A Community for Up and Coming Musicians
When senior year in high school rolls around, you usually have a good idea of what you want to do after school. Having already been through this process myself, I feel that it would be beneficial to share it with other people who may be going through the stress of the same process. The most …
Continue reading “College Auditions and Applications for Musicians”
Establishing a career in the music industry takes a lot of effort. No matter whether you’re an artist, producer, venue owner, backing vocalist, etc. — it’s challenging. There’s a reason venue owners use these secrets to book better artists or many backing vocalists do it as a side job – it’s hard to establish yourself …
Continue reading “Working as Your Own Booking Agent | The DIY Musician II”
Some quick tips to help improve your ensemble playing: 1. Tune without vibrato 2. In music, especially classical, it is very important to have more “bottom” (bass instruments) to the sound, so make sure that the lower instruments are audible 3. Listen to the other musicians in the ensemble and try to match dynamics, intonation, …
Continue reading “Ensemble Playing Tips”
Festivals offer a wide variety of resources to the young musician if they are willing to take advantage of what is available to them. The most obvious thing about festivals is the opportunity to network with all the other students who are performing. The hundreds of other kids walking around are great to make connections …
Continue reading “Music Festival Preparation”
Quite often, in the music industry (and even in school bands), you will find that there will be times where you will be excluded – not even considered, passed up on for a job opportunity, or not included for any variety of reasons. How you handle these situations, will help you maintain a healthy career …
Continue reading “How to Handle Being Left Out”
Just to start out – the most important thing to remember about fans is that no matter what the fans say or do, it is always a compliment. They are your FANS, they love you, so if they say or do something insulting, it wasn’t meant that way! In this article, I have listed some …
Continue reading “How to Treat Your Fans”
In the Jazz world, image isn’t as important as it is in many of the other music industries, but appearance still plays an important role in the shape of your career. Having “been” in the jazz industry and working with or knowing other musicians who have been in it longer or have performed in other …
Continue reading “The Role of Image and Gender in Your Music Career”
This article is for when you get out of college and you’re ready start your career but are not sure exactly how to go about it. The first step to establishing yourself as a musician is to sell your name as an artist. You really have to promote yourself – without being overly aggressive. You …
Continue reading “Marketing Yourself | The DIY Musician III”
As a multi-instrumentalist, I have had the opportunity to perform in several musicals such as “Singing in the Rain”, “42nd Street”, “Hairspray”, “Cabaret”, “Honk”, “West Side Story”, “Sideshow”, “Bye Bye Birdie”, among others. Because I am a Woodwind Player, my emphasis will be on woodwinds; I am not really in a place to describe the …
Continue reading “Things Woodwind Players Should Know About Performing in a Musical”
The importance of jam sessions to your education as a musician can not be emphasized enough! It is vital to attend, have gone to, held one of your own, thought about going to, etc. a jam session. Sit-ins or jam sessions truly give you a taste of what working professionally as a musician entails, they …
Continue reading “Getting the Most out of Jam Sessions”
