We do this for free
- Thread starter Jeremy Bender
- Start date
Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX
Local Boob
none of the stuff on that list seems like a bad thing to me....
dcrigger
PRO DRUMMER
There's a truth to this - but it is far from true across the board.... at least for me. And I expect for most that have made being a musician their primary profession.
I've done tons of gigs - where I had zero musical desire to be there playing. But I can take pride in my work as a professional, without actually loving performing that music on that day.
There's been plenty of gigs where I was paid because I was capable of doing something the person hiring me needed to have done. Of course, choosing this a career, vocation, or hobby includes bringing all of that stuff to the table as well,
And lots of gigs I would indeed do for free - feeling the money was compensation for the "overhead". Heck, I do plenty of things just simply for free.
But again, that doesn't apply across the board - many performances are just not that fun... or don't appeal to me as such. Those most definitely have to pay me for my time.... my time actually playing. (This isn't a bad thing - just a product of needing to play both for joy and fulfillment, but also to make money to pay the mortgage and put food on the table.)
I've done tons of gigs - where I had zero musical desire to be there playing. But I can take pride in my work as a professional, without actually loving performing that music on that day.
There's been plenty of gigs where I was paid because I was capable of doing something the person hiring me needed to have done. Of course, choosing this a career, vocation, or hobby includes bringing all of that stuff to the table as well,
And lots of gigs I would indeed do for free - feeling the money was compensation for the "overhead". Heck, I do plenty of things just simply for free.
But again, that doesn't apply across the board - many performances are just not that fun... or don't appeal to me as such. Those most definitely have to pay me for my time.... my time actually playing. (This isn't a bad thing - just a product of needing to play both for joy and fulfillment, but also to make money to pay the mortgage and put food on the table.)
A J
Silver Member
I disagree with the premise of this posting. It makes it sound like practicing, rehearsing and playing an instrument is some terrible chore. Frankly, it's not. It's a blast! We all have fun practicing with bandmates. We love the friendships and comraderie it brings. We love learning new things. We love playing our instruments.
Nothing about this posting is anything close to the truth. Yeah... It's a lot of work to be in a band, but it's not near as dramatic, tragic or heart-wrenching as this posting makes it out to be.
Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX
Local Boob
one of my personal crusades over the past 30+ years of teaching is to erase the myth that practicing is a chore. It never was for me, because the people who taught me never told me, or inferred by what ever means, that practicing sucked.
all of my teachers at an early age told me that practicing was a chance to play. And that playing was fun.
but I see and hear every day many of my music educator colleagues encouraging their students to do whatever they can to reduce practice time, and it sort of floors me. Why would you discourage people to play?
A J
Silver Member
Once again, you and I are in violent agreement. Even after 40 years of playing, drums are still magical to me. I absolutely love tuning, tweaking and experimenting with different setups, techniques and songs. Even at age 59, I love playing in front of a live audience. How anyone can suggest that this process is a terrible chore, is beyond me.
Just today, I played a large festival; biggest audience of my drumming career. It took place in the hot sun, with no overhead cover. At the end, I walked away exhausted, physically spent, but entirely happy. The lead guy reminded us in a text that we all will pick up our (cash) payments at the next practice. Frankly, I had so much fun, I forgot all about the money. Truth be told, I'd have done it all for free.
Like most things in life, playing drums (for us drummers, at least) is a choice. When I think about it in that light, it's not a chore. It's a lot easier to find enjoyment in a choice than in a chore. I'm retired now, but when I was working, folks would complain about the work conditions, the boss, fellow employees, the choice of soda pop in the pop machine, etc. I'd remind them that they drove to work on their own volition - nobody forced them. I'd say, "You might have to work for a living, but it doesn't have to be here. Stop complaining and get to work. Take pride in doing a good job. It might change your outlook."
Remind yourself that you get to play drums - you don't have to play drums.
FWIW, I don't gig anymore. All I get to do is practice and I consider myself lucky!
Remind yourself that you get to play drums - you don't have to play drums.
FWIW, I don't gig anymore. All I get to do is practice and I consider myself lucky!
What I take from the spirit of the OPs post is that people who don't play an instrument or who don't have experience of being in or around a band believe that everything we do is fun and easy, hence the lack of "shame" exhibited by strangers when they approach a band asking them to play for free.
There's nuance here. If I didn't enjoy playing and being in a band then I wouldn't do it, yes playing and gigging is fun. But conversely it's not always easy and fun there are brick walls to hit, frustrations to overcome etc some of which are internal others external. It's kind of like the old saying, if it's easy everyone would do it.
I've enjoyed rehearsals and practice, creating a song from nothing into something I'm proud of or more often since my dreams of being in an originals band disappeared taking a song written by someone else and making a good fist of it. I don't see any of that as being negative it's just that without that foundation I wouldn't be able to do what I do now and my interpretation of the OPs post is that people see the performance alone and don't appreciate what it took to get there.
An analogy, a plumber turns up to fix something in my house, does it with ease and charges me £50 for less than half an hour's work. I could grumble that £50 for under 30 minutes work is a rip off or I could think about how long it would have taken me to understand what was wrong, learn how to fix it, pay for the tools that he so casually pulled out of his case etc.
There's nuance here. If I didn't enjoy playing and being in a band then I wouldn't do it, yes playing and gigging is fun. But conversely it's not always easy and fun there are brick walls to hit, frustrations to overcome etc some of which are internal others external. It's kind of like the old saying, if it's easy everyone would do it.
I've enjoyed rehearsals and practice, creating a song from nothing into something I'm proud of or more often since my dreams of being in an originals band disappeared taking a song written by someone else and making a good fist of it. I don't see any of that as being negative it's just that without that foundation I wouldn't be able to do what I do now and my interpretation of the OPs post is that people see the performance alone and don't appreciate what it took to get there.
An analogy, a plumber turns up to fix something in my house, does it with ease and charges me £50 for less than half an hour's work. I could grumble that £50 for under 30 minutes work is a rip off or I could think about how long it would have taken me to understand what was wrong, learn how to fix it, pay for the tools that he so casually pulled out of his case etc.
Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX
Local Boob
yep...I have never had a gig that was "bad"....I have had a few gigs where my safety was in jeopardy, or where equipment failures happened etc, but they were all learning experiences...
I just think it is a matter of life perspective...
like @Smoke is mentioning above. I think too many people spend too much time looking to lament...looking for the "victim sympathy", and they do it b/c they get it. The bolded statement above would change a lot of people's lives if they would just let it
A J
Silver Member
I've had some "bad" gigs. But as you pointed out, every "bad" gig I played taught me a valuable life lesson and gave me great stories to tell around the campfire!
Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX
Local Boob
I've had some "bad" gigs. But as you pointed out, every "bad" gig I played taught me a valuable life lesson and gave me great stories to tell around the campfire!
yep, and gave me perspective to help avoid some trip-ups at other gigs down the road.
and I need some more campfires in my life to sit around!! Summer is coming