Freelance Musicians: Communication & Organization
My name is Anton and I’m an upright and electric bassist here in Pittsburgh. I manage a wedding band called the Bachelor Boys Band (I know… it’s a terrible name but it’s what I was given to work with), I’m in a rock band called The Commonheart, and I do a lot of freelance bass work. I don’t know what you’re looking to do with your career. If you’re anything like me then you may not know either. But I want to talk to you about two things that will give you a huge leg up in the professional world no matter what that means for you. Put some effort into these two skills and you will see your career and life improve greatly.
COMMUNICATION & ORGANIZATION
Ok ok ok… I know those sound unbelievably boring and maybe even obvious but once you’re working all the time you'll very quickly realize most people you encounter don’t have either of these skills. And you know what else is boring? Scales, arpeggios, etudes, and practicing musical passages for hours on end. If those things are the building blocks of a great performance then think of communication and organization as the building blocks of a great career.
COMMUNICATION
When I was in high school, my view of the music world was that you practice and practice and practice until your fingers fall off and eventually you’re good and then you get gigs. This, of course, is a gross oversimplification. After college I realized “Oh, this is completely up to me”
As a musician you need to build your network, understand the expectations of other musicians who are hiring you, be able to give, receive,& react to criticism in a constructive manner, and respond quickly and coherently when someone texts or emails you. As a band leader/manager you need to know your audience, understand what you’re being hired for, manage the expectations of potential clients, know how to anticipate unstated needs of your clients, and ease clients’ worries. You also must provide essential logistics to the other musicians: when to be there, where it is, how long it is, what they’re playing, what they need to wear, who is in charge of sheet music, parking locations, and any other little details. If you can be thorough and quick to respond then you’re golden.
There’s so many other things I could list here and you can replace “musician” or “band leader” with “teacher”, “composer”, “recording artist”, etc. but I think I’ve already beat the dead horse so you can fill in your own language for whatever you’re looking to do.
On top of all of this you need to be able to communicate in a positive way even and maybe even especially in negative situations. I’ll give you an example. A few weeks ago I was working on the details for an upcoming wedding event. The groom’s mother was really excited about the mother/son dance and had a big vision of doing an 8-song mashup where specific sections of each of the songs seamlessly transitioned into the next. I know from prior experience of trying to accommodate these types of requests they just DO NOT GO WELL. It’s a lot of extra pressure on the band to learn multiple songs (and there’s not a rehearsal before every wedding), every song is in a different key and it just takes one person in the band to cause a HUGE musical trainwreck.
Here’s some ways I could have responded:
“No, I’m sorry we can’t do that”
This is very clear and concise but the problem is that it shuts down the request without any kind of explanation or solution. The client could interpret this as “the band is unwilling to work with me on my requests.” The success of the band largely depends on good reviews and a comment like that is never a good thing for business.
“Trying to accommodate these types of requests just DOES NOT GO WELL. It’s a lot of extra pressure on the band to learn multiple songs (and there’s not a rehearsal before every wedding), every song is in a different key and it just takes one person in the band to cause a HUGE musical trainwreck.”
This is too much information and also shuts down the request without any attempt at compromise. A response like this could be interpreted as “maybe the band isn’t that good and we’re paying so much money to have them at my wedding but they won’t even rehearse beforehand.” Another thought and potential comment in a review that’s easily avoidable.
“I listened to all of the songs you requested for the mashup and, while I think it’s a very fun and exciting idea, I don’t think it will come off the way you’re envisioning it. To do 20-30 seconds of eight different songs would be a whole lot of work for the band. Everything is in a different key and it won’t flow very well. This is something that looks so seamless and easy when The Roots on Jimmy Fallon or any Grammy performer does it but they have months of rehearsals and tens of thousands of dollars to throw around. I would recommend choosing two songs. The band can play abbreviated versions of both, one right into the next.”
If you couldn’t guess already this is the one I went with. I didn’t want her to feel like it was a bad idea because it wasn’t a bad idea. It was just an unreasonable one that she didn’t know was unreasonable. The basic blueprint for this response is
Empathize => Explain => Offer Compromise.
Here are some great resources if you want to dig into learning how to communicate better:
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss
ORGANIZATION:
When I was starting to build my music career I would accept every opportunity that came my way as I think everyone should when they’re starting out. This was great for a while but then I started to get REALLY busy. I’d have a local jazz gig one day, a rock show in Colorado the next, a wedding the day after, all while also managing the wedding band and my personal life. You need some kind of system for this situation or burnout is pretty much guaranteed.
Now I am not naturally organized at all but I needed to get good at it quickly or my brain was going to explode. I read a bunch of business books and watched different YouTube videos (including Marie Kondo’s video about folding clothing which completely transformed how I packed for tours) and slowly but surely I improved.
The two things that had the greatest impact were structuring my days and prioritizing the things within each day. For instance, I would only do wedding band work from 12pm-3pm Monday-Thursday and implemented a rule that all client phone calls had to be scheduled in advance. Then I’d work on any music for whatever gig was coming up next from 3:30-6:30 or until I had to leave for a gig and then I’d either play a gig or enjoy the rest of my evening.
The other thing was really learning how to use Google Calendar and then forming the habit of putting everything in the calendar as soon as it’s confirmed. I feel like my Google calendar became part of me. I have color coded separate calendars for my freelance work, my wedding band work, anything regarding my rock band, personal calendar, and a financial calendar to keep me on top of paying bills. I do not say yes to anything without consulting the calendar and because it’s connected to my Gmail account I can access it from any device. There’s a bunch of different tutorials and “tips & tricks” videos on YouTube. I know this sounds basic but it can be life changing.
So, while you’re in the practice room mastering your craft, don’t forget about the bigger picture. There’s plenty of non-music skills that you can be working on including your communication and organization skills. I witness musicians every day who are absolutely incredible artists but lose out on work by not communicating well or making a mistake as a result of being unorganized. Don’t give anyone an excuse to pass on you.
If you have any questions or would like advice on a specific situation then feel free to reach out to me at antondefade@gmail.com. I check my email often and will get back to you as soon as I can.
-Anton