Which Is It?

[UncleJesse]

Originally Posted by Mbroady

It’s a calling. Picking up a guitar and writing, then performing an original song, one that makes an emotional connection with someone is an amazing (and somewhat addictive) feeling.

You're right about that. I go to this very small group of people who share their original works with the group as well as some spectators and it's an incredible place to play. Very much a listening room type environment.

[why2]

I've heard that the definition of a professional is that you "are paid for what you do". If you do the work well you earn the money and, hopefully, are able to do this work again for your satisfied clients and possibly new clients.

Freelance work, and I consider playing gigs for money as freelance work, is a very challenging way to make a living but the reward and satisfaction of being paid for your talents and having the freedom to choose your work should add to one's enjoyment in life. I have been playing guitar since the 60's and I made my living as a freelance film, video producer. I enjoyed the film work and did well at it but if I wasn't being paid I really didn't have the time to invest in it. I'm retired now and have been asked if I was considering working on any video or photography projects "for the fun of it". I can only smile and shake my head. I've had enough of that kind of fun.

I don't play guitar well enough to be paid for it. Of course that's not why I play. I radically enjoy playing and I'm hopefully getting better at it. I figure I've got a few more years before the aching hands make me step away. Maybe I'll pick up another instrument that will give the fingers a break. I do enjoy making music.

My son plays guitar and sings for a living. It is tough and because he is a one-man band the work is challenging because the job isn't just playing. The job is hustling for the work, establishing the fee, dealing with the venue, setting up, dealing with the audience, tearing down, collecting the fee, booking again(?) and on and on.

He told me once that when enthusiastic audience members come up and want to set up a time to jam with him he really doesn't know what to say. He knows hundreds of covers but has no desire to "jam" with someone. Playing music is a job and he doesn't have the time or energy to engage in it any other way.

If he wants to enjoy himself he goes fishing. He is also very good at that but doesn't want to become a paid fishing guide because fishing is his hobby.

[jklotz]

BTW - you guys know the definition of a musician, right?

Somebody who drives a $500 car filled with $5000 worth of gear 50 miles to play for $50.

[Photojeep]

While I did get paid once, well twice, but the second was in beer..., but I have played at my church, leading one choir, for 20+ years. I've never been paid for playing at church and really don't think I would want to.

A good friend of mine plays piano at our church at a different Mass and gets paid. I remember feeling a bit odd when I found out he was gettin paid but as a true professional musician, I think paying him is the right thing to do.

For me, I play there for personal reasons (don't worry Mods, I'm not going into any religious conversation...)

As I practice during the week, I think about how certain songs will fit into a certain places in the Mass and it feels good. However, when I think about getting paid, a certain strange feeling starts growing in my stomach. I'm not a shy person. Singing and playing my guitar in front of people doesn't phase me at all until I start thinking about the church paying me for it.

Maybe its because I remember the time when I did get paid (sometime in the 70s) and the weeks of rehearsals only to be paid in cash and told not to come back. It turned out it wasn't what I really wanted to do and actually found it relieving when I finished and walked out.

I was a full time commercial photographer and enjoyed running my own studio for over 10 years. Towards the end however, it really started feeling like a "job" which, of course it was, but maybe it is also that memory of turning a hobby into a profession that is also holding me back from pursuing playing my guitar for money.

Man, I think too much...
PJ

[MikeBmusic]

No one has said it yet, so ….

I started playing guitar to get girls! Well, really to overcome by inborn shyness, to be 'accepted' (and get a girlfriend).
Never made much money in high school/college (too busy partying to be a serious player. But my first band after college earned me more money that I had ever spent on gear up to that point.
Then came a long 'time off' period, writing songs, playing at home for the sheer pleasure.
Now, it's writing/recording songs because it's part of a'calling'. I play paying gigs, run open mics (for pay) but also play for free - open mics, benefits, etc for the enjoyment.

[UncleJesse]

Originally Posted by Photojeep

While I did get paid once, well twice, but the second was in beer..., but I have played at my church, leading one choir, for 20+ years. I've never been paid for playing at church and really don't think I would want to.

A good friend of mine plays piano at our church at a different Mass and gets paid. I remember feeling a bit odd when I found out he was gettin paid but as a true professional musician, I think paying him is the right thing to do.

For me, I play there for personal reasons (don't worry Mods, I'm not going into any religious conversation...)

As I practice during the week, I think about how certain songs will fit into a certain places in the Mass and it feels good. However, when I think about getting paid, a certain strange feeling starts growing in my stomach. I'm not a shy person. Singing and playing my guitar in front of people doesn't phase me at all until I start thinking about the church paying me for it.

Maybe its because I remember the time when I did get paid (sometime in the 70s) and the weeks of rehearsals only to be paid in cash and told not to come back. It turned out it wasn't what I really wanted to do and actually found it relieving when I finished and walked out.

I was a full time commercial photographer and enjoyed running my own studio for over 10 years. Towards the end however, it really started feeling like a "job" which, of course it was, but maybe it is also that memory of turning a hobby into a profession that is also holding me back from pursuing playing my guitar for money.

Man, I think too much...
PJ

I had a friend that played in a traveling religious band. They would go to huge churches and put on shows. He would personally make over 1k for a 45 min performance. He didn't sing, just played bass. There's definitely money to be made in the church circuit.

[Mr. Jelly]

Originally Posted by Skip Ellis

I got to thinking about why we do what we do as musicians.

The answer is different for everybody. You asked about musicians not performers. I make music to experience the music that exhilarates me. Music that I don't hear anyone else make. If I do it's fleeting and sporadic. I find joy in it and an escape from the world into flights of tonal and melodic fantasy.

I think the large majority of pedestrian performers are following an image and others are looking for positive attention. There's nothing wrong in that. I don't think they like to look at it that way though.

Performing and entertaining is a job to be done well to have the maximum impact. Nobody wants to see a performer have an emotional orgasm on stage. But they do like the reenactment of it.

[tippy5]

Originally Posted by Skip Ellis

I got to thinking about why we do what we do as musicians. Is it a commodity that you expect to profit from or is it some sort of 'emotional support animal' that 'you just couldn't exist without'? Or something in between?

One of the most "human" things you can do is play music. Performing to listeners (even to my old dogs, that I miss) can stroke another human response. I like the sound of new melodies. I think my brain likes the improvisational journey too.

It has been a 50 plus year play field. I miss the garageband days. The days of impromptu acoustic jams after work on the porch. The earliest teenage gigs were exciting. The monthly blue grass circles in the park. But I was not the kind who could go solo entertainer. (Although I have done 100 solo song circles and some 15 minute original music slots).

Which is OK because I think another incredible human trait is finding and fostering hobbies. There's a balance of keeping both the guitar spark alive from the 60's and actually playing a full piece, in time, Travis solid, incase you get the call or want a decent recording.

So I guess I fall in between having also gigged my share after work.

I salute you for sharing your truth, Skip. I would love to hear you. Good music delivered professionally.

[L20A]

I will admit that a driving force for me is to get gratification and a sense of belonging, from playing music.
There is a primal need to be loved and accepted.
There are many ways that people go about getting this desire fed.

Some through athletics, some acting, some politics and some of us through sharing our music with others.

Getting paid is nice but not a mandate for me.
One other thing is the friendships that develops from being band mates.

[Edgar Poe]

Originally Posted by Skip Ellis

As I was reading a recent thread about pricing a three hour gig, I got to thinking about why we do what we do as musicians. Is it a commodity that you expect to profit from or is it some sort of 'emotional support animal' that 'you just couldn't exist without'? Or something in between?

Personally, playing music (since I discovered I could do it well), has ALWAYS been a commodity - a means to and end with the end being a paycheck. There is nothing emotional about it for me. I show up at the gig, prepared to the best of my ability, play what's required, get paid, and go home with the knowledge that I've played the performance correctly (and this is especially true in theater work where you play eight shows a week and each must be done to as close to perfection as you can get). I'm not there to be anyone's friend, schmooze, drink beer or smoke dope. I'm there as a worker who's been hired, based on my qualifications and reputation, to deliver a service and I do it to the best of my ability. That's where I get my satisfaction.

I've sure lots of other folks have totally different ideas on the subject and it should be interesting to hear some of them.

Sounds like in your case, it's a job.
Most play as a hobby, or hope of being better at some point.
Either way, I prefer playing for personal enjoyment not profit. If you can profit from it that is wonderful. I just prefer the gratification of personal accomplishment.
To each His/Her own.

Play.
Ed

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by Edgar Poe

Sounds like in your case, it's a job.
Most play as a hobby, or hope of being better at some point.
Either way, I prefer playing for personal enjoyment not profit. If you can profit from it that is wonderful. I just prefer the gratification of personal accomplishment.
To each His/Her own.

Play.
Ed

Your response to the OP's reasons for gigging is more logical and practical than mine.
To me, his reasoning seems cold and emotionless and robotic.That's certainly his prerogative and a way to approach it, but for my part, if I didn't get something out of it emotionally, I wouldn't do it. The money is meaningless to me. I'll take it, but I don't need it.
I love having the opportunity to reach other human beings with music and interact with them.
It's what motivates me to perform. We are all different that's for sure.

I enjoy performing, but I'm increasingly picky about the conditions under which I'll do it, which means I don't do it much anymore.

And honestly, maintaining a social media presence, hustling gigs, negotiating time slots, hauling gear, setting up, hawking merch, and splitting tips just takes more energy than I'm willing to expend at this point.

So I write and record, play the occasional house concert or open mic, and let the younger and hungrier guys pursue the fame and riches.

And lest this sounds like a case of musical burnout, I'm glad to report that I've never been more enthused about songwriting and playing than I am at this moment. Stepping away from the gig life has been enormously satisfying.

[Skip Ellis]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

Your response to the OP's reasons for gigging is more logical and practical than mine.
To me, his reasoning seems cold and emotionless and robotic.That's certainly his prerogative and a way to approach it, but for my part, if I didn't get something out of it emotionally, I wouldn't do it. The money is meaningless to me. I'll take it, but I don't need it.
I love having the opportunity to reach other human beings with music and interact with them.
It's what motivates me to perform. We are all different that's for sure.

Some of us are just not 'touchy feely', emotional type 'people' people. At my age, very little moves me any more.

[Russ C]

With band management pushing for one thing and the musos I play with pushing for another I've given this topic a lot of thought recently. As we and what we want to play both get older, staying employed is not as easy as it once was.

I know the joy of having a venue full of fabulous people loving what I contribute to is one of the richest experiences in my life but I also know it's gotta be in response to music I like playing.

I believe I'd rather go play blues at my local club for beer than get well paid to prance around in a costume playing music I'd rather not hear. I'd still like the audiences if they like me but I need the other too .. but if I needed the money I'd prance around in a costume and consider myself lucky - there's much morse jobs out there.

[The Bard Rocks]

I am passionate about the music that I like and hope to excite others about it as well - so whatever i can do that spreads the good word, I do - jams, song circles, open mics - and performance on stage.

I find extra enjoyment in the bands as I get to arrange the music, set up song sheets, do the patter - and our rehearsals are focused on a specific end. To practice without others is still good, just different.