Current Events > I majored in music and am currently making a (small) living as a musician. AMA

(+) Yeah! (+)

my degree was in jazz studies.

I mostly focus on trumpet, but I also dabble in other assorted brass instruments. I play a few others too.

most of my income is from teaching private lessons, but I also do gigs regularly, both for live audiences and (less frequently) in the studio. I do some work here and there as a composer/arranger too.
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how do you advertise yourself for private lessons

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Do you have video or audio samples of your music?
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If you could go back and do it all again, would you?

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Godnorgosh posted...

Have you studied philosophy of music and does that field interest you at all?

I never took a course called "philosophy of music" or anything that was concretely in that realm, but I've thought about a lot of things in that general area.

"what is music?" (as in, "what characteristics does something need in order to be classified as music?") and "why do people make music?" are not interesting questions to me anymore, largely because I've been thinking about them for a long time and some of the answers are actually pretty straightforward. there are some questions that I still like to think about though.

I also have some more tactile thoughts that I relay to students when I teach them. stuff about playing piano and singing; stuff about practicing and how to view the issue of "I suck" vs "I'm great"
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SSJCAT posted...

how do you advertise yourself for private lessons

I teach at a few different places and they mostly do the advertising for me. most of it is through social media, physical posters on telephone poles, and ads in online marketplaces.

I've also gotten some students from busking downtown with a ukulele and some business cards.
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Vicious_Dios posted...

Do you have video or audio samples of your music?

I don't much, and I'd also rather not post links here because they contain identifying information.

I can record a ukulele cover on vocaroo or something if you'd like though
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averagejoel posted...

Vicious_Dios posted...

Do you have video or audio samples of your music?

I don't much, and I'd also rather not post links here because they contain identifying information.

I can record a ukulele cover on vocaroo or something if you'd like though

That's fair. I'll take it.

Also, I had you tagged as ukelele lol.
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are you cool enough for jazz?
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gloBal enemy posted...

If you could go back and do it all again, would you?

yes

on the whole, I enjoyed music school, and I'm enjoying what I do now. I'm starting to become more established within the music community in my city, so that's helping. it takes some patience.
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Vicious_Dios posted...

averagejoel posted...

Vicious_Dios posted...

Do you have video or audio samples of your music?

I don't much, and I'd also rather not post links here because they contain identifying information.

I can record a ukulele cover on vocaroo or something if you'd like though

That's fair. I'll take it.

Also, I had you tagged as ukelele lol.

here you go. a Beatles cover. 1 take. no edits. nothing added. nothing taken away. recorded on my phone.
https://vocaroo.com/i/s14p9s84tLCG
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averagejoel posted...

Vicious_Dios posted...

averagejoel posted...

Vicious_Dios posted...

Do you have video or audio samples of your music?

I don't much, and I'd also rather not post links here because they contain identifying information.

I can record a ukulele cover on vocaroo or something if you'd like though

That's fair. I'll take it.

Also, I had you tagged as ukelele lol.

here you go. a Beatles cover. 1 take. no edits. nothing added. nothing taken away. recorded on my phone.
https://vocaroo.com/i/s14p9s84tLCG

lol, the advert on the vocaroo page was "Damn Girl! How Do I Get Lashes Like That?"

edit: wow you can sing pretty well too
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averagejoel posted...

Vicious_Dios posted...

averagejoel posted...

Vicious_Dios posted...

Do you have video or audio samples of your music?

I don't much, and I'd also rather not post links here because they contain identifying information.

I can record a ukulele cover on vocaroo or something if you'd like though

That's fair. I'll take it.

Also, I had you tagged as ukelele lol.

here you go. a Beatles cover. 1 take. no edits. nothing added. nothing taken away. recorded on my phone.
https://vocaroo.com/i/s14p9s84tLCG

You crushed it, dude. That closing last part was right in the feels

I'm impressed.
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MedeaLysistrata posted...

averagejoel posted...

Vicious_Dios posted...

averagejoel posted...

Vicious_Dios posted...

Do you have video or audio samples of your music?

I don't much, and I'd also rather not post links here because they contain identifying information.

I can record a ukulele cover on vocaroo or something if you'd like though

That's fair. I'll take it.

Also, I had you tagged as ukelele lol.

here you go. a Beatles cover. 1 take. no edits. nothing added. nothing taken away. recorded on my phone.
https://vocaroo.com/i/s14p9s84tLCG

lol, the advert on the vocaroo page was "Damn Girl! How Do I Get Lashes Like That?"

edit: wow you can sing pretty well too

I haven't listened back to it, but I didn't think that was a particularly good take. my pitch kinda quavered a bit on some of the longer notes. I've done better -- my voice isn't in a great place for singing today
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Hanky_Bannister posted...

are you cool enough for jazz?

the people who keep calling me for gigs certainly seem to think so
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averagejoel posted...

here you go. a Beatles cover. 1 take. no edits. nothing added. nothing taken away. recorded on my phone.
https://vocaroo.com/i/s14p9s84tLCG

:')

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back up we go
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average income per month?

people charge a pretty high amount for private lessons here.

like 20$/half hour on average.
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averagejoel posted...

my degree was in jazz studies.

This explains so much about you.
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AsucaHayashi posted...

average income per month?

people charge a pretty high amount for private lessons here.

like 20$/half hour on average.

I would rather not disclose the specifics of my income.

but $40 is usually what I charge for an hour-long lesson when I'm not working for places that have set rates.

in my experience, half-hour lessons are generally for kids -- they don't yet have the necessary attention span for a full hour lesson
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omega cookie posted...

averagejoel posted...

my degree was in jazz studies.

This explains so much about you.

I knew we would get one of these in here sooner or later
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How often do you get people who try to make you regret your decision to major in music?
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Favorite standard?
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TheAnthraxBunny posted...

How often do you get people who try to make you regret your decision to major in music?

very rarely. most of the people I hang around with now are musicians, and many of them have music degrees themselves
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Are you into buying and collecting music? Like records/CDs/tapes.
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CM_Ponch posted...

Favorite standard?

(I assume you mean Jazz Standard here)

right now my favourite American Songbook standard is probably Wave, by Jobim

and my favourite Jazz-Composer standard is probably Worry Later by Thelonious Monk (it's also been recorded under the name San Francisco Holiday)
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shockthemonkey posted...

How do you feel about ska?

I haven't heard much, but I like what I've heard. it gets a disproportionate amount of hate for seemingly no reason
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You still live with your parents dont you

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a-c-a-b posted...

Are you into buying and collecting music? Like records/CDs/tapes.

I have a bunch of CDs. not many records or tapes (mostly because I don't have a player for them). but yes.
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averagejoel posted...

very rarely. most of the people I hang around with now are musicians, and many of them have music degrees themselves

That's good. One thing I've never understood is when someone tries to convince someone they chose the wrong profession even when said person is happy and making a living. I have a friend who's a DJ and musician and gets lots of contract work from various event organizers. Some of the events he's played were pretty big. He's also signed, I guess? Though the label is pretty insignificant. Regardless, he's making good money off his hobby. He rarely gets comments to his face, but people will talk about him and his profession behind his back as if he's a drug addict who needs an intervention. They say things like, "How much longer until he drops this shit?", "He's probably like this because he was depressed for so long" (He hasn't been depressed in years), "He'll realize he needs to grow up one day", etc. Of course, he's doing better financially than a lot of the people who say these things.

I'm just rambling though. It's good that you surround yourself with people who respect your work.
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YourDrunkFather posted...

You still live with your parents dont you

I should have added the caveat "legitimate questions only"

if you're going to be a dick, make your own topic to do it
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averagejoel posted...

I should have added the caveat "legitimate questions only"

if you're going to be a dick, make your own topic to do it

Thats definitely a yes lmao

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YourDrunkFather is now blocked.
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another bump before I go to bed
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averagejoel posted...

Hanky_Bannister posted...

are you cool enough for jazz?

the people who keep calling me for gigs certainly seem to think so

nice
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I don't see many other people on here with music degrees. Nice!

I have my undergrad in music education. Have been working as a band/percussion director the last 5 years. Heavily considering going back for my paster's in percussion performance though. Would be great to teach at the university level one day.

Do you live in a major city, I'm assuming? Regular jazz gigs can be hard to come by regularly.
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MFBKBass5 posted...

I don't see many other people on here with music degrees. Nice!

I have my undergrad in music education. Have been working as a band/percussion director the last 5 years. Heavily considering going back for my paster's in percussion performance though. Would be great to teach at the university level one day.

Do you live in a major city, I'm assuming? Regular jazz gigs can be hard to come by regularly.

yeah at some point I might consider going back for a master's in composition or performance, but for now I feel like I need a break from school.

I wouldn't necessarily say I live in a "major" city, but there is a good music scene here, and a good jazz scene within that
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averagejoel posted...

yes

on the whole, I enjoyed music school, and I'm enjoying what I do now. I'm starting to become more established within the music community in my city, so that's helping. it takes some patience.

Awesome. Good on you.

I had friends who went on to become professional musicians playing internationally and it's always impressed me seeing people foray into a path where success is not guaranteed.

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What do you rate movies like La La Land and Whiplash?
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gj

I considered majoring in music but I went into engineering instead.
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SailorGoon posted...

What do you rate movies like La La Land and Whiplash?

I have not seen La La Land. I probably should.

Whiplash is a good movie, but it's not really anything like music school.

in general, movies about sports tend to be better than movies about music because they're more likely to show the athlete(s) putting in the work necessary to get good.

with movies about music, it often ends up being like Glee: maybe a clip or two of them in rehearsal, but only when it already sounds polished.

Whiplash felt a lot more like a sports movie than a music movie. soaking your hand in ice to keep practicing after you start bleeding is not something that anyone would actually do.

I've been saying for a long time that the most realistic depiction of a music teacher is Jack Black's character in School of Rock.

seeing that prof talk about great jazz and then seeing him playing the lamest vanilla shit ever in that bar was laughable

also no contemporary drummer going to music school is idolizing buddy rich lol

so those are generally my thoughts
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- do you ever play weddings?

- do you do any session work, what is that like?

- have you ever watched adam neely's youtube channel?

- i have played bass for years and am trying to learn guitar now. i have always had a pretty "functional" level of proficiency in the instrument/theory but id like to take my knowledge & playing to the next level, what would you suggest focusing on ?

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shockthemonkey posted...

averagejoel posted...

shockthemonkey posted...

How do you feel about ska?

I haven't heard much, but I like what I've heard. it gets a disproportionate amount of hate for seemingly no reason

Thats all Reel Big Fishs fault.

I've listened to Reel Big Fish and didn't dislike them. what issue do people take with them?
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DevsBro posted...

gj

I considered majoring in music but I went into engineering instead.

I know a few people who did that, and one person who did a year or two at Berklee, dropped out, and then did a year or two of engineering. now he's back doing music -- largely prog-rock stuff.
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Romulox28 posted...

do you ever play weddings?

I have. they pay well.

I worked security when I was in university, and there was a university property where a lot of weddings were held, so I ended up doing a lot of that too. I've actually worked more weddings as a security guard than as a musician.

Romulox28 posted...

do you do any session work, what is that like?

can you clarify what you mean by "session"? like, musicians go in, sightread a chart, then record it? I've done that. I enjoy it a lot. it's nice to have something challenging to read. most of what I do doesn't really have that

Romulox28 posted...

have you ever watched adam neely's youtube channel?

I watch his videos pretty frequently. he's good. his channel is a good place to get information.
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averagejoel posted...

can you clarify what you mean by "session"? like, musicians go in, sightread a chart, then record it? I've done that. I enjoy it a lot. it's nice to have something challenging to read. most of what I do doesn't really have that

yea i meant like being a studio musician, like part of a studio's backing band for singers or w/e

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