Brian Doherty, Solo artist,
http://www.briandoherty.net
“First of all, figure out what you do well and what your goals are. You may think you
are good at your instrument, but if you want to make a living at this, you need to honestly
assess your skills. This could mean going to school for music, auditioning for a band or
orchestra, going to jam sessions. Getting into the environment where the best musicians
play. I’ve met many people who think they can have a career as a musician but have little
or no talent. Their teachers continue to take their money and feed their delusions, which
does these people a great disservice. You have to be honest with people. That being said, I
don’t want to discourage people from following their passion.
You have to find your niche. If your goal is to land a job in an orchestra, you have to
have a mastery of your instrument, classical training, and know the repertoire inside and
out. There is no way around this. If your goal is to make it as a punk rocker, it’s more
about attitude than technique, and you have and you have to develop your skills as a
songwriter, develop your stage presence, be on the scene, etc. Maybe you'll find that your
passion for music will take you into the business end, managing or promoting artists, etc.
Know what you want to do and what skill set it requires. Work to improve your weak-
nesses, and go for it.
I think the following guidelines apply if you want to have a succesfull career as a mu-
sician:
[
- Don't suck.