Bluewine Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 On 05/01/2023 at 03:57, Lozz196 said: Whilst in my last band we weren`t professional it didn`t stop us behaving professionally. I`m convinced a lot of the work that we got owed much to the fact that we were easy to work with and behaved in this manner. A certain type of irony given we were a punk band I suppose. Arriving on time, setting up and tearing down in a timely manner.Play by their rules. Going out of your way to work with the staff. Blue 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 To answer the original question literally: a paid gig. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 6 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said: To answer the original question literally: a paid gig. and at least one more... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddster Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 3 minutes ago, paul_5 said: and at least one more... And at least enough to declare to the tax man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodge_bass Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 19 hours ago, TimR said: Flexibility. I meet a lot of amateurs and semi-pros who need everything mapped out and organised to the nth degree. Parts rehearsed to death. Set List written down a week in advance. Where's the parking? What size is the stage? Music isn't like that. Playing live you have to be ready to improvise to react to changes when it goes wrong. Being on stage is no place to be if you can't cope with that. I do meet the odd pro like that but they're good, really good, and people smile at their eccentricities. I sort of agree and disagree with this point at the same time. For me (pro player of 20years) I know if somebody wants a good job then part of that is being organised. So if they can provide a set list (and maybe parts or, leadsheets or recordings in advance) then I’ll take them so that I can be as prepared as possible. The result is that I can then be as flexible as possible on the day because I’m not asking basic questions like ‘what key’ ‘or which version’ and don’t have my head buried in the music. If a booker is like unsure of what the gig is, what the setlist is etc there’s a high possibility that it may be crap and therefore worth avoiding. So for me being super organised / prepared whilst being ready to be as flexible as necessary on the night are two sides of the same coin rather than at odds with eachother. Ive worked for 20years successfully and nobody has EVER complained about me being too prepared or knowing what I’m doing on the bandstand 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodge_bass Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 And if you wanted a skill set / job description for being a professional musician you couldn’t go wrong as a starting point with: Musical attributes: - Good understanding of the genres you want to work in - ability to read music - ability to read leadsheets - good ears & ability to play from memory / off chart - strong sense of time (!) - ability to work with a click - ability to improvise / create own bass parts (not necessarily soloing though that’s definitely a bonus) Non-musical attributes: Good reliable gear Driving licence & a working car Flexible EXTREMELY reliable and good at diary management Very good and setting goals and organising yourself (practice / preparation) Excellent communication skills That’s a quick blast off the top of my head after 20 years. There will be more 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 (edited) Hmmm. The estimable and worthy qualities outlined over the previous 4 pages of this thread are all well and good, but this fellow made a living out of playing the bass... Edited January 7, 2023 by Dan Dare 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_dinger Posted January 7, 2023 Author Share Posted January 7, 2023 Just now, Dan Dare said: Hmmm. The estimable and worthy qualities outlined over the previous 4 pages of this thread are all well and good, but this fellow made a living out of playing the bass... And that is why I asked the question.... Surely if he can do it, why do others of us need to practice, learn music, study chord charts, and nurture a good attitude? I guess that Sid V had a short career in a single band that was more about attitude, and less about the technical aspects of the music. I would say that he was primarily a professional entertainer, and not so much a bass musician. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 12 minutes ago, Dan Dare said: Hmmm. The estimable and worthy qualities outlined over the previous 4 pages of this thread are all well and good, but this fellow made a living out of playing the bass... As a session player? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodge_bass Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 12 minutes ago, Dan Dare said: Hmmm. The estimable and worthy qualities outlined over the previous 4 pages of this thread are all well and good, but this fellow made a living out of playing the bass... Indeed. This Q was posed about 15 years ago to me in a different context about the meaning of ‘professional’. If you’re in a band that’s making enough money to make a living then it doesn’t matter how good (or in this case bad) you are. For the most part though we’re talking about freelance musicians who aren’t in a single band and therefore need a range of skills to make money from a range of different musical situations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodge_bass Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 1 minute ago, bass_dinger said: And that is why I asked the question.... Surely if he can do it, why do others of us need to practice, learn music, study chord charts, and nurture a good attitude? I guess that Sid V had a short career in a single band that was more about attitude, and less about the technical aspects of the music. I would say that he was primarily a professional entertainer, and not so much a bass musician. Try rocking up to any musical situation bar a sex pistols cover band with this lack of ability…. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 2 hours ago, dodge_bass said: I sort of agree and disagree with this point at the same time. I agree. I'm thinking of the people who aren't organised and then fuss over inconsequential issues. If I'm given a setlist. I don't need to know what what order the songs will be in until the night. If there's parking close to the venue, there's parking, if not I'll drop my gear and park after. I'll not try and blag parking or throw a strop. If someone in the band or a booker has booked a venue, I trust them to work out stage requirements. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 8 minutes ago, bass_dinger said: And that is why I asked the question.... Surely if he can do it, why do others of us need to practice, learn music, study chord charts, and nurture a good attitude? I guess that Sid V had a short career in a single band that was more about attitude, and less about the technical aspects of the music. I would say that he was primarily a professional entertainer, and not so much a bass musician. There are always shortcuts available to any "career" if you are lucky enough to know the right people and be in the right place at the right time... Are you the best friend of anyone whose band has just had 2 singles at the top of the UK charts, have a massive record company advance (or 2), and who have recently sacked their bass player? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 1 hour ago, Dan Dare said: Hmmm. The estimable and worthy qualities outlined over the previous 4 pages of this thread are all well and good, but this fellow made a living out of playing the bass... not for long... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 1 hour ago, TimR said: As a session player? Dunno. The thread was getting a little earnest (as often happens on here). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_dinger Posted January 7, 2023 Author Share Posted January 7, 2023 38 minutes ago, mcnach said: not for long... And not in a way that would persuade other bands that he would be an easy-going guy to have around... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 On 04/01/2023 at 19:08, bass_dinger said: . For myself, even if I can't play so well, I can learn to have a better attitude, for sure! Yeah - it sucks ! Fix it … 😛 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_dinger Posted January 7, 2023 Author Share Posted January 7, 2023 2 minutes ago, Geek99 said: Yeah - it sucks ! Fix it … 😛 You don't know how close you are to being right! Actually, the fact that I laughed means that I am probably going in the right direction. On an attitude scale of Sid Vicious to Guy Pratt, I am definitely a Pratt. At least, that's what people shout out when I arrive at the rehearsal.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SH73 Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 On 03/01/2023 at 20:33, bass_dinger said: So, to explain, I don't have much. I can play quarter and eighth notes, and can sometimes syncopate, so long as the pattern is not too complicated.. You are good, if you know what you play as I have no idea what you are talking about. I don't know what quarter and eight notes are. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 1 hour ago, SH73 said: ... I don't know what quarter and eight notes are. You do know what a quarter and an eighth of a cake are though..? It's exactly the same for notes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 On 05/01/2023 at 17:07, Greg Edwards69 said: I'm similar. I'm somewhat introverted around strangers, and there's no way I could front a band or be a soloist, especially not without an instrument slung around my neck. I have self-confidence issues revolving around a stammer I've had since I was 8 years old, and I don't have the 'gift of gab'. But give me a bass guitar and people to play with and I'm as happy as Larry. I think sometimes your own personal impression of your behaviour can be very different from what other people see! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SH73 Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 (edited) 40 minutes ago, Dad3353 said: You do know what a quarter and an eighth of a cake are though..? It's exactly the same for notes. I presume it's 1 2 3 4 then 1 2 3 4. 5...8? Sort of. But I never think that way, I don't involve theory when I play, or notes. I just play if that makes sense.Had one drum lesson last year, the guy threw notes at me straight away. Never went back again. I more like show me how it's done and I do it, or self teach most times. Edited January 7, 2023 by SH73 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 5 hours ago, Dan Dare said: Hmmm. The estimable and worthy qualities outlined over the previous 4 pages of this thread are all well and good, but this fellow made a living out of playing the bass... Being a musician and being in a band do not always mean the same thing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 5 hours ago, Dan Dare said: Hmmm. The estimable and worthy qualities outlined over the previous 4 pages of this thread are all well and good, but this fellow made a living out of playing the bass... He really didn't - he died at 21, and he didn't really make a living out of playing the bass, he really earned it out of looking the part, so more being a fashion model than anything else. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted January 8, 2023 Share Posted January 8, 2023 3 minutes ago, Woodinblack said: He really didn't - he died at 21, and he didn't really make a living out of playing the bass, he really earned it out of looking the part, so more being a fashion model than anything else. this. He was a puppet bassist who replaced the best musician in the Pistols - namely Glenn Matlock. Malcolm McLaren fired Matlock because he liked the Beatles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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