Professional musicians on this board question

Kehaulani

barliman - is that a Gala Band you play in? I did a lot f ballroom dance contests in Germany. I liked them because they were so well organized and the music was fun.

Bob Pixley

Many years ago I played 3rd trumpet in a local semi-pro symphony orchestra that hosted some well-known artists, such as Maurice Andre, Victor Borge, Doc Severinsen, the Canadian Brass, Yo-Yo Ma, Yehudi Menuhin, and Benny Goodman. I've also played in a brass band which featured a few famous guest artists, including Philip Smith and James Watson. Toured the eastern U.S. for about 20 years with a band playing various events (while holding down a day job), and recorded 4 CDs along the way with that group. I've also recorded music used on a couple Ken Burns PBS specials, and performed on Eb cornet in a movie that wasn't very good and went straight to DVD...lol

However, I'm not a professional musician...more of a useful hack who's been pretty lucky.

A Former User

This string might be a good candidate for what my board calls a "sticky". Pin it to the top of a string so people wandering in and seeing one of the regulars expounding in some didactic or proselytizing way they can check out this string to see the self professed credentials from which the teaching comes. And on the other hand, if someone like me should start spouting off it can be seen as probably just jabbering. Not to say that an appeal to authority is any kind of logical argument for anything....but it is the way to bet.

Trumpetsplus

@Niner Not a bad idea, but it may transform the forum into something other than a friendly chat station. And it may impinge on the right (which I wholeheartedly defend) of members to remain anonymous. I've seen in other places where beginners ask for advice and the most advice came from the least knowledgeable. Anyone can construct a fake bio. This is a big reason why I have always chosen to be identifiable. I may not be right all the time, but you can always know the background from where my error has come.

Just because someone is an absolute expert player does not mean they will have an unchallengeable opinion about a practice routine for player X or equipment for player Y. Such a sticky might present that they do.

barliman2001

@Kehaulani It's a dance band in a big band formation.

Kehaulani

@Dr-GO said in Professional musicians on this board question:

I had played with Kenny Drew, Jr until his death a couple of years ago.

Unbelievable talent. I heard his dad at the Montmartre years ago in Copenhagen and then had the pleasure of hearing Jr. in Perugia, Italy with the Mingus Big Band.

That band has some incredible musicians in it and when someone soloed, didn't necessarily register their reaction. I guess it was common place for them. But Kenny had a solo and little by little, I noticed all players had turned facing him to hear and savor the moment. He was awesome.

BTW, Eddie Brookshire Quintet, and you, play their butts off. That album is a gas!

Dr GO

@Kehaulani said in Professional musicians on this board question:

BTW, Eddie Brookshire Quintet, and you, play their butts off. That album is a gas!

Thanks Kehaulani! That album was a real work of love. Eddie drove the band hard, but Kenny was the talent that blended all that energy into a unifying force.

Tobylou8

I got paid for playing in church for a couple years. It was commercial material but not sure how widespread the original was, let alone any cover recording we did that may have been released. I do remember listening to a friend playing a tune with some nice trumpet on it. I asked who it was? He looked at me and smiled, "It's you"! Anyway, I'm on a couple of church recordings but I don't know if I'm credited. Both CDs took so long to come out after all the hype, I don't know if they sold well at all. Ironically, I played for free those 8 yrs, but they wanted me to pay $20 each for the CDs!!! None of the community band work on FB and maybe Youtube is credited and the recording quality is commensurate with the pay! LOL

tmd

@Trumpetsplus said in Professional musicians on this board question:

Just because someone is an absolute expert player does not mean they will have an unchallengeable opinion about a practice routine for player X or equipment for player Y. Such a sticky might present that they do.

Agreed. Getting paid to play and speaking with authority don't always go hand-in-hand.

But it's interesting to see what others have done. Thanks to the OP for starting this thread. I also think it might be nice to have video section, where just for fun, we can post videos of our performances (paid or otherwise), or videos of what we've been learning.

To answer the OP, I'm a music school dropout, who changed college majors before graduating. I have never been a professional musician, in that I have never fully supported myself financially by playing the trumpet. I view myself as a "weekend warrior", in that I gig outside of my regular day job. I run a small jazz trio, with about 4 paid gigs a month. Most of my gigs are at restaurants, outdoor fairs, nursing homes, and private parties.

Mike

GeorgeB

Yeah, between 1954 and 1965 I had a little 5 piece combo, and during this period, as a union member, there was rarely a week without some kind of paying gig or gigs. This was while holding down a full time job so I was not a pro either, and never prentended to be. Like Mike, we called ourselves weekend warriors. But in those times there were many opportunities for small bands in Nova Scotia. Not so these days.

Newell Post

@GeorgeB If you got paid, then you meet the traditional definition of a professional. You don't need to earn your full-time living doing it.

tmd

@Newell-Post said in Professional musicians on this board question:

@GeorgeB If you got paid, then you meet the traditional definition of a professional. You don't need to earn your full-time living doing it.

My definition is different ... You're a professional trumpet player, if playing the trumpet is how you make a living. Of course, it's okay to have different definitions. And I think GeorgeB's definition is very reasonable, too. And I think many would agree with him.

Mike

Dr GO

@tmd said in Professional musicians on this board question:

My definition is different ... You're a professional trumpet player, if playing the trumpet is how you make a living. Of course, it's okay to have different definitions. And I think GeorgeB's definition is very reasonable, too. And I think many would agree with him.

Mike

Interesting concept, but let me put this real time scenario to you. There has been a several of years where my income as a musician surpassed my clinical income as a physician. So in the years I earned more as a musician, I was a professional musician and as a physician I was a quack. And the years I made more as a physician, I was a doctor and as a musician I was a hack?

Dr GO

Another position. I am a union member for the American Federation of Musicians. I am a member of the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American College of Physicians. So do either of these memberships acknowledge that I am a Professional Musician or a Professional Physician.

Dr GO

Let me put this another way, I am licensed by the State of Ohio to practice medicine. I do not know of any state that licences musicians. Does not being licensed as a musician make me less of a professional?

Dr GO

From my training in medical school, we discussed in our ethics class what it means to be a professional, and individuals brought up physicians, lawyers, plumbers, electricians, but at the time, musicians (another healing art) were not discussed. Perhaps the committee that came together to publish Merriam Webster's definition speaks best to this:

Dr GO

@Dr-GO said in Professional musicians on this board question:

Another position. I am a union member for the American Federation of Musicians. I am also a chemist. There is no chemistry union, but there is the American Chemical Society of which I am also a member. Now here is the real interesting part:

As an American Federation of Musicians member, I interpret unionized as UNION-ized.

As an American Chemical Society member, I interpret unionized as UN-ionized.

So maybe there is a difference? (at least for chemists)

Dr GO

And finally, this is no joke, there was a residency in one of the hospitals in New York City, where working conditions were so poor for the surgical residents, that they were looking for a union to represent them so they could legally go on strike against the hospital. One union came forward to represent the surgeons...

you all ready for this... again... no joke

The Meat Cutters Union!

tmd

@Dr-GO said in Professional musicians on this board question:

Interesting concept, but let me put this real time scenario to you. There has been a several of years where my income as a musician surpassed my clinical income as a physician. So in the years I earned more as a musician, I was a professional musician and as a physician I was a quack. And the years I made more as a physician, I was a doctor and as a musician I was a hack?

Quack vs hack ... your words, not mine. (Just kidding) I've been called worse.

You're absolutely correct, that there are different ways to look at it.

Let me know the next time you'll be in DC. Let's get together.

Mike

Kehaulani

@tmd Here we go again.