Being aware of the WRONG opportunities
Are you dying to get into a band? Would you take a position with almost any band, as long as you could get on stage? Think carefully about your options… not all opportunities are the right ones!
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Recently, I met up with a musician friend I hadn’t seen in a while. I’m keeping names secret to protect the innocent, so I’ll call this person Daniel.
Daniel used to play in several different bands at a time, some of them for joy and others just for the money (and most definitely NOT for joy). I knew that he didn’t like all of his bands, but my jaw dropped when he told me that in some situations, he had cultivated the ability to read while playing gigs.
As in, read magazines. Out of boredom. During high-paying gigs!
Talk about detachment from the music!
But Daniel started to find that his detachment from the music in one band affected his ability to be in the music in other bands. Even when he would play with bands he loved, he found it more difficult to keep focused on the music, even though he wanted to be 100% there.
In other words, when measured against his priorities, some of his bands were the wrong opportunities. He placed a higher priority on musical enjoyment than on making money from gigs, but for a while his actions didn’t match his priorities. (Daniel is now focused on playing only with bands he loves, and the issue of focus has gone away.)
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What are YOUR priorities, and how do your opportunities match up to them? Are you putting yourself in the right places to encounter the right kinds of opportunities? (Craigslist is only one place to find music opportunities, and it’s far from the best, but it’s where a lot of people look.)
- If your top priority is excellent musicianship, find musicians better than you who are willing to play with you.
- If your top priority is original songwriting, take a songwriting class or go to songwriting workshops until you find a good co-writer. (Yes, you can write on your own, but there’s nothing like an honest second opinion to sharpen your skills.)
- If your top priority is gigging as often as possible, find an active band (probably a cover band), apply for overseas or cruise ship gigs, or learn to play solo and then play wherever you can.
- If your top priority is making money, pursue wedding/corporate cover band work.
- If your top priority is creating or building an original rock band, contact Rockstar Mindset. 🙂
- If your top priority is enjoying the people you play with, regardless of what or how often you play, then find opportunities through friends and connections.
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If you need any ideas for how to pursue the right opportunities, feel free to contact me.
(c) 2010 Adrienne Osborn
Adrienne Osborn is a vocalist and performance coach based in Colorado. For more free articles and tips, visit https://www.PerformanceHigh.net.
