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Online Guitar Lessons – How To Survive A Gig Without Losing Your Passion For Playing Guitar
By Mike Hayes | March 30, 2009
Guitar players are an interesting lot, they spend hours of
private practice perfecting their instrumental skills, rehearsing
new material with other band members and looking for gigs.
To people outside the music industry this lifestyle appears to be
glamorous however professional guitar playing does have it’s own
unique problems like any other career.
Success on guitar as a professional guitarist has a lot to do
with your attitude and how you are able to cope with your
workplace.
Here’s 3 tips to help your guitar playing career get off to the best possible start.
1. Create a filter – how many times have you walked away from a
gig/band practice etc., vowing never to do that again only to find
yourself in exactly the same situation weeks/months/years later?
I have found it very useful to create a filter that I use to
qualify a gig/session/project etc.
It’s a very simple checklist:
The gig/practice/etc must score two out of three to qualify … if it
does not forget it, move on!
The gig must have …
(a) good money
(b) good fun
(c) connections for the future
Stick this checklist near the phone where you can see it, as you
talk to band members, managers, club owners etc., you will be
amazed at how powerful this checklist is, it allows you to have
the higher ground and move forward with your career without
distractions.
The best way to qualify a gig is right up front before you commit
your time and energies.
2. Develop a gig checklist – this is pretty obvious, however very
few guitarists actually do this, in fact this is one of the very
important things that separates professional guitarists from non-
professional guitarists.
How many times have you arrived at a gig and noticed some
seemingly insignificant article missing? Your whole performance can come to a screeching halt if your $20 guitar lead is left at home!!!
Here is a sample gig checklist, I have this list saved on my computer
so every time I have a gig/recording session etc., I can print out a copy
and check everything off the list as it’s packed in the car.
This gig checklist has saved me hundreds of dollars not to
mention a lot of unnecessary stress. I encourage you to make up your own relevant gig checklist.
Sample gig checklist:
1. guitar stand
2. amp manual
3. music
4. guitar leads
5. tuner
6. guitar
7. amp
8. strings
9. wire cutter
10. strap
11. pliers
12. picks
13. music stand
14. nail clippers
15. pencil
16. power board
17. A/C lead
18. effect rack
19. wah-wah pedal etc, etc
3. Assume nothing – Murphy’s law rules – recently I received a
phone call from a drummer who had been booked to play on a
recording session with me, the guy rang me to see why his drum
charts for the session hadn’t arrived in the mail.
I’m glad he rang as it turned out he had written the wrong date
in his gig book … he was going to turn up one month early for
the gig.
It’s that simple, anything can go wrong, our job is to minimize
the potential risk. The more experience you have the more you
value preparation
The more prepared you are the more relaxed you will be … therefore the better your performance under pressure will be.
Sample “assume nothing” – human error checklist
1. What is the date of the gig?
2. Where is the gig?
3. Type of gig – 21st party/wedding/corporate etc
3. What time is sound check?
4. Who is mixing?
5. Accommodation details
6. Start time – finish time
7. Payment details – amount/check/direct deposit
Have fun making your own list.
From Mike Hayes – The Guitar Coaching Guy & the Express Guitar System
http://www.GuitarCoaching.com
http://AdvancingGuitaristProgram.com
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