Professional status in any industry is an indication that a person has reached certain heights in his business. He must have faced a whole list of challenges along the way, but he overcame them successfully, which allowed him to become a professional.
It’s the same in music – you have to keep improving and learning and that’s the only way you’re going to get recognition. The term “professional” to a certain extent means that the person constantly strives for perfection, making high demands not only on himself, but also on those around him.
If you, too, want to reach the heights in music, you need to be aware of the things that a true cool professional just won’t do. We’ve put together a kind of TOP, so study this list carefully if you don’t want to waste yourself.
Spending money to play.
Of course, when you’re just starting out in your music career, it goes without saying that you have to spend money. It may be contributions of some kind, buying necessary equipment, all of which can be considered an investment in your future.
It’s all good when we are talking about a young band or a budding musician who can play for free at a festival or a support gig just to be seen and noticed. But once you have your own audience, you need to accept that playing gigs where everyone else but you will make money is an absolute mauvais ton.
Remember that by participating in any concert you have to earn money in the first place. Of course, there are exceptions, and if you decide to take part in a charity event, there is nothing catastrophic about it. It’s people you need to help, not other people’s pockets. In all other cases, state your minimum price right away – let the organizers decide for themselves whether to invite you or not.
To be dispersed on projects which do not give the necessary effect.
From time to time any musician is offered various projects, the very essence of which raises a lot of questions. Often they do not promise any result at all: neither moral satisfaction, nor the slightest financial enrichment. It could be anything: writing a song for a wedding for a friend, playing the drums at a performance of a band from the distant 1980s, etc.
No, if the upcoming event promises you a bunch of positive emotions and fun, even if you don’t earn anything from it, then it’s definitely worth participating. But if there is no moral satisfaction from what’s going on, there must be at least a financial interest. And if there is neither, then just don’t waste your time. By the way, to say the word “No” is also necessary to know and periodically practiced.
Trust untrustworthy people.
Any person is surrounded by a huge number of people with different personalities, different professional qualities, etc. Many of them sincerely wish you every prosperity, but not all of them can manage any processes effectively enough, which naturally affects you if you plan to cooperate with them.
You can recognize such people after only a few attempts to interact with them professionally:
They periodically disappear somewhere, they don’t respond to messages or calls. Remember that even if the person is fatally busy, they still have at least a couple of minutes of free time to call back or at least leave a voice message.
They turn out to be unprepared from a purely professional point of view, providing incorrect information about the hotel where you plan to stay, the conditions of the concert, etc.
They are not punctual, often late for meetings, or don’t show up at all, even though you agreed to it in advance.
If you feel that such professional cooperation begins to drag you down, it is better to stop such contacts right away. Even if in theory the project in which you planned to participate will be profitable for you. It is quite possible that by doing this project, putting up with unprofessionalism in your side, you will miss an offer from other people who are responsible for the business they do.
Avoid excessive narcissism
The work of a musician, especially if he or she achieves more or less notable success, involves feedback from fans who show admiration for your music in every possible way. Of course, this is very gratifying and a great boost to self-esteem. Here it is very important to keep a cool head and not to elevate your own ego to the level of a celestial.
If we take foreign stars (even non-music stars) as an example, we can see that most celebrities, who have millions of dollars on their account, are quite modest in communication, they always find a minute to answer a journalist’s question, take a picture with a fan, give an autograph, etc. In their understanding there is not even such a moment, that it is necessary somehow to ignore their fans or be aggressive with them. Celebrities of a great level really understand that everything they have is essentially the result of recognition, love and interest from a huge number of people.
It is respect for the people around you during your formative years that is the basic tenet to adhere to. Your assistants, as well as other people who work with you, must respect you not only as a musician, but also as a person. And this is only possible if you behave to them in the same way. You can be sure that the image of the “crazy and crazy” rock star who spits on all the principles doesn’t suit everyone.
Being heavily influenced by modern trends.
If you look at contemporary music, which millions of young people are now interested in, it is not always possible to find things that are really worthy of such attention. Many musicians don’t make their own music, but mimic what’s trendy right now. Of course, this approach has its effect, but this effect can be overnight. It is enough to remember the real boom of interest to spinners a few years ago. Where are all these spinning things now? That’s right, after the explosion of interest came a complete decline, so they are safely forgotten.
Therefore, the search for your own sound is the right way, only after having gone through all the difficulties and misfortunes, it is possible to achieve real recognition.
Quitting to do what you love
The lion’s share of success depends on the performance and persistence of the musician. That means always being in action, continuing to write, composing music, working on lyrics, and coming up with new moves for your advancement. No one is saying that you shouldn’t take short breaks, but experience shows that if a musician isn’t active, interest in him/her disappears quite quickly (except for a couple of devoted fans), because every day there are new names, behind which ambitious and glory-hungry people stand.
Sometimes when a musician achieves significant success, it’s very hard for him or her to get back to work instantly. One wants to relax a little and enjoy the fruits of his labor. This is when a kind of trap that many creative people have fallen into happens.
If you feel that you really need a little break, then do not just disappear. Let all the people you work with know that you’re going away for a certain time to a certain place, and be sure to let them know the way you can be contacted if anything happens. On social media, you can leave a message for fans that you’re taking a short break from performing, which is necessary to think about the new album, etc.
A number of professional blunders to avoid
There are a number of things any self-respecting musician should avoid. And they relate primarily to his or her musical activities:
Mistakes during concerts. All musicians make mistakes even if they have a lot of experience. In this case, we are not talking about the fact of the mistake, but your attitude to it. Experienced professionals can filigree their way out of this difficult situation, with the result that no one will notice the mistake (except other musicians).
Unprofessional behavior. Any tardiness for rehearsal (God forbid for the concert itself), disorganization (forgot your equipment at home) and disrespectful attitude to your colleagues – all of this must be eradicated in every way, constantly working on yourself.
Poor quality equipment. Economy – it’s a useful thing, but it’s not always the case when it comes to music. For example, you decided to save money and bought a cable at a discount. As a result, during the concert, it safely failed to work. What kind of impression will your fans have of your performance? Clearly, it will be negative. So you need to carefully monitor the condition of your instruments, musical equipment, buy only quality components and accessories.
Bad sound on stage. This is a real misfortune of all musicians, which leads to mistakes at the concert, as well as the loss of any pleasure from their own performance. It is important to be very attentive to soundcheck, as well as to remember all the sound settings.
All these tips can be called trivial, but in practice it turns out that not everyone remembers them. As a result, the success, to which a person was going for years, periodically not finishing eating and not sleeping enough, is squandered literally in a matter of time. Remember that climbing to the top is still half the battle, because it’s much harder to stay on it.