away from your Day job. But you will have to work around your day job at first, meaning you will have to teach on weekends, which means giving up your weekends.

Part of the transition is essentially working two career paths at once. Your day job, and your new Guitar Job. It's a bit of a grind until the transition is made.

Once you have enough students, so many that you can't teach them on weekends, start trying to add some after your day job. Eventually you should have enough to start pulling away from your day Gig, hopefully. Depending on what you are making in your day job of course. I"m Single, and have no kids. So my bills are not as high as a Family man. But you can do the math, find out what Guitar Teachers charge in your area per lesson / hour. Then math out how many students it would take to cover your current financial needs.

If the number of students needed is greater than the number of hours that it's possible to work in a given 40-60 hour week, then you may have to take a different tack.

OLA ENGLUND is a very good example of making the transition. He worked as a comptroller full time while building his own "Brand" online every night and weekend. Eventually , he built up such a large following that a touring band just asked him to join up and BAM he went from Bedroom Musician to touring with SIX FEET UNDER.

He then joined THE HAUNTED and continues to tour. He started by making guitar/gear videos. He did this for several years until he was a recognized "Brand" and youtube "celebrity" of sorts. This is very attractive to Bands who might be able to leverage his popularity to enhance their own.

So path part two is turning yourself in to a big "brand" and becoming attractive to larger touring bands that could use a bit of a boost in social media just by being near you.

So there are a couple of ideas They are not mutually exclusive, I'd try both. It will of course require your significant other to be on board and willing to really sacrifice and push for the next several years until you can make the switch.

I"m a "Teacher" so I teach guitar and I teach Audio at a local college. I have an online presence which is big enough to merit some free gear, which is also nice It has taken me about 5 years or so to get my online presence to be big enough to be able to ask vendors to send me free stuff. They like to see that you have an audience of a few thousand subscribers, and at least One Million views on youtube. After that, it gets easier

Every path is different and everyone has to find their own way. I hope this all helps

Todd

Hi,I am currently working as a software engineer....but I want to make a career as a guitarist....its hard for me to leave the job and only play guitar due to obstacles,like family,a career supporting my living.....I would like GMC ERS to shed their thoughts over here....what are the career choices of a guitarist and what steps should I take to leave job and make music my career

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[fzalfa]

I really love to teach guitare, i have already think about , not for money but to ne a better guitariste.
I think have thé skill to do initiation , basic technics ans scales.

Why not ?

Laurent

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[Todd Simpson]

I say go for it!! All you need is one student and your on your way. It all starts with just the first one. Then you can add more and add skype lessons, etc. Just having a single student will push you to be better at each meeting. I think it's a great idea for guitar players to take on teaching students as a way to improve and connect with musicians. Let us know how it goes!

I really love to teach guitare, i have already think about , not for money but to ne a better guitariste.
I think have thé skill to do initiation , basic technics ans scales.

Why not ?

Laurent

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[klasaine]

+1 to all of what Todd says.

50 pro musicians will have 50 different stories about how they made it. Of course with similarities and overlap but my point being is that there's no set formula.

What type of musician do you want to be?
Touring? Recording? Teacher? 6 nights a week in a hotel/resort/casino? Live band on a TV show? Cruise ship musician? Professional product demo guy? All of the above?
Each of these requires a different, but again - overlapping skill set.

One of the main questions you have to ask is, "are you good enough?" That's a big, blurry question. 'Good' is subjective depending on what kind of musician you want to be. But you do have to be honest with yourself and accurately judge yourself against your immediate competition. And then be able to take the steps necessary to be as qualified or better.

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This post has been edited by klasaine: Jul 30 2015, 06:46 PM

[Mudbone]

I know of a few people that became professional musicians. One was a bouncer that started doing acoustic sets at bars, pubs and festivals. He makes a decent living off of it. Nothing spectacular, just average middle class income. But he loves it. I know another duo that pretty much just play around the Eastern Carolinas, and the areas they play aren't heavily populated. They play country and bluegrass. They both have families, mortgages and car payments. They're doing alright

From what I've noticed, country musicians are most likely to be able to earn a living. Blues and jazz are another good way to go, but that's probably just in bigger cities.

Of course, there's one crucial element. You have to be good. These places won't call you back if you scare the customers away.

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[AyanG]

I know of a few people that became professional musicians. One was a bouncer that started doing acoustic sets at bars, pubs and festivals. He makes a decent living off of it. Nothing spectacular, just average middle class income. But he loves it. I know another duo that pretty much just play around the Eastern Carolinas, and the areas they play aren't heavily populated. They play country and bluegrass. They both have families, mortgages and car payments. They're doing alright

From what I've noticed, country musicians are most likely to be able to earn a living. Blues and jazz are another good way to go, but that's probably just in bigger cities.

Of course, there's one crucial element. You have to be good. These places won't call you back if you scare the customers away.

Thanks a lot to everyone for sharing their thoughts.......

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[Patrik Berg]

to be a teacher you don't have to be awesome at guitar but you have to be great with people and have lots of patience, there are a lot of young beginner guitarists that just need guidance with playing chords and strumming patterns. If you can sing well then busking is also another option or join a cover band. Either way you have to pursue your dreams and take the steps that will lead you there. Best of luck.

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[klasaine]

If you can sing well then busking is also another option or join a cover band.

Singing fairly well will give you easily 50% (or higher) odds of being a professional or getting into a professional, working band. Add some keyboard skills and/or a brass, wind or 'ethnic' instrument to that and your chances get upped dramatically!

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This post has been edited by klasaine: Aug 5 2015, 02:02 PM

[Todd Simpson]

Well said!! And a great point. If you have any sort of singing ability, you can do yourself wads of good by using it. I'm a horrible singer sadly. But if you can sing, it greatly enhances your value as a working musician. If you can sing harmony, and harmony backup, you have a big advantage when seeking/booking various gigs.

Singing fairly well will give you easily 50% (or higher) odds of being a professional or getting into a professional, working band. Add some keyboard skills and/or a brass, wind or 'ethnic' instrument to that and your chances get upped dramatically!

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