Studio Musicians

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Comment by Ben on April 6, 2008 at 5:51am

Sessions are delicate - If you don't have what it takes the first time you're going to get dropped and someone else will get the gig, and you'll likely never get called again! Believe me, I've lost so many gigs that way! Musicians will often be dismissed even in the middle of a session because they can't hack it, or they have a bad attitude, or maybe their style just isn't right for that particular job.

The cold hard truth is that most of us will never be first-call guitarists in places like LA or New York, at least not with major studios. There are just too many incredible players that we will never eclipse. We can, however, develop a niche and corner our own little piece of the market and expand from that point. The big trick, like anything else in the music biz, is to just go out and try it, and keep at it. We learn exponentially more at gigs than we do in our own practice rooms, so rather than sit around and shed in private we need to get on the street and play with other musicians. The more time you spend in on stage and in the studio (be it a home studio or the real thing) the more competent you'll be when the time comes for your first paid session. If you do well, the engineer or producer will call you again eventually, and it snowballs from there.

The only other trick is to play exactly what the producer wants you to play, unless he specifically tells you to play it your way! Keep it simple and stay out of the way of the music, and you'll be well on your way to being a first-call musician in your area and genre!

Comment by Benjamain on March 28, 2008 at 2:17pm

What kind of skills (musically or not) are required to become a session man ?
Thx :)

Comment by lnyc on March 26, 2008 at 9:36am

what s the best way to start getting work?