Quote from: Cindi Jones on August 21, 2011, 02:40:37 AM
Music is a difficult business to be in. You can be very good but attract no attention. I'm serious about the being very good part. I attended a concert in the park last night. A local bluegrass band was playing. I'm not really into bluegrass but I've played bass with them on their jamming weekends when they invite everyone over for a BBQ. I had to admit that they were excellent musicians. Their vocals were flawless, their arrangements were solid, and their pickin' was very, very good. But they'll likely never make any money at it.

I do play professionally from time to time. Oddly enough, it isn't on the bass. It is on the cello. I've got like 10 basses and a cello.

I don't know that it matters all that much in general whether you are male or female as an instrumentalist any more. I'm sure that some genres may stray from that gross generalization. If you are good, people will want you to play. Whether you'll make any money?  Who knows. Who cares. We do it because we like to do it. And if we happen to get noticed... well that would be icing on the cake.

Cindi

Well, getting mainstream is really only if it's a genre that's popular at the time. Even then it depends on the production of the band's album, and whether or not they're marketed. There's been a rise in bands being recognised via Youtube, but that's only in special cases and if the band brings something new to any genre. Music is indeed a difficult business to get into, but personally I think that a person should be getting into only if it's what they enjoy. Because after all, it's about the music right?

And Marta, thanks for sticking up for us!

My point exactly Madi!

I never get paid for playing bass. I'm not all that bad at it but I'm not all that good at it either.

One of the reasons I get cello gigs is that I can play anything for any band. The band stuff is super simple and it pays. I charge more when I solo for weddings. That sort of music is more difficult depending on whether they want classical or popular songs. The classical is the most difficult. And then, I play in the local symphony for free. So, yes, I don't really care so much about the money part. I feel like I am doing something that I enjoy and that I can share with other people who enjoy it as well. 

I would say that if you are a true professional instrumentalist, work is available, but your name isn't posted anywhere and you usually don't get paid very much. I used to live in the LA area and work was much easier to find as an instrumentalist. I had friends that did pretty well. I kept my day job.

Cindi

But getting into the mainstream isn't the only way to make a living off being a musician and getting into the mainstream a lot of the time requires you to have good contacts. However there are plenty amazing artists that have small followings or bands that are known within particular fans on genres that might not be known to people that don't like it. In this day and age with the Internet it's all about how much and well you can market yourself, rather than what people you know to make money provided there's a niche for your style.

I mean you don't need to get extremely big to make a living off being a musician, for example the band Submotion Orchestra (one of my favourite bands at the moment :3) only have 7.7k fans on facebook, now while that may not be much compared to mainstream acts it is a hell of a lot of people, a lot of people clearly rigorously follow the band buying anything they put out. They would probably easy make a living of music without having mainstream chart topping #1's.

I'd define a musician to be anyone for whom playing music is a significant part of their life.
Yes, that includes people who never play outside their own bedroom.
Not all of these musicians have delusions about the quality or marketability of their music.

I think that more people should be making their own music.
(Ok, I don't necessarily want to listen to it.)

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/musician

Only in one definition does it even mention playing as a profession, and at that, it is not mandatory to fill the requirements for the definition of the word.


Anyways, Ive never called myself a musician, and in fact Ive been called that by everyone I know. I deny it, and they treat me as if I am crazy.
I just love music. Music has saved my life on countless occasions. Whether it is my music, or someone elses. Personally I could give a crap how many albums sold (gold= 100,000) or who they know, or what gender they are. Our souls have no gender. Music has the arcane ability to create a channel between the consciousness and the soul, to discount that on terms on popularity, gender, or financial solvency is to eliminate the only thing that makes music appetizing, the soul.

Marta: play your part, and if you're not content, keep pushing forward, but always try to ride parallel to the moment.

Thought I'd share this totally awesome video of this girl on Youtube.  She's uploaded scads of videos of herself playing guitar to Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, and The Smiths songs, as well some on bass and a few on drums.  I think she absolutely rocks!  This is also one of my favorite songs to play on bass, so my heart skipped a beat watching this.   And for anyone who wants to criticize her using a pick, that's how Simon Gallup (the original bassist) played it and so she copied his technique.  Quite intuitive!

So here she is playing "Another Journey by Train" by The Cure.  Enjoy!

Zoe, that's about my skill level. But I do play a fretless bass which gives me a bit more control over several aspects of "the music". It's a lot easier to get that funky boing sound on a fretless.  But, isn't that girl adorable? 

Cindi

some musics...though it was all written by him, not me.

http://soundcloud.com/signal-noise/in-transition-1

http://soundcloud.com/signal-noise/eyes-watch-from-the-darkness

http://soundcloud.com/signal-noise/mnemovore

http://soundcloud.com/signal-noise/cage-paradox

Just thought I would share this since it relates to the title. And, Metalocalypse is a great show.

Thunderhorse - Dethklok

And thanks Gravity Child for sharing those ambient tracks. I especially liked mnemovore.

I was always alientated from a lot of musicians I've worked with over the years. It wasn't related to gender but more related to the fact they all assumed I would be smoking dope or taking drugs like the rest of them were doing and I wasn't. I didn't like the drug culture that went with a lot of musicians.

Quote from: Naturally Blonde on August 25, 2011, 04:47:18 AM
I was always alientated from a lot of musicians I've worked with over the years. It wasn't related to gender but more related to the fact they all assumed I would be smoking dope or taking drugs like the rest of them were doing and I wasn't. I didn't like the drug culture that went with a lot of musicians.

Happily, I never took part in those rituals. So come hang out with me!

Quote from: niciwer on August 18, 2011, 06:15:41 PM
I've been in a few bands, and a big problem is that everybody wants to play guitar, and everybody can play guitar.  Everybody wants to sing, but not everybody can.  But generally, every band member is good at guitar.  Most bass players play guitar primarily, but find it's easier to play in a band as a bassist.
And I don't think sex or gender has anything to do with it.  Usually females are stereotyped to play bass or sing.

Nailed it. I have a song called "Just Another C*nt With A Guitar" and did a show at Sydney Fringe Festival about this exact phenomenon.

I will say girls tend to be stereotyped into a different style though, there is still a lot of sexism in music. A few months ago a guy came up to me after my bands set and told me how surprised he was that we didn't suck, when he saw three girls up there he thought it was going to be lame. Being rather drunk he then went on to hit on my (lesbian)  bandmates.