sft 42 fill me up!

[crowdpleeser]

sft 42 fill me up with ALL your musical knowledge! I have just read that you are a musician. I really want to know all your tips and advice..............

[sft42]

He shoots....He scores!!!!.......Yes guilty as charged....what do you want to know then??? I was originally a DJ in Glasgow for 6 years (and played in a small pub band) and have been a gigging guitarist and singer for the past 4 years in 4 different bands covering a few different styles.....The best tips i can give is to be in it for the enjoyment of the music not the women (or men!!) or the dosh.....regardless of the instrument you play try and learn another one or two or try different tunings if your a guitarist (I play guitar, bouzoki, mandolin and bodhran)......a biggie is to listen to as many different genres of music that you can...i play mostly acoustic folk and 70s stuff but i've been known to throw the bass line to Enter Sandman by Metallica into Star of the County Down....always good for a laugh and will get you onside with people even if you ain't really playing stuff that they like if you can show that you know and are aware if other styles......what else...eemmm.....if you a cover band and not doing original stuff then a good thing is to learn to read crowds no point in bashing out Motorhead if the pub is full of OAP's is there? Try and learn at least half a dozen songs from artists like the Eagles etc......you might not like them but the punters lap it up and your there to entertain!.....if your doing original stuff your on a sticky wicket if your going down like a lead balloon...the only way out is to pull your best song in early even if you normally leave it till the end....they may just stay to hear the rest of the set...no point in keeping the best till last if there's no-one left in the pub......

[crowdpleeser]

thanks sft 42. I've been playing the guitar for about 8 years now, and for the last six months I've been learning the bass. Unfortunately, I AM in it for the money........ I've kind of failed at doing other things.....so I think being a musician is probably the only thing I can earn money from. That's not to say I don't enjoy having a jam, but the incentive for taking it further is me being able to make a living from it. I've heard that music is notorious for being badly paid, but I'm willing to give it a go.......anyways, thanks a lot for the tips.................