My Latest Blog Post: What does it mean to be a "Professional"?

drummergirlgina

drummergirlgina

Senior Member
pgm554

pgm554

Platinum Member
drummergirlgina said:
Hi everyone,

I have been pretty busy lately but wanted to share my latest Blog post, "What does it mean to be a "Professional"? I would love to hear your reactions? I'm younger than most but open to any input, as I'm sure many of you could contribute positively to this topic?

www.ginagdrums.com/blog

I would love to have your comments, here:
https://www.ginagdrums.com/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-professional/#respond

Please feel free to share...

Blessings!
"G"
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Bottom line is you get paid.
 
larryace

larryace

"Uncle Larry"
Here's my entry:

When what a person considers good musicians seek your drumming services. IMO there's more to being pro than making money. It's a total package kind of thing. A demand perhaps.

In my mind a part time musician can still be a pro.

BB King used to drive a bulldozer while he was cutting his teeth IIRC.

IMO the level of pro is directly proportional to what you can bring to the table musically, personally, and otherwise.
 
alparrott

alparrott

Platinum Member
Sorry I couldn't reach your blog from work (it's blocked from viewing), but I'll check it out at home. The topic makes me think of the old Avengers series where Steed was a "top professional" and Peel was a "talented amateur". (And why was she never compensated for her honestly superlative contributions?)

When one looks up the definition of "professional" you find that the adjective refers to someone "connected to a profession", or "engaged in a specified activity as one's main paid occupation". The noun "professional" means "a person engaged in or qualified in a profession". While very few of us (myself included) can lay claim to the second definition, many of us can reasonably be included in the other two.

Back when I was in the military, I often joked that as my pay covered me 24/7/365, anything I did I was getting paid for, e.g. I was a professional at whatever I did, whether it was jumping out of planes, mowing a lawn, cooking an omelette, or playing drums. Now I truthfully get paid for playing, but not enough to claim it as my sole or primary occupation.

But I get paid for doing it, so in my mind I am a professional. And that leads to another mode of thought: Since I am getting paid to do this, that makes me a professional - and so I should act professionally. And I try very hard to do this (a beer or two at the gig notwithstanding). I uphold my obligations, I respect the venue staff and patrons, and I am on time every time. So maybe that's the cultural or ethical distinction.

Great food for thought on a post-holiday Tuesday morning.
 
M

moxman

Silver Member
- it doesn’t necessarily just mean you are a pure full time musician as there are many pros who moonlight doing all kinds of other work to pay bills… or teaching students. BUT.. most pros are full time, dedicated to their craft.
- expertise, skills, attitude, experience, musical knowledge, very talented, reliable, the total package - and people are usually buying what they are selling!
- when you play with pros you never run into issues of them ‘messing up’, especially jazz players ; can walk in and play anything you throw at them.. they know their instrument upside down and can improvise all over the scales without going into the wrong key. They also understand time and rythmn
and you don’t need to use flash cards to explain how a rhythmic change occurs..
- if I hear a band and the players are messing up and playing wrong keys or stiff playing or the vocal harmonies are flat or the lighting gear falls over or etc... then they strike me as amateurs; unprepared, untrained and unpracticed.
 
GetAgrippa

GetAgrippa

Platinum Member
Being "professional" isn't what you do-but how you do it-integrity, effort, punctual, experienced, accomplished, and dedicated.
 
GruntersDad

GruntersDad

Administrator - Mayor
Staff member
GetAgrippa said:
Being "professional" isn't what you do-but how you do it-integrity, effort, punctual, experienced, accomplished, and dedicated.
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Agreed. To me it's as much an attitude as it is a pay check. I would go along with it being your main source of income as opposed to just making money at it. I was told at the hospital that we, all employees, need to act professional at all times. Obviously we were all doing our main income thing here, but I was a stock jockey for Pete's sake.
 
Andy

Andy

Administrator
Staff member
philrudd said:
Truth. I consider myself 'semi-professional' - I get paid, but not very much.
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Yup

GetAgrippa said:
Being "professional" isn't what you do-but how you do it-integrity, effort, punctual, experienced, accomplished, and dedicated.
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Absolutely.

There's professional by literal definition, then there's professional by attitude. Rolling them all into one isn't really telling you much. I've met many who are absolutely one without being the other - in both directions.

Dr_Watso said:
How stupid is that? You'd be bouncing all over the place in that thing while trying to do dental work?
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Fabulous curved ball comment - made me smile :)
 
toddbishop

toddbishop

Platinum Member
It doesn't have anything to do with how much money you make. Mainly it means you're in business. You may be succeeding, scuffling, or failing, but you're a professional if you're in business and are doing it seriously-- you have professional training, a certain amount of field experience, and follow professional standards of performance, ethics, and conduct.
 
larryace

larryace

"Uncle Larry"
Dr_Watso said:
How stupid is that? You'd be bouncing all over the place in that thing while trying to do dental work?
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See this is why I love you man.

Another fine entry in the long line of Watso-isms.

You should go through the DW archives, pull out all your clever stuff, and consolidate it into a book.

Really, you should be on TV. So instead of listening to you, I could turn you off :p
 
Dr_Watso

Dr_Watso

Platinum Member
larryace said:
Another fine entry in the long line of Watso-isms.

You should go through the DW archives, pull out all your clever stuff, and consolidate it into a book.
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Since just about everything I say is extremely important, profound, humble and clever there's no way I could ever do that by hand. And I think trying to use the search would surely crash it just due to how much cleverness I've put into the forum.

You'll just have to stay tuned so you don't miss the next thing I say that could have saved your life or changed the world.

Incidentally, if you want examples of professional behavior, you can reference the majority of my posts here.
 
GetAgrippa

GetAgrippa

Platinum Member
larryace said:
See this is why I love you man.

Another fine entry in the long line of Watso-isms.

You should go through the DW archives, pull out all your clever stuff, and consolidate it into a book.

Really, you should be on TV. So instead of listening to you, I could turn you off :p
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I like the book idea Larry-it would be great-maybe get Henri to illustrate it. It's inspiring me to write my own book "An Idiots Guide to being an Idiot". Hey I've got some pearls of idiocy wisdom and this will be the longer "intellectual version" so I'll later publish "Idiocy for Dummies" so I reach a larger audience. I've always wanted to be an Author of a book-I have been an Arthur of a Book-my kids made it for me.
 
J

J-Boogie

Gold Member
Call me crazy, but I honestly feel with your guidance I could become a better more well rounded idiot, more idiotic if you will. My opinion of what a professional drummer is is absolutely useless Im afraid, but Id say its a drummer who makes most of her/his income playing drums. Also, Im 100% positive that BB used a file for his teeth, his father, a well known orthodontist simply would not allow BB to use any cutting tools while working on his construction job. Common knowledge, crack a book sometime...
 
GetAgrippa

GetAgrippa

Platinum Member
Wow thanks for the encouragement and support J-Boogie. Maybe you can "right" the "Forward" to my book.
 
larryace

larryace

"Uncle Larry"
I for one don't need Art's idiot's guide to being an idiot.

It's just not possible for me to be any more of an idiot :)
 
Dr_Watso

Dr_Watso

Platinum Member
larryace said:
I for one don't need Art's idiot's guide to being an idiot.

It's just not possible for me to be any more of an idiot :)
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Pops always said, whatever you do or strive for, be the best you can at it. In other words, there's always room to improve your quest for idiocy.
 
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