The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary

View Poll Results: Do you play as a job or as a hobby?

Voters
419. You may not vote on this poll
  • Career

    61 14.56%
  • Hobby

    215 51.31%
  • I get paid occasionally/not full time musician

    143 34.13%
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  1. #201

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    I haven’t gotten paid to play the guitar since the 80s, and then it was mostly weddings and a few big band gigs, supplemented by teaching rock to high schoolers.

    Once the DJs moved in and the lifestyle got to me, I moved and gave up the guitar altogether. 20 years later, I picked it up again; for the past decade it’s become a very personally rewarding hobby.

    My relationship to music overall has changed, too. I don’t listen to music except in the car on CD and an occasional LP at home, almost all by jazz players who are no longer with us. I play at home daily and sometimes with friends and for dinner guests, and am a regular at local jam sessions 2-3 nights a week. The last concert by an internationally know guitarist I went to involved flying; the venue was crowded and stuffy. If a regional player is touring the small club circuit I’ll go if I can drive there, and may take a lesson for fun if available.

    Now near retirement age, I’ve come to prefer participating in, rather than listening to, music.

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  3. #202
    Satishk Guest
    I take it as a hobby. But maybe i try to be a pro next year when i have more time

  4. #203

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    Quote Originally Posted by Satishk
    I take it as a hobby. But maybe i try to be a pro next year when i have more time

  5. #204

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    I am a pro when I play a concert and when I am at home I am a hobbyist.

  6. #205

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    I am yet to be discovered.

  7. #206

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    Back in 2019 when I last posted in this thread, I was doing about 200 gigs a year. The pandemic changed that considerably and I am now doing about 100 gigs per year. And with my now 64 year old hands starting to have issues, that is just fine. Another year or two of this and I will be ready to give the few gigs I have to some younger cats.

    I have not played a concert or festival gig in years. My gigs are either restaurant/bar gigs or private affairs (weddings, house parties or corporate parties). I have not done a rock gig in over a decade. Perhaps I keep a couple of solid bodies, a few pedals and a tube amp because I am in denial about that part of my life being gone for good? I do use that stuff once in a great while on a jazz gig to justify keeping that stuff around.

    So my current answer to the question of this thread is this: I am a professional musician who is winding things down. At this point in life I have has successful careers in law and management and almost 20 years of being a pro musician. I have played thousands of paid gigs. It has been a great ride. And for that, I am grateful and feel blessed.

  8. #207

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    So my current answer to the question of this thread is this: I am a professional musician who is winding things down. At this point in life I have has successful careers in law and management and almost 20 years of being a pro musician. I have played thousands of paid gigs. It has been a great ride. And for that, I am grateful and feel blessed.

    Thank you.
    May I ask - does it mean you switched to professional playing in your 40s?

  9. #208

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jonah
    Thank you.
    May I ask - does it mean you switched to professional playing in your 40s?
    Yes. When I pursued my careers in law and management, I was a hobbyist.

  10. #209

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    The people who have wedding receptions and parties seldom appreciate how much time the guitarist must spend on forums discussing gear and theory, in order to play standards to indifferent audiences.

  11. #210

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    Quote Originally Posted by Litterick
    The people who have wedding receptions and parties seldom appreciate how much time the guitarist must spend on forums discussing gear and theory, in order to play standards to indifferent audiences.
    It sounds funny to me.
    I already played serious jazz concerts when there was no internet.
    I mean "forums discussing"...

  12. #211

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    From experience both as a professional photographer and musician I have always felt that the term “professional” had a lot more to do with attitude (“professionalism”, if you will) than whether or not one is earning 100% of one’s income from a particular source.
    I, and I’m sure you all, know many a “pro” who shows up late, doesn’t get basic dress code or basic personal hygiene, treats both employers and ‘fans’ with disdain, snaps at the unwashed when they ask questions, on and on and on. Does that person deserve the full sobriquet “professional” solely because they are 100% depending on their art income? Maybe just call them a ‘pro’ (or axx hole))). Certainly in my eyes not a ‘professional’.
    Conversely, the weekend warrior slogging out a tough day job, showing up in an evening or weekend gig, and nailing the performance keeping a respectful and positive attitude towards all, leaving the unwashed enriched from their meeting (or at least not PO’d)))? They deserve to be considered professional, and to not be looked askance at by the 100% time card punching ‘professionals’.
    I guess in the end it comes down to mutual respect. A real professional can be respected by others regardless of how they punch their time card. On the other hand, regardless of their time card, an axxhole remains and axxhole and not a ‘professional’.
    Just an opinion on something I’ve felt strongly about for many years.

  13. #212

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    I’m a recovering pro. I still play some paid gigs, but I haven’t relied on it for income in quite some time.

    I’m feeling much better now.

  14. #213

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    Dunno if this has been mentioned before in the thread, its too long to read, but look at the results, 15% of voters say that music is their career, wow, that's quite high don't you think?

    I'd say in the rock n blues world where my origins lie, it'd be around 1% if lower!

    I wonder why this is? Is there a bias due to the forum attracting a lot of teachers / pro players or is jazz genuinely that much of a discipline that it leads to a high ' career rate'?

    My opinion is this:

    Rock n blues, pretty easy to get started and for it to become a hobby in a few months, hence quite a low drop out rate.

    Jazz, hard to get started with a high drop out rate, hence any one that stays the course and breaks through to a reasonable level is more likely to be dedicated and take things further to making it a career.

  15. #214

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    It's also because if you are capable of playing jazz, you can probably support other styles good enough to get paying gigs, you can get reading jobs, play different kinds of events, teach more, etc. You end up being a better choice for many types of paying situations.

    In most colleges, guitar programs nowadays aren't that much about jazz, despite being called that sometimes. They are more like general modern guitar programs, preparing people to be versatile.

  16. #215

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    I think there are only a few pro's on the forum.

  17. #216

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    I'd say there are 1 or 2 actual musicians lurking and a bunch of guys claiming to be pro but actually surviving off retirement income.

  18. #217

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    Well I said I'm a part time pro cos I get 50 quid every couple of weeks for pub rock gigs. Wanna play jazz for pay but need to get round to getting good enough.

    U do get a lot of bullshitters and fantasists on forums, maybe they make up some of the 15%.

  19. #218

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    A bandleader who has a band full of full time pros called me for a gig. I said I didn’t have a lot of time to look at the music. He said don’t worry, your a pro. I had an agent who booked my group and also me as a solo for 15 years. He told me I was a great professional. Totally different perspectives. A man I met asked me if I was a pro musician and I said no but the people in my band were all full timers. He said if you play with pros you are one. When I was in my 20’s I toured with bands playing 6 nights a week, five sets a night, no other job. In my thirties I did five-six gigs a week and ran a small business. Now in my sixties I rarely do a gig. I’m no pro. I wanted a lot more than that life could provide. Zero regrets. I’m a better musician today than I ever was, playing stuff way harder than ever. Still not even close to being a pro.

  20. #219

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    Quote Originally Posted by MartinC
    A bandleader who has a band full of full time pros called me for a gig. I said I didn’t have a lot of time to look at the music. He said don’t worry, your a pro. I had an agent who booked my group and also me as a solo for 15 years. He told me I was a great professional. Totally different perspectives. A man I met asked me if I was a pro musician and I said no but the people in my band were all full timers. He said if you play with pros you are one. When I was in my 20’s I toured with bands playing 6 nights a week, five sets a night, no other job. In my thirties I did five-six gigs a week and ran a small business. Now in my sixties I rarely do a gig. I’m no pro. I wanted a lot more than that life could provide. Zero regrets. I’m a better musician today than I ever was, playing stuff way harder than ever. Still not even close to being a pro.
    There's always more to learn. #noregrets

  21. #220

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    If you support yourself with music, ur pro!

  22. #221

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    How about "probbyist" - a hobbyist with pro level guitars.

    To the poll, I am a hobbyist. I was fortunate to taste the pro road life as a union (AF of M) full time sideman back in the late 70s for a couple of years and therefore was able to make the choice that the life wasn't for me. At least I can say that I went out and did it, and that is good enough for me.

    In that road experience, I frequently met hobbyist players with regular jobs and lives who were quite skilled on their respective instruments, but for the love of the process itself and had no desire to perform. I was always impressed with that.

    Tony

  23. #222

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    I played professionally for about 40 years. Since 2020, I have retired from public performance but continue to practice guitar daily (weekday-ly) and focus on composing for guitar and writing about music.

    While I continue to practice guitar but not perform publicly, I don’t see it as a hobby, but rather as a sort of spiritual practice, like meditation, martial arts, or prayer.

  24. #223

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    I'd describe myself as a serious hobbyist now. I've been a pro and semi-pro in the past.

  25. #224

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    Quote Originally Posted by kris
    I think there are only a few pro's on the forum.
    I am sure that you are right Kris. However, many 'amateurs' are passionate about what they do ( and attain a very high standard ) and many 'Pros' are what in English we would call 'time-servers.' Not so much in jazz perhaps, but in pit orchestras and second tier classical ensembles etc. I believe Mark Kleinhaut was a banker (could be wrong there) but he is hardly what one would describe as amateur or hobbyist.

  26. #225

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    Yeah, a lot of so-called amateurs are passionate, but the problem is having enough actual time to hone your skills to a high standard.

    So I was more of a pro as a teen than a lot of guys because I got paid 25 GB pounds (about 400 USD now) for a gig back in '73? Silly stuff, but that seems to be the criterion some apply.

    Anyway, there's no substitute for natural talent, but at the end of the day you still have to put in the time in while paying the bills. Life's a beyotch.