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How Can You Become a Professional Musician?

by Joshua (J.Smo) Smotherman November 28, 2016 3:29 pm

Have you made up your mind that you want to attempt a career as a professional musician? If so, you have a lot of work ahead of you. This is certainly not an easy field to make a living in. That having been said, it can be a fun and financially rewarding career if you become successful. However, success will not come to you overnight. There are a number of things that you will need to do in order to improve your chances of making it big in the music industry. Here is some advice that can help guide you on your path towards becoming a professional musician.

1. Determine what your musical talent is.

You will need to choose an instrument. Some people are better equipped to play certain instruments. Choosing the right instrument is a critical decision. You must take this instrument very seriously once you have decided which one you will choose. You might discover that you want to be a singer because you do not want to play an instrument. The most important thing is selecting a musical skill that you can improve at and eventually master in the future.

2. Schedule regular lessons and gradually improve your musical talent.

You will never be able to become great at singing or playing an instrument if you only practice by yourself. You need the input of someone who is already very skilled at the particular instrument that you want to learn how to play. Likewise, you also need the input of a professional singer if you want to seriously improve your ability to sing. This is why it will be necessary for you to schedule lessons with someone in your area. They might be able to come to your house to make it more convenient for you. Try to schedule at least two lessons each week.

3. Practice singing or playing your instrument whenever you have free time.

Do not wait until your lessons to practice singing or playing your instrument. You will need to do these things in your spare time as often as possible. This is the only way you are going to get better. The person who is giving you lessons will most likely give you things to practice between sessions. Make sure that you take your studying very seriously. Set time in your schedule aside to practice. Otherwise, you will never improve.

4. Find people who like similar types of music to play with.

The next step is forming a band so you can all play together. The hard part will be finding people who are interested in playing the same style of music that appeals to you. It would be a good idea to place an advertisement in the classified section of your local newspaper. You could also go online and place an ad on a website that has classified ads. You could also post an ad on the bulletin boards of the colleges in your area.

5. Hire an experienced person to manage your band.

You need to find a person who has experience managing musical artists. Coran Capshaw has made quite a career for himself managing musicians. Finding a manager with as much experience as Coran would be a huge asset for your band.

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About Joshua (J.Smo) Smotherman

Joshua is a music business consultant currently serving as COO of Unlimited Sounds, a boutique publishing admin & consulting firm based in Northern California. He also serves as director of Pac Ave Records, a student-run record label. He is an archivist and curator via Indie Music Discovery.com, co-founded with C Bret Campbell in 2011. He is also a Father of 3 and an all purpose jedi... but before any of this, he was and still creates as an indie/DIY songwriter and producer. Connect on IG. Read full bio.

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