THE WORK, MUSIC, LIFE BALANCE

Younger musicians frequently have conflicts with parents and others about their musical aspirations and study for other vocations. I just want to offer some ideas here that can become a good compromise for both the young musician and their parents.

Take a piece of advice: Get job specific qualifications and build some work experience in that vocation. Do your research so you don't get a qualification with poor job prospects or low pay at the end of it.

Ask not what you want to do but, of the jobs you could do, which one pays the most and sux the least. One place to do research is: http://www.myfuture.edu.au/

A compromise to satisfy both camps could be dual use qualifications.

DUAL USE QUALIFICATIONS

What I mean by Dual Use Qualifications is getting a qualification that is useful in getting an ordinary day job and in your music career. Think about what is required in running a band. There are marketing, business and technical tasks that often take more time than the musical ones. Running a band is really running a small business that deals with other businesses both large and small.

Below are some ideas that are by no means an exhaustive list. Many of these things can be studied both part time and full time at either TAFE or University. Some of them can also be included as a minor in a degree with a major in another area.:

SERIOUS ABOUT MUSIC? - PAY ATTENTION TO THIS

If you want to develop high end musical skills as a performer or composer then there is no better place to develop skills than a Degree Course at a Conservatorium.  Much of the professional music business in the USA is dominated by Berklee graduates.  Really take this to heart: a large number of the real working professionals at the top end of the industry have music degrees from Universities.

Composers have much better earning potential than performers as they earn royalties rather than session fees. A composer can make serious money writing music for film and television.  The person who composes for a band makes the most money in the band.  Composition and arrangement skills can also lead to becoming a record producer.

Many of the best session musicians started as child prodigies, got a degree from the Conservatorium and have 10 to 20 years full time professional experience.  To be a paid session musician you have to be able to compete with these guys.

Add a Marketing or Psychology minor to a Music degree and you could have a very useful combination for the leader of a band or, after relevant experience, a job in advertising or a record company. You could have acquired these qualifications in your early 20's and your band would then have a competitive edge over those without that skill set.

If you want to have a 'try before you buy' consider taking a part time course at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Access Centre. For details phone: (02) 9351 1208

But beware, the Conservatorium experience is profound and life changing.

SERIOUS ABOUT LIFE?

I know a number of the guys who work in musical equipment shops.  They were really excited when they started working full time in the music industry.  After about a year they had lost the passion.  They go home and don't want to even look at their home studios.  Over the 40 hour week, month after month it had become like any other job but, it had killed the passion.

Musicians rarely have performances on the first 3 days of the week.  Few full time musicians remain full time for their entire working life.  You may decide you need a day job for those times between gigs etc.  So...

GET A EMPLOYMENT ORIENTATED QUALIFICATION AND WORK IN THAT JOB to you build job experience and to get money.  (Remember that Strat, Mesa Boogie and home studio cost money.)

There is a huge difference in life time earnings between people with qualifications and those without.  Don't ask what you want to do because too many people don't know what they do and end up doing nothing.  A series of unrelated, unskilled or semi-skilled  jobs amounts to nothing.

Make a list of jobs that you could do with the best paid at the top.  Put how long it takes to get the qualification to the right.  Include TAFE, industry certifications like Microsoft MCSE and university as options.  Then just pick the one that pays the best and sux the least and do that.

Don't do some interesting qualification like interior designer only to discover it has limited employment opportunities.  And a BA degree is almost useless for getting a job.  No matter how glamorous the industry, all jobs suck, just some are harder and dirtier than others.

Beware of jobs like nursing, police, railways or hospitality that have shift work that could conflict with gigs, practices etc.

MUSIC COMPATIBLE DAY JOBS

So you think the music is fun but the money sux and you want a day job that won't impact too heavily on the Rock'n'Roll lifestyle?  Here are a few ideas:

Draftsman or House designer:  3 years at TAFE but you will be able to get a part time job after only 18 months study.  You spend most of your days at a computer working on drawings in AutoCAD.  You can listen to music while you do it.  You can work from home once you have experience.  Part time work, say Monday to Wednesday, is available.  Pay is about $25 per hour.  It is also creative work where your artistic input really makes a difference.

Computer Programmer:  3 years TAFE or University.  Part time work is available while you are still studying.  You can listen to music while you do it.  You can work from home once you have experience.  Part time work, say Monday to Wednesday, is available.  Pay is $25 to $130 per hour.

Systems Engineer, Database administrator and some other computer jobs.

School Teacher:  Short hours, long holidays, above average pay, very little unemployment.  (But if you have an ear for music, don't be a music teacher.  A group of 9 year olds with recorders will seriously violate your musical senses.  This job is a job better left for the tone deaf.)

Beautician, Nail Artist, Massage therapist etc:  Run your business from home or get casual employment.  Not well paid.

The ideal music compatible job only works 3 days a week without shifts and your choice of days, has a high hourly rate of pay, allows you to listen to music during the day, in a clean environment free of work safety risks and you work with intelligent positive people without any negativity.  These requirements are best satisfied by highly skilled technical work.

MUSIC COMPATIBLE LIFE STYLE

Where you live, with whom and the car you drive will all impact on your ability to participate in music.  Having an environment around you that is supportive, rather than antagonistic, is very important to creative output.

If you live in a unit on the edge of town with flat mates who object to the noise of you practicing and don't have a car then, your musical options will be greatly restricted.

If you have a girlfriend/boyfriend who objects to your musical ambitions then your music will become a constant source of problems.  

Have a car that is big enough to carry your equipment. Don't buy equipment that is too big to fit in your car.  Station wagons may not be cool but have good carrying capacity.  Live in a place you can practice your instrument and/or sing daily.  Live by yourself or with people who are supportive of your music.  Live in a town where there is a good supply of other musicians with similar aspirations to yourself.  Live in a place that is close enough to where the gigs are to be able to see live music regularly.

If your music really is a priority to you then you will make all these lifestyle decisions with consideration to the impact on your ability to work, grow and prosper as a musician.

DO YOU REALLY HAVE IT AS A MUSICIAN?

In the time I spent as a management consultant in the music industry I met all kinds of people.  Some were brilliant and others were not.  I noticed that very rarely did people have a realistic view of their own skills as a musician.  The most talented could hear a song on the radio then sit down at a piano and play a very good version of it within a few minutes.  When I remarked on their excellent ear and musical memory they were surprised that everyone couldn't do it.  It was just that natural to them.

At the other end of the spectrum - A hunt and peck typist will produce a letter but a one finger, hunt and peck pianist does not produce music.  This guy was unbelievably bad but he thought he was a real contender for a major label recording deal.  So I did some research on how people can be that deluded.

It turns out that people can be so tone deaf and rhythmically challenged that they can't hear the difference between their out of tune and out of time demo and the latest number 1 single.  This guy really couldn't hear the difference so it is no wonder he thought his tuneless demo was as good as the Gwen Steffani CD I had on my desk.  These people have learned music without constant reality checks.  Their tone deaf maiden aunt keeps telling them:  "You have such a lovely voice dear, you should do something with it."  They have also grown up with an educations system that worries more about their "self esteem" than results.  You need people around you who will say to you:  "That is crap, lift your game."

It is not a personal attack.  If a client or colleague of mine tells me a mix I have done in the studio sounds like crap, first I ask they to be more specific about which bits are crap and I try harder to do better.  I have learned a great deal by clients rejecting my work saying they wanted bigger, fatter sounds or something.  By demanding more they pushed me to my limits and in doing so stretched my limits for the better.

A person can be so incompetent that they have no understanding of how bad they are OR they can be so skilful they think it is easy and can't believe that everyone can't do it.  In short, self assessment is very difficult.

This is part of the reason why YOU, as a musician, need years of weekly lessons from a serious, qualified teacher who can keep challenging you with increasingly difficult new material.  Your teacher will hear things in your playing and see things in your technique that he/she can correct before you develop bad habits.  They also need to be giving you feedback on when you are making good progress and when you should lift your game.  When you practice don't just keep playing the same old stuff, push yourself to do hard things at the edge of your ability and this will stretch your ability to new places.

The best musicians are not in successful bands.  The best choice of musician for a success band is the reliable average player with great time and an easy going personality, good sense of humor and strong sense of loyalty to the group.  A super good, highly creative musician will get board with playing the same songs at gig after gig for years on end.  (People still want to hear John Farnham sing "Sadie the Cleaning Lady" after 40 years.)  This repetition will drive highly creative musicians to despair.  The easy going player who will come off stage after doing the same show for 10 years and just be happy that "I didn't make a mistake all night."  Just know if you are average and be willing to stand aside and use sessions musicians in the recording studio when it counts.

All men may be equal in the eyes of God; but their musical skills are VASTLY different.

LOOKING FOR A JOB AS A SOUND ENGINEER?

Firstly let me tell you that your chances of getting full time paid employment in a recording studio are worse than your chances of winning Lotto. I recommend that you don't even try unless life is not worth living without it. Assuming life is not worth living without it - here we go...

The bottom line is:  If you can attract a steady stream of paying studio clients you will have a job. To get clients you have to be good and have a reputation. How do you get good?  Get yourself a home studio and build your experience, skills, reputation, portfolio of work and client relationships.

Buy an Apple Mac with a big 24" screen and Pro Tools Digidesign Digi 003 Factory Bundle with the Control surface/digital mixer and a couple of Shure SM57 and a Rode NT2A microphones. You will also need some high quality studio monitors, Melodine, keyboard, headphones and a bunch of other studio shit. (Don't use your studio computer for other stuff. Apple Mac is good for music)

OR get an Apple Mac, Logic Audio, Apogee interface, Mackie Universal control, Unitor 8 MIDI interface, studio monitors etc.

Get some good sound sources like a Roland 3080 and NI Komplete 3.
Take this information to Steve at Turramurra Music and he will help you design the studio.  He will help you with a good studio design with a realistic budget is a great idea. There is lots of really good stuff on eBay and in the Trading Post you can pick up second hand at a great price.
All up, you are going to need about $20,000.  If you can't get this then you are not serious.
Make sure you have music compatible domestic arrangements.

Do a course at UTS in Pro Tools (this is advertised in Drum media). This is all you need, forget AIM, JMC or SAE.
Buy this book: http://www.mixingwithyourmind.com/  read it, several times.

Do mixing for people's live gigs.  This work is easy to get.  This is practice pulling a sound on a mixer, makes you a few dollars and you make good contacts because if you can mix for them live musicians will be more ready to trust you in the studio.

Buy a fully weighted electric piano (go for a quality stage piano like a Roland RD-300SX) and take weekly piano lessons for 3 years or more. This will teach you heaps about music and get your ear in. Practice piano for not less than 1 hour every night. 
There are some ear training CD-ROM's with ear training courses on them.  Buy one and do it.
Do appropriate courses at the Sydney Conservatorium Access Centre - see links page for details.

Once you have your shit together start recording people. Make demo tapes for anyone, for free if you have to. Do what ever you have to do, just get heaps of experience. Make a web site and start putting your material up as free MP3 downloads.  What it sounds like proves you can walk the walk not just talk the talk, so your web site will do the talking for you.  Put your web site on your business cards and in all your advertising so people can hear you stuff, it is the sound that counts.  Get good, build a reputation, make contacts, listen to lots of radio and chart music. If you have any hope of success you will know where to go from here.

 

I value your feedback.  Please send me your comments to:  info@digitalharmony.com.au

Copyright © 2003, 2007, 2008  Mark Ellis