27 tips from a professional musician

I've worked as a full-time professional musician for ten years and during that time picked up a few tips and tricks on things you should and shouldn't do! So today I'm going to impart on your 27 things that will help you in your career as a working musician.

And, an extra special thanks goes to Douglas Lind, Vidad Flowers, Ivan Pang, Waylon Fairbanks, Jon Dye, Austin Russell, Christopher Ryan, Toot & Paul Peijzel, the channel’s Patreon saints! 😇

0:00 Introduction
0:44 be direct!
1:26 give out your phone number
2:05 learn to drive
2:43 play multiple instruments
3:09 make a showreel
3:30 check your spam
3:53 keep a good calendar
4:20 Happy Birthday
4:45 Christmas music
5:03 Auld Lang Syne
5:20 learn the standards
6:00 practice until you can't get it wrong
6:32 download maps
6:58 PAT testing
7:12 PLI
7:32 remember names
7:47 don't wear your stage clothes to the gig
8:19 food, water & coffee
8:40 spares
9:18 aux cable
9:47 event photographers
10:00 transpose button
11:51 know how to use your gear
13:21 ear plugs
14:10 receipts
14:44 be friendly
15:31 have fun!
16:06 Timbro
17:00 Patreon

[jonathanwingmusic]

#4 - Be a Multi-Instrumentalist – as one myself (piano, guitar, cello, bass, drums, singing) people tend to throw around the old "jack of all trades, master of none" thing. But the reality is, every instrument has informed the other, and thereby enriched and improved my playing of each all around. From rhythm to ear training, I find that when I practice one instrument for awhile, and pick up another, it's weirdly as if I had practiced that one too – because in so many ways, when you understand the theory and have developed your ear, there's truly so much overlap. Added bonus is you think about your primary instrument a little differently – which will make you more creative and come up with ideas for licks you never normally would have (approaching piano with ideas earned from guitar playing or vice-versa).

[johnbrunsdon]

The guitar version of watching out for transpose is making sure the capo is on the right fret. I once did a gig where I put the capo on 4 instead of 3 - made even worse by the guitar coming in on its own after a big full-band intro. Funnily enough, someone in the audience came up to me afterwards and told me he’d seen the capo was on the wrong fret and was trying to wave at me to alert me!

[PhattSpicer]

Another tip whilst tuning an instrument is use the mute button if you can. Tuning instruments audibly can irritate audiences. Great tips and can relate to all of these!

[teye-master]

I've made my living off of playing the guitar for 30 years of my life. These 27 tips are either things I did or things I wish I'd done. Hats off to David B for putting them all in one very watchable video!

[jakestewartmusic]

Great tips! Some additional ones I learned from years of gigging & touring=

-simplify your gear as much as possible. less failure points, less complicated, more portable, and easier to have the necessary backups with you.

-learn how to communicate what you need to sound engineers. understanding the basics of sound/production will only help you in your music career, and being able to clearly communicate about sound is essential for a smooth sound check.

-for anyone relying on tube amps, get some kind of amp emulation pedal with which you can play direct as a backup. Sansamp, Iridium, HX Stomp, etc are worth their weight in gold to guitarists and bassists. i've had amps stop working on stage numerous times - it happens, so be prepared.

[alfiemckeough]

The transpose button problem is all too familiar to me. The first gig I ever did we performed “Hit the Road Jack”. We decided to play it in A minor instead of the original Ab minor to better fit the singers range.
However, somehow this info never got to the keys player (I believe she didn’t even know what the transpose button was) and she just played it in Ab on the gig.
Idk how we never noticed in the rehearsal room but it was definitely a mistake we never made again.

[ledbeatle]

Solid advice. As a musician myself literally everything you said I’ve had experience with and is incredibly valuable

[SilentAttackTV]

One great piece of advice for guitarists and bassists is to pull the amplifier jack from behind and through your strap and then connect it to your guitar, instead of having it hang from the front of your guitar. That way, if you accidentally step on the chord it won't unplug because the friction of the strap prevents it from moving.

[doctormojo]

I would add...
Take a small set of tools (screwdrivers, pliers, scissors, electrical/duct tape) to every gig
Don't drink much, if at all, while you're working
Two things that make bands look good: interesting/different song endings, and quick transitions between songs
Even from behind the drums I can tell if we're too loud: see how close audience members have to be to each other when they're talking. If the talker has yell right in the ear of their interlocutor, you're too loud. Bartenders also hate it when they can't hear customers' orders.
When booking gigs - be persistent, and never expect a booker who doesn't know you to return a call. They won't. Work out how best to contact them, which the venue staff can often help you with. I knew one bar owner who only booked by text between 1pm and 3pm on Wednesdays.

[TigerRogers]

David, regarding earplugs, i got the ones that are moulded to your own ears. These can be especially made just to cut out the dangerous high frequencies, but let everything else thru. That way you can still hear everything clearly. These really saved my ears in all the years i was a sound guy for bands.

[jameslangridge]

Quarter (not even semi)-pro musician, and these are all great tips. One other thing I did that helped tremendously was create my gig bag and a laminated printed A4 sheet of paper, with a marker, listing the gear that needed to be in there, so I could check it off before and after and know I haven't left any adapters, plugs, cords, pedals etc, anywhere. Also, don't ever be late. Best advice I got was be earlier than you think, so that you can relax and feel the energy of the place you are playing at and have a chance to gauge the sound and set-up. I played so many outside gigs where I found the perfect/ideal spot, both visually and sound-wise, because I could look around and was not rushed to set-up.

[DrProgNerd]

"Amateurs practice until they get it right. Professionals practice until they can't get it wrong." Loved this one.
My last band practiced together 3-5 hours - 3 days per week - on top of our personal at-home practice. It made an enormous difference.
Other musicians would see us and say we were 'naturals' but - truthfully, we weren't - we were just prepared.

[mattolenn]

I'm not a working musician and don't ever see music becoming more than a treasured hobby, but I watched this because other David Bennett Piano videos I've watched have been content-packed and high quality. This was the best yet. It was tip, tip, tip, tip, etc. one after the other and flew by. I wish more content creators would get to the point this quickly. It's very engaging. Well done.

[Noahbsng]

I've never felt a spark within me after watching a Youtube video. Yet this video made actually and seriously consider becoming a professional musician. Untill now, I've never considered it a possibility because of the little to no demand, and therefore no way of living. Now I seriously want to consider it! Thanks David! :)

[Shroomdiffnuclear]

I remember holding my friends kickdrum in place because it was sliding away from him thru the whole gig. I could't hear anything for days

[Slydeil]

Great list and video. Here's a few others

- Reliability is a huge advantage for musicians and can get many gigs. Nothing worse than people not turning up, being late and / or unprepared.

- Responsibility is another, if you really can't make a gig aa a band, or player, it helps to organise a dep and take the heat off your customer / band mates

- Good, reliable equipment. It may cost a bit more but will pay for itseif in the long run.

[TheViliukas]

Really cool video! I found that being a nice human being is the most important thing as a giging musician - even more important than playing good music. I developed friendships with other bands that landed me numerous gigs. It would be cool to see a similar video but specifically made for bands. For example, it is important to keep your bandmates happy and excited to ensure the longevity of a band - this could be achieved by doing stuff other than practicing, getting regular gigs and so on.

[MagicMusicAdam]

Pro musician for 30+ years. I have no issue using transpose - but I program it into its own patch, so when the next song comes along, I select the next patch and transpose is reset. I generally use it if a singer wants a song in a different key to the original. I'll stay in the original key and make a transposed patch for that singer.

[blynk]

Great video - your experience shines through. I've been a semi-pro bass player for years, and can relate to pretty much everything here. Particularly the way you framed tip #26 - I've had that exact conversation with rookies many times. Beyond a certain (surprisingly low) skill floor, being reliable and likeable is far more important in getting more gigs than technical ability. Musicians have a perhaps deserved reputation for flakiness, and people will be worried about that - not something anybody wants when booking a key part of their event. Part of your job is to reassure the people you work with that you are a safe pair of hands.
I struggled to think of anything I'd add to your excellent list but I managed to come up with a couple!
- Always bring gaffer tape and paper / pen / cliplight. Sometimes you have to make notes on the fly and it may well be dark on the stage (phone is not ideal for this for multiple reasons).
- Check the venue beforehand, including speaking to staff if possible. How painful is the loadin/out process? Do you need to arrive unusually early? Do you have to park 100m away? Is there a brutally overzealous sound limiter (quite common at picturesque wedding venues). If so you want to know about it in advance so you can plan for it.

[italoferrana]

The little snippet of Taxman at tip 25 is genius