guitar gun case image
kdog
I've been playing guitar for less than a year, but have become very passionate about it. Any advice? Thanks.
Answer
I agree with everything the previous poster said, but most session players aren't employed by studios. They're basically guns for hire who are brought in when needed, so most of them earn the bulk of their income from other things. I know session players who are composers and who have successful bands of their own, as well as some who have ordinary day jobs.
You'll need to be able to play virtually any style of music to become a widely used session player and you'll be expected to sight read, as well as improvise well. I remember an engineer using the phrase "angry Indian" to describe what he wanted from a session guitarist and it took two attempts before the guitarist had the perfect riff. And session players don't exactly start out as session players. They're generally active musicians whose skill level is so much higher than their peers that they're regarded as go-to players by their friends. Basically, they play with bands and establish themselves as part of their regional music scenes, which is how they meet other musicians. It's through recording with their own and their friends' bands that they become known to studio engineers who then call on them when they're recording something and need a ringer.
Since session players (at least all of them I've known) are paid by the job, they can't count on steady or huge incomes. Many of them, once their reputations are cemented, are hired by national and international touring acts as members of their road bands. One guitarist I know does session work around Atlanta and has toured twice with Madonna, but he barely ekes out a living. The hard thing about making a living in music is that there are millions of talented people competing for very few paying jobs. Whenever that's the case (any career in the arts, for instance), the jobs don't pay well because there are too many people who'll gladly do the work for free. For every "celebrity" session player (Rusty Anderson, for example, whose name is known throughout the industry), there are dozens of others who can barely pay their rent. I know a guy who toured with Madonna twice, in fact, and who routinely does session work in Atlanta and Nashville, but whose primary income comes from teaching lessons. When I asked if playing with Madonna paid well, he laughed and said it looks good on a resume.
I agree with everything the previous poster said, but most session players aren't employed by studios. They're basically guns for hire who are brought in when needed, so most of them earn the bulk of their income from other things. I know session players who are composers and who have successful bands of their own, as well as some who have ordinary day jobs.
You'll need to be able to play virtually any style of music to become a widely used session player and you'll be expected to sight read, as well as improvise well. I remember an engineer using the phrase "angry Indian" to describe what he wanted from a session guitarist and it took two attempts before the guitarist had the perfect riff. And session players don't exactly start out as session players. They're generally active musicians whose skill level is so much higher than their peers that they're regarded as go-to players by their friends. Basically, they play with bands and establish themselves as part of their regional music scenes, which is how they meet other musicians. It's through recording with their own and their friends' bands that they become known to studio engineers who then call on them when they're recording something and need a ringer.
Since session players (at least all of them I've known) are paid by the job, they can't count on steady or huge incomes. Many of them, once their reputations are cemented, are hired by national and international touring acts as members of their road bands. One guitarist I know does session work around Atlanta and has toured twice with Madonna, but he barely ekes out a living. The hard thing about making a living in music is that there are millions of talented people competing for very few paying jobs. Whenever that's the case (any career in the arts, for instance), the jobs don't pay well because there are too many people who'll gladly do the work for free. For every "celebrity" session player (Rusty Anderson, for example, whose name is known throughout the industry), there are dozens of others who can barely pay their rent. I know a guy who toured with Madonna twice, in fact, and who routinely does session work in Atlanta and Nashville, but whose primary income comes from teaching lessons. When I asked if playing with Madonna paid well, he laughed and said it looks good on a resume.
Powered By Y! Answer Blogger Poster
No comments:
Post a Comment