Pros/etc

For me, a pro musician is one who decides to make his/her $$$ through music...for me that includes playing many kinds of gigs and teaching...and hell, there's many other things one can do as well, from owning a studio to arranging for orchestras, writing commercials, and much more. It's a path I chose 39 years ago, and still at it. But, for me, composing is more important than anything else, it's what I really love to do...looking for new worlds of sounds has been my calling since i first heard Jeff Beck at 14, playing "Over Under Sideways Down," that was it, still looking, and that's why I love the study of tunings...there are endless pathways to walk there. As far as making "pro" quality recordings...look, folks should do whatever they are suited to do, and that's it. But, if one wants to compete at the level of getting their stuff reviewed in the big mags, or playing shows on a professional level...eat your wheaties, cause the competition is stiff. If you send your CD to Guitar Player, Downbeat, or mags of that calibre, be advised that many many artists are doing the same, and you have a much better chance of being taken seriously if your product is world class. But...don't worry about it if that's not your field...make the music you truly enjoy, in any format you wish, and have a blast...it's that simple. Most of my students are not gonna go pro, but they love playing music anyway, and I encourage them to do the best they can, for their level of ability...in fact, what else can a person do? Best to all in 2011...Hstick www.microstick.net

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Neil>"As far as making "pro" quality recordings...look, folks should do whatever
they are suited to do, and that's it."
...BUT...
"if one wants to compete at the level of getting their stuff reviewed in the big
mags, or playing shows on a professional level...eat your wheaties, cause the
competition is stiff."

My point exactly. Composition, I believe and agree, is what so many of us
agree should be of most importance...it would be nice if one could simply
compose very well and earn widespread respect in the scene. However, when it
comes down to it, sadly, in the world of commercial music, one of the easy ways
used to single people out (with so many people competing for the same honor in
music) is production quality and how many fans people have in live acts that
promoters can count as a following.
And this often means thousands of fans and/or studio-produced level sound
quality being minimum requirement...especially when promoters get so many
records mailed to them and tons of them, on a compositional level, sound very
solid...and they need a way to narrow things down.
Not that it "should be that way"...but that, like it or not, it is.

>"Most of my students are not gonna go pro, but they love playing music anyway,
>and I encourage them to do the best they can, for their level of ability"

Likewise...I'm not saying there's anything harmful about having, say, many
"non-pro" musicians in an art. In fact, many such "amateurs", IMVHO, are in
many cases a huge reason and inspiration from where those who are "pro" get many
of their ideas. The music scene needs them, ultimately I believe, as much as
the big-name acts...they are often a large part of the foundation of the scene.
However, when it comes to breaking through, having a few good ambassadors with
qualities the average person would consider "pro" can only help a lot...and that
includes microtonality.

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