what is the definition of a professional musician?

HeadRush

HeadRush

Senior Member
I've been wondering what exactly makes a professional, professional. does it have to do with the amount of money they make, hours in the studio, how much they have toured?
in the past two weeks, I have spent about 8 or 9 hours a day in the studio (converted garage) writing and recording for a television show being created by my brother, who is a film student, playing guitar, drums, and keyboard. I'm kind of wondering if I might be described as a professional musician. if not, what does it take to be considered such? if so, what about the work I do makes me one?

thank you,
Erik
 
Well, it could be as simple a thing as getting paid for playing music to the extent that it's your sole source of income, but i also think it means playing at a standard that makes people want to hire you, and being versatile enough to handle yourself in a number of different musical situations. A producer loves musicians who can play rock, country, R&B, and so on. Being able to read music is pretty much a given. Having good gear, presenting yourself well, showing up on time, all that is is the hallmark of a professional. Of course I'm only speaking of working as a free-lance musician. It's a whole other thing if you're in a succesful band obviously. I mean, the Ramones were professional musicians.
 
If you count the money you make doing music (whatever that may be...performing, teaching, recording, etc...) towards your total income, than you are a professional musician.

You can also talk about "professional musician qualities", like being capable at your instrument, being punctual, dependable, courteous, able to flow with changes, make quality art, etc. This is when people say, "Man that [so and so] is a real professional!".
 
Well...


I've always considered the word "professional" as I would in a "sports" context.

If you get compensated, whether in a monetary or other "gainful" way.


;-)
 
To me it goes like this:

Music is your main job and (hopefully) pays the bills = professional

Income from music augments your income = semi-professional

Income from music is minimal or absent = just doing it for love

As with everything there are grey areas.

Even though I gigged regularly during the 80s and early 90s my costs with gear, rehearsal rooms, recording costs, sticks 'n' skins, buying music etc far outweighed my crappy pay packets (including a princely $44 in the post for performance rights) so I figure I was an amateur wannabe semi-pro musician.

The closest I came to semi-pro was I moved back home to study and was receiving $55 per week in tertiary assistance but did fill-ins for a friend in a restaurant band with a bunch of Malayan guys where each gig would double my pay for the week, along with a free Chinese meal (but those guys were damn fast with their chopsticks so I'd really have to gobble to food down to get my fair share!).
 
Pollyanna said:
To me it goes like this:

Music is your main job and (hopefully) pays the bills = professional

Income from music augments your income = semi-professional

Income from music is minimal or absent = just doing it for love

As with everything there are grey areas.
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I am not sure if I agree with this
in a way I feel that if someone wants your product or you are putting out a professional product, that should be considered professional
but the fact of using the income as a base for classification, I find that a little off.
 
First, what is a profession? This is a career that is regulated by a professional body. The professional body licenses its members to carry out their roles and responsibilities. Should that duty of care be breached, the professional body can take away their license. Teachers, lawyers, engineers, nurses, doctors, chartered accountants, etc are licensed by their professional body and are therefore professionals.

Others call themselves "professional" if they make money from plying their trade (e.g. truck driver, hockey player, project manager, etc.). Strictly speaking, calling oneself a professional because you earn money is incorrect if you do not belong to a professional organization that licenses you. However, earning money at one's trade is a generally accepted definition of being a "professional".

So, can a drummer ever be considered a professional?

GJS
 
I would have to agree with Pollyanna on this.

Your profession is what you do for a living.

Having "professional ethics", or playing "as well as a professional" does not make you a professional.
 
HeadRush said:
I am not sure if I agree with this
in a way I feel that if someone wants your product or you are putting out a professional product, that should be considered professional
but the fact of using the income as a base for classification, I find that a little off.
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That would be professional quality. Profession by definition means what you do for a living which relates to income.
 
As already said a little differently, professional was once a legal term indentifying a person in a profession that is self regulated and those in the profession are subject to peer review. Government and the courts, for better and worse, have taken over much of that responsibility. This is what differentiated a profession from an occupation. Profession being the root word of professional.
 
So, can a drummer ever be considered a professional?
Click to expand...

You betcha. I have worked in HR for years (an HR professional - diety have mercy on my soul) and according the ANZSCO occupational classification system musicians are counted as "Professionals" - as opposed to Managers, Technical and Trades Workers, (various) Clerical Workers, Sales, Health, Machinery Operators/Drivers and Labourers.

Professionals -->Arts & Media Professionals-->Arts professionals-->Music professionals

The code then says:

UNIT GROUP 2112 MUSIC PROFESSIONALS

MUSIC PROFESSIONALS write, arrange, orchestrate, conduct and perform musical compositions.

Indicative Skill Level: In Australia and New Zealand:

Most occupations in this unit group have a level of skill commensurate with a bachelor degree or higher qualification. At least five years of relevant experience may substitute for the formal qualification. Some occupations in this unit group require high levels of creative talent or personal commitment and interest as well as, or in place of, formal qualifications or experience (ANZSCO Skill Level 1).

Tasks Include:
o creating melodic, harmonic and rhythmic structures to express ideas and emotions in musical form
o translating ideas and concepts into standard musical signs and symbols for reproduction and performance
o undertaking research and liaising with clients when composing musical backing for television commercials, popular recordings, and radio, television and film productions
o auditioning and selecting musicians and Singers
o selecting music for performances and assigning instrumental parts to musicians
o directing musical groups at rehearsals and performances to achieve desired effects such as tonal and harmonic balance, rhythm and tempo
o studying and rehearsing repertoire and musical scores prior to performances
o playing music in recital, as an accompanist, or as a member of an orchestra, band or other musical group, from score and by memory
o performing music and songs according to interpretation, direction and style of presentation, using highly developed aural skills to reproduce music

Occupations:
211211 Composer
211212 Music Director
211213 Musician (Instrumental)
211214 Singer
211299 Music Professionals nec

211213 MUSICIAN (INSTRUMENTAL)
Alternative Title: Instrumentalist

Entertains by playing one or more musical instruments. This occupation requires high levels of creative talent or personal commitment and interest as well as, or in place of, formal qualifications or experience.

Skill Level: 1

Specialisations:
Drummer
Guitarist
Pianist
Violinist

Obviously the ABS is just providing samples. I expect it's a similar situation in the US, UK etc. You will probably see yourself in those lists. So, yes, drummers can be professionals along with lawyers, doctors, engineers and, dare I say it, HR professionals :)


I am not sure if I agree with this. in a way I feel that if someone wants your product or you are putting out a professional product, that should be considered professional
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Yeah, it's a fair point - you're providing professional services. Still, here's another example. I'm also a cartoonist in my spare time and have had my silly little creations published in small news outlets, magazines, websites, newsletters, journals, academic papers, intranets, training materials, hung on school walls and heaps of blogs, but I have never seen myself as a professional because I provide it royalty-free to cash-strapped and not-for-profit individuals and organisations. It's just fun and if people want to use them, sure, but it's not my profession as such.

So, if you don't make money from it then I guess whether you're a professional or not depends on how you look at it.
 
Skulmoski said:
First, what is a profession? This is a career that is regulated by a professional body. The professional body licenses its members to carry out their roles and responsibilities. Should that duty of care be breached, the professional body can take away their license. Teachers, lawyers, engineers, nurses, doctors, chartered accountants, etc are licensed by their professional body and are therefore professionals.

Others call themselves "professional" if they make money from plying their trade (e.g. truck driver, hockey player, project manager, etc.). Strictly speaking, calling oneself a professional because you earn money is incorrect if you do not belong to a professional organization that licenses you. However, earning money at one's trade is a generally accepted definition of being a "professional".

So, can a drummer ever be considered a professional?

GJS
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This has to be one of the most absurd things I've ever read. "Can a drummer ever be considered a professional." Oh brother.
 
DrumEatDrum said:
Pretty simple:

When you claim income from drumming on your taxes.
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Almost. When someone make something on the side playing drums I would consider them semi-professional. I consider myself semi-professional because I teach drums for some extra $$, but I am actually a full time student.

When you rely on drumming for the majority or the whole of your income I'd consider you professional.

I don't think someone can be classified as professional based on their skill level. Professionals are often associated with highly developed skills because that is usually a necessity to end up as a professional. Note: usually. Not always, considering empirical evidence.
 
If you make your living off your music, you are a professional musician. You can argue the finer points of it all (many people say that anyone who gets paid at all is a professional, if so, there are arguably more professional musicians out there than amatures, because it's easy to find one paying gig in your lifetime)...but to me, the term "professional" implies that it's what you do for your career, and what you are doing regularly and currently.

In regards to the original post, it sounds like you were writing and recording music in a converted garage for a film student's project. That's not being a professional, that's being an amature and working with another amature. However, there is nothing wrong with that...you have to be a darn good amature and have lots of experiences like that before you can become a professional. Before I went pro, I not only did stuff like what you are talking about for local college students, but also did some national television recording (that was unpaid). I got to go to a professional studio in Philly, cut tracks, and hear them on national television...but I was still an amature. That really helped launch my career, however.
 
One other thought about this: I think to really figure out what "professional musician" means to you, you have to take the term "musician" out, because it is something that we all are on here, and thus all want to be seen as pros.

Ask yourself what it would mean to you if someone said they were a professional plumber. Would you think they did plumbing, but didn't get paid, or didn't make a living off of it? Probably not. Would you think that they sat at home and worked on their own pipes every night, but never actually worked on anyone else's? Probably not. If you look at it this way, it makes it easier to see what "professional musician" really means to you.
 
"UNIT GROUP 2112 MUSIC PROFESSIONALS"

Ha ! Pretty sneeky of them naming a job classification after a famous drum recording !! (Maybe this is the under-cover name that Rush uses when they check into hotels).
 
I would agree with Pollyanna also. Remember she did say there were grey areas.
I use to get paid for shooting darts, tournaments etc, but by no means did I consider my self a professional. I would tend to think it does have to do with the profession being your main income and not just that you made some money doing it. I taught swimming lessons and coached swim teams to get myself through college, but didn't consider myself a professional, since my profession was yet to be determined.
 
Skulmoski said:
First, what is a profession? This is a career that is regulated by a professional body. The professional body licenses its members to carry out their roles and responsibilities. Should that duty of care be breached, the professional body can take away their license. Teachers, lawyers, engineers, nurses, doctors, chartered accountants, etc are licensed by their professional body and are therefore professionals.

Others call themselves "professional" if they make money from plying their trade (e.g. truck driver, hockey player, project manager, etc.). Strictly speaking, calling oneself a professional because you earn money is incorrect if you do not belong to a professional organization that licenses you. However, earning money at one's trade is a generally accepted definition of being a "professional".

So, can a drummer ever be considered a professional?

GJS
Click to expand...

Yes if they belong to the Musicians Union, which regulates their profession.
 
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