ChucklesMginty

Being a musician is easy if you're a good musician.

Hardly anyone is a good musician. Especially guitar players. Seriously, like 95% of guitar players are shit.

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So you want to write a fugue?

So you want to write a fugue?

You've got the urge to write a fugue

You've got the nerve to write a fugue

So you want to write a fugue?

Rawshik

I think people make it seem much more impossible than it really is. I say 1 out of about every 500 bands that gets a gig in your local area will make it far enough to be considered "successful".

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BradIon1995

Spread yourself widely. Do some lessons, do some guitar tech/luthiery, do some performing, do some teaching, fully immerse yourself in what you want to do. Also, find a day job until you can comfortably support yourself off your passion. Who knows, maybe you'll have a day job all your life, but at least you'll be supplementing your living with your passion, and be a figurehead in your local scene. Do it, man!

I'm currently in a local band, and set guitars up for others occasionally. I'm dirt poor. But one day I tell you, ONE DAY!!

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SlackerBabbath

Depends what you mean by 'make it' really. Are you likely to be able to make a living from it? Sure, anyone can if they have a bit of experience, a decent business-head on their shoulders and know how to get regular paying gigs. Will you be a huge mega-star with oodles of cash in the bank? Well, I suppose it's always possible with the right breaks but there's only ever a very small percentage of musicians who manage to achieve that, so, chances are that that probably won't happen.

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TooktheAtrain

wot slacker said basically...

I think people have rather skewed ideas of success. Success (in music), to me at least, means being able to live from the proceeds of gigs, teaching, etc. without having to work other jobs.

It does not have to mean sleeping on a mound of coke with models and owning a classic car collection.

BradIon1995

Although that would be ideal

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TooktheAtrain

indeed

ProphetToJables

Never turn down a gig.
Never stop writing.
Don't make any enemies.

I go on tour in March for the rest of the year for preciseley these reasons. I'm playing 90's hits at holiday camps but its £150 a week for 2 nights work and 100,000 people are going to watch me play.

Be prepared, always have a business card with a link to who you are, what you do, demos etc.
Don't get complacent, always be on the look out for what's next.
Put yourself out there, does a band need a rhyhthm guitarist for a few nights, does a local student need a score for his film project? Get your name associated with everything you do.

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theogonia777

There was a thread about what genres are best for being successful. I'll just copy what I put there, since it's still relevant.





It really depends on what your thing is. Based on my limited knowledge of anything about you other than your list of favorite bands and guitarists on your profile, chances are your thing is probably not too favorable on the supply-to-demand ratio pyramid, so you probably might want to reconsider your strategy if you plan on "making it" (whatever that means) as a musician.

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mtshark

If you're dead set on playing guitar for a living you're best of learning everything. Learn to fluently read music, you could pick up some session work. Learn to play jazz, country, rock, bluegrass, pop, metal, blues. Can you name it? You better learn to play it, it just increases your chances of getting a gig.

Even if you want to become a music ed teacher, you're going to need to become proficient on an instrument, so if that's a possibility, don't throw your guitar out the window.

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I pride myself on my humility.

magnus_maximus

Pretty much zero.

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UG's Scottish Leftist Republican

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smartguyreviews

You'd basically have to gig most nights and do a ton of private lessons. Doable, not the most desirable life for everyone though. I'll be happier with music ed

Wolfinator-x

I'm starting to seriously doubt whether I want to be a touring musician. I'm more and more interested in writing scores.

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MrDo0m

People always ask this question, and the answer is always: it depends on what you define as "making it." Does that mean being famous? Well how popular does your music have to be before you consider it "famous?" Does it mean making enough to live off of? Depends on how you're willing to live. It all depends on your perspective.

adamgur96

lol

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Woffelz

Music at a relatively high level [not that high - A level. That's for 16-18 year olds in the UK] may actually kill your interest in music unless you love jazz or classical music.

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badfish_lewis

If you're good enough (technically), smart enough, tough enough and you have an extremely good resolve then you have a chance, albeit a very small one but if you're the type of person I just described then you won't let that discourage you.
Otherwise unless you have tits, ass and bubblegum lyrics spewing from every orifice then you are essentially f**ked

Sir-Shredalot

I have taught and performed live paid music for 15 years privately and been a full time muso for 6. Also did support tours with snow patrol muse etc in the late 90s.

bands.. crazy hard. you can't even get a decent support slot as a unsigned or small band. We used to get every gig in town as 2nd support

teaching.. very competitive in the UK schools due to cutbacks. Wales are cutting out music teaching in schools.

tutoring.. tough to get the numbers for full time work.

paid gigs.. used to run wedding and event band I got £500 per gig per week. now most wedding bands I know do pubs for a fraction of the cash due to recession and lack of weddings.

sessions.. Most session guys I know are desperate for wedding and function gigs. A friend who did session tours now plays solo gigs again for 80quid per night.

In the famous session world, and there are a handful of guys session in in studio and tours.

recording studios.. Round my area desperate for clients and most have shut due to advances in home recording

rehearsal studios.. tend to make a decent buck but takes a lot of capital but they ain't booked out in advance like 5 years ago



In a nutshell if you want to make little cash, and be fed up of music doing it all day ad nauseum, then this is your career. My 45 and 60 yr old teacher still struggle to pay bills BUT have freedom and don't give in to 'The man'

If you diversify and have a strong business model you can make an average wage. At this stage where music is a job your business may as well be in anything that pays more.

TLdr... great part time income booster, but very tough career. I still regret leaving my good job for full time music.