I chose the path in life to be a musician
Whitesnake
Member Posts: 131
Hello, everyone! I just wanted to share with you my thoughts and just let you know how I'm doing there. Maybe someone will understand me and feel the same way as I do.
Well, I wanted to be a musician all my life. Recently I found my old notebook when I was writing being a kid, that I want to be a musician. I already forgot that I wanted that as a kid! It was stunning feeling when I found that notebook.
Well, I never went to music school. I never got any education in music. And 8 years ago I started to play guitar. I played on it a year or two and I realised that playing a guitar doesn't give me such pleasure as singing. So I started to sing.
I worked in a regular job on which work many people. Nothing special. A seller.
And you know what crossed my mind recently? That my life is passes by. I never achieve my dream working here. I try to make a living for myself, yes. But I don't do what I really want. I don't do what I'm passion about. Time is running like in a hourglass. And you know what I did?
I quit from my job. And I said to myself, that I will be practice singing everyday from now on. No one understands me, and no one will, I guess. Nor my family, nor my friends. For them I just that crazy person, who's doing a mistake of his life and doesn't even know about it.
Well, at least in the end of my life I can say: "Hey, I tried. I tried to do, what I want to do. What my passion is about."
Yes, hard times financially has come. I work here and there on a half-time job. And the process of learning to sing is tough. But I'll get there. No one believes in me, no one think that this all is a good idea. But it doesn't even makes me sad or frustrated. It's even...you know, a motivation to achieve my goals. And then I turned back and look on all these hard times that I got through, and I say "it was worth it".
Or maybe I don't achieve it and always try to make a living in trying to get me noticed as a musician. Who knows.
Anyway, thanks for spend 2 minute of your life on reading my thoughts and about my life.
If someone reading this and wants to achieve their goals too - go for it. Life is short. At least you won't be dissappointed that you've never tried.
Piece.
Well, I wanted to be a musician all my life. Recently I found my old notebook when I was writing being a kid, that I want to be a musician. I already forgot that I wanted that as a kid! It was stunning feeling when I found that notebook.
Well, I never went to music school. I never got any education in music. And 8 years ago I started to play guitar. I played on it a year or two and I realised that playing a guitar doesn't give me such pleasure as singing. So I started to sing.
I worked in a regular job on which work many people. Nothing special. A seller.
And you know what crossed my mind recently? That my life is passes by. I never achieve my dream working here. I try to make a living for myself, yes. But I don't do what I really want. I don't do what I'm passion about. Time is running like in a hourglass. And you know what I did?
I quit from my job. And I said to myself, that I will be practice singing everyday from now on. No one understands me, and no one will, I guess. Nor my family, nor my friends. For them I just that crazy person, who's doing a mistake of his life and doesn't even know about it.
Well, at least in the end of my life I can say: "Hey, I tried. I tried to do, what I want to do. What my passion is about."
Yes, hard times financially has come. I work here and there on a half-time job. And the process of learning to sing is tough. But I'll get there. No one believes in me, no one think that this all is a good idea. But it doesn't even makes me sad or frustrated. It's even...you know, a motivation to achieve my goals. And then I turned back and look on all these hard times that I got through, and I say "it was worth it".
Or maybe I don't achieve it and always try to make a living in trying to get me noticed as a musician. Who knows.
Anyway, thanks for spend 2 minute of your life on reading my thoughts and about my life.
If someone reading this and wants to achieve their goals too - go for it. Life is short. At least you won't be dissappointed that you've never tried.Piece.
Comments
Having a good voice is only the first step, the next step will take even more time. I can't emphasize enough that you need to be earning money and caring for yourself this whole time, because why starve and be broke when you are just learning how things work. You also need to be setting money aside too, because there will be a transition and you will need money for that. The next step once you have good vocals is to learn how to monetize that. This will be a lot of trial and error, and you are going to need money to make the mistakes that you are going to make. Be patient you will figure it out eventually.
I see people make these mistakes all of the time. The have some great dream and they decide they have wasted a lot of time and they force a series of very bad decisions to make something happen that no human on earth can make happen. The saying "If you don't have time to do it right, then when do you have time to do it over?" fits this thinking perfectly. I am 50 I look back at how I thought even when I was 30 and shake my head. What if it took me four or five or six years to accomplish my dream? LUL I would be 36 or heavens forbid 40. The math looks a lot different when you are looking backwards.
Slow down, breathe, live. Make a plan, make the plan long term, and then stick to the plan. You don't need to kill yourself for your dreams.
And it got me thinking, like if I don't get the time to do it now, then - who knows, maybe afterwards I'll make a family and if I don't learn to sing up to this point when I will make a family, I think I just never get there. When you have a family you got no time to practice singing everyday. Too much problems and things that gets in your way.
So I went to part-time job, so I have more time to practice and still have some money to live and carry for myself. Yeah, it's not a big money, but at least I have what to eat. And now I practice from 4 to 6 hours a day. If I have more than 6 hours - I practice more. I don't do anything besides that. I don't go to the parties, don't hang out. Just practice. And it's frustrating as hell, because it's not an easy thing.
I just worry that if I don't do it right now I may never have the opportunity to do this. And that's not what I'd want to live with.
You think you have no time, you don't even know that you have all the time in the world. I am two of your lifetimes older than you. Trust me you have time.
If your other job made it so you couldn't practice then get another job, that will, and allow you to live. Everyone thinks that all the wrong things are in the way and are unwilling to make room for what they want. Family, job, time etc ... none of these things are in the way of what you want. Work around them, that is how you do it.
Do you have any idea what singing for a living looks like? Do you understand that if you sing for a living, then that is all that you will do. Day in day out. You will do this for 40 years. Forty years is a long time, and you had better really like singing if that is the case. You will talk singing, you will walk singing, you will live singing for years and years and years. Don't think that you only get the good part of singing e.g. the braying crowds. That is not how it is. You get the sleazy managers, the fans that envy you and try to tear you down the, labels that are trying to rip you off and know that your freshness date is up in 4 years, the shitty bars with one drunk guy that you will play, the pissy band mates. If you really love singing these will be minor and you will be just happy to sing.
You are rushing. You don't need to. If singing is really your deal you have a VERY long time to get there. Practicing 4 to 6 hours a day is untenable at the stage you are at. You are going to blow out and your frustration will get the best of you and you will find another dream. Slow down take the long view and know that you aren't going to jump to some point were you think you should be. You will walk the road, and the road will take you where it wants.
But the man, who lived the same life of musician, the same dream, who older than me and wiser than me. The one who will tell me the words of wisdom from the height of his age. Thank you!
And now I imagined all of that what you described...you know, it will be pretty naive of me if I'm say that "screw that! I'm ready!". I haven't really felt it on myself yet. But I can say that it doesn't scare me and don't discourage me from singing.
Remember when you sing for a living you don't get to say when you sing or sometimes what you sing. If you are sick ... tough, you sing. If you don't feel it ... tough, you sing. If someone is verbally attacking you ... tough you sing. Tough crowd ... tough, you sing.
Also you need to know that singing is a form of entertainment. No one really cares about how exact your singing is or your great vocal range, what they care about is that they are entertained. I think Billy Joel's song Piano Man eloquently conveys this idea.
Good luck.
Get the career down, and do the music as a joyful hobby. If it takes off, GREAT! If not, you still have life covered.
At the age of 18 I dreamt of being a Rock Star - we had Gigs, 3 CDs and a lot of touring. Thank God, I became a Medical Doctor and can do music now as a hobby.
I really cross my fingers for you. I hope your dream will come true. But always keep in mind, that you have to be really good, work absolutely hard und also have to have some luck to make your living from making music. Nowadays, I think, it is even harder to get the breakthrough - on the other hand there are always upcoming stars who make it to the top. So, I hope that you will refute my concerns and I stumble upon your no. 1 song on Spotify or Apple Music one day.
Kind regards and stay healthy,
Marco
And by the way, Ken have a video called "How to make a living by singing" or something like that. His advices are helpful in a life experience?
Long story short, I ended up cutting my hair and getting a real job, and learning how to be a proper husband to my amazing wife and a great father to my 2 boys
Now I'm a senior Systems Admin for a fortune 50 company and can afford the wicked gear I would have killed for back then. I also still play with many of the guys that were bandmates during my climb to the top. And you know what? We actually enjoy ourselves much much more now, as there is no pressure, only fun
you can see from my profile picture that I also cut my hair. And I did it long ago. I think I was 26. Whenever someone asks me, I tell him that I have a stylistically confident hair stylist. But to be honest, I shave my head once a week by myself.
I do understand (@Whitesnake) so well. Who of us would not have liked to become famous and make living from music. I think Everyone of us elderly enthusiats did. But we noticed how hard it is. It's a hard job. And we recognised one day that it is better to earn bread and butter than to chase after an unrealizable dream.
BTW, Systems Admin for a fortune 50 company is also a job that not everyone can do.
Kind regards and stay healthy,
Marco (Doc Ramadani)
But I understand that eventually there comes a question about make a living not only for yourself, but for people that you live with. Your family. Your wife, your kids. You have responsibilities. And you simply can't do things like that for the rest of your life.
So it's all comes down to either you do succeed before you make a family, or you don't succeed before that. If you do - you have an opportunity to do what you like for the rest of your life. If you don't - then you are forced to abandon this idea. Abandon your dream.
But you don't have to abandon it for good! You can do it as a hobby. And it still will make you feel great, because that what you dreamed about all your life.
That's how I see it.
People in Los Angeles live right in the heart of the entertainment business. You might be amazed at how many people are trying to get into the movies or into music that live in that area. Being somewhere like that allows you to be near lots of opportunities to get work in the entertainment business. But most people art TRYING to get INTO the business, and live there and work a "regular job" so that if the right opportunity comes along, THERE THEY ARE. It's often a combination of being in the right place at the right time when someone actually strikes gold in the entertainment business.
Many of the people who live in that area were either born there, or they're people who relocated there to be where there were more opportunities (Both to Play Music AND to get good "regular Jobs".
If you live somewhere that doesn't have much music activity, then you will have your work cut out for you.
I am a person who sought out to be a full-time musician from the start. I had a lot of close brushes with bands that could have "Made it". But I didn't "Make it". We put out records. We went on the road. We played and played. We also starved and had vehicle breakdowns on the road. Eventually I found myself in a place where I simply had to get a "real job". That wasn't part of my original plan, but life happened, and there I was.
But I never stopped playing except when I had to relocate. I always had to work and I always found my way into a working band before long, too, as a "moonlight" job, and some of the work I have done was well-paid.
Probably most of my life, I have made an extra 10% or more over my regular job earnings, through music. That really helps make ends meet, and fulfills a lot of the need to get out there and play and sing. Adding Vocals to my Drumming has made this part of my life much more enjoyable. And knowing that there are gigs booked ahead always gives you something to look forward to and to prepare yourself for.
So instead of the idyllic life of a rock star, I have had to be a working person who also plays real paid musical gigs on top of working full-time or even 60 hours or more per week plus playing gigs. It's just part of what it has taken to remain competitive in music. But I have always taken my musical work seriously, and it has helped to preserve my sanity, to the extent possible. I moved from Oklahoma to California in my 30's so that I could be in an area with a much greater likelihood of having more success in the music business. That worked out well for me, although it could have been a disaster. Some people move to Las Vegas or Reno or New York, London, anywhere that there are lots more opportunities. That can help you to have more success.
But be realistic. You have to support yourself. You may have a family to support. One day you will need some sort of retirement savings or pension. People who only play music for a living often do not have that, unless they are extremely successful. Take good care of yourself and set yourself up so that you can enjoy your time in music and treasure the musical successes that you can manage to pull out of the life you are going to live.
But don't put yourself out on the street, unless that is your choice. There are ways to earn a living and remain active in music. That gives you lots of chances to do some really cool things. And it allows you many chances to make your way into some meaningful musical opportunities without it being a kamikaze mission.
All the Best!
Bob
Right now, if you had a chance to change your life, change your choices of being a "Rock Star" and do music as a part-time hobby from the start, would you do that?
Because I read all of this amazing stories from you guys, and it makes me think, that you all happy that you did what you did. That you went full throttle on it, and whatever will be - will be. Yeah, it doesn't turned the way you wanted to. But man, that was so much fun and joyful experience!
Maybe I'm wrong on that one. But I'm sort of feeling you that way.
The path that I chose is different from the paths that people usually choose. There's no guarantees, no assurance that you won't just lose your time and money and gain nothing. That is why many people look at it as a youthful mischief. And maybe that's how it's actually looks like.
But - hey! - you'll never know if you never actually try. At least you're doing what you love, instead of sitting in an office for the rest of your life and regretting that you never had the courage to went full throttle on this. And there is only one life, you're not a cat.
That's my thoughts on that. That's why, in that day, when I sit in an office at my regular job, I realized all that, and I said to myself that I don't want to miss my chance, when I'm young and have full tank of gas in me.
You are not unique, many people choose this path. The problem is that you don't see those many people that failed to follow through on this path.
After all of these years I think I have found the best way to determine what will bring satisfaction with ones life. It is simple to understand, but hard to put into practice. Here it is. Find the problems that you like to solve. I have had many "dreams" and many attempted careers. The one common denominator for all of their failures was that I didn't like the problems presented by careers/dreams. The deal is that when you do something, anything, you are solving problems in that area. If you do it long enough you get more problems in that area. The more you do it the greater number of problems of this type and the greater diversity of this type of problem you will be asked to solve. It doesn't get less it gets more ... wayyyyy more.
I have been practicing singing for 7 months. I see so much more than I did. I see so much more of what I need to do. The road is never ending. Think about this; I do 1000+ scales per day six days a week. I focus on the scales that I do and hear the mistakes the changes and the improvements. I have NEVER been this dedicated to anything in my life. I don't need goals or slogans or encouragement to keep me going. I do it because it is interesting. I do it because I like trying to figure out how to solve singing problems. I am thankful for KTVA because it gives me a treasure chest of information to help ease the trial and error that I would experience if I tried to just do it on my own.
If you don't evaluate what you like to do then you are going to do what I and many others before me have done, fail. A dream isn't enough. Everything costs something. True satisfaction comes when you pay what needs to be payed to get what your really want. Trust me if you think you know what the payment is, you are not doing it right. You end up writing a blank check that says I will pretty much do anything to solve these kinds of problems, and yes I know what those problems are.
Ultimately it is up to you to decide how you are going to spend whatever time you have allotted to you.
In my youth, I too went for it hardcore several times, and once actually moved to W. Germany to join up with a band out there. As you can imagine, there were some unbelievable highs, and some humbling lows (just like in life), but I don't regret doing it. It ended up costing me allot financially as well as physically, but it became an amazing part of my life's journey.
*** Also worthy of mention, this was before the music business mutated into the bizarre thing it is now, and when bands actually got signed to record labels and such.
I would leave you with a quote by Shakespeare:
"... This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man..."
I always looked at a "regular" job as my hobby, and the music was my calling. Even though I had great jobs throughout my life, the music was what really mattered.
Some people look at being successful in different ways. You want the fame, and fortune obviously, but to me, to be able to write a really great sounding song would be success in my mind. I really don't need money to reinforce what I already know about myself at this point, but it would be nice to share my music. I think people would like it.
No matter what you do in life, you have to know what you are capable of, and then push those capabilities as far as you can. All the time.
Peace, Tony
About people that failed...yes. There are many. But you know, I think it's better try and fail than regretting that you never even tried. Of course, if you didn't lose everything you had because of failing. But that's another story.
About solving problems...I get that this path carries many problems. But, like you said earlier, life is a series of problems. They always exist. You will never solve ALL the problems that you have. So you have to make a choice between two evils. At least, you can do it while you're young and you always have the time to change the road you're on. There are problems that can set back your dreams and goals. So you are forced to dedicate time on solving those problems. And I almost encountered with such problem recently.
About singing. That's absolutely great that you do 1000+ scales per day! It's really cool! Imagine how cool it would be to have KTVA back then? I absolutely sure that you will solve your problems in singing, especially if you do 1000+ scales per day!
And you know, I try to evaluate what I like to do. And I can say, that singing is really what I want. I just love turn on music everyday and sing. I love to play on a guitar and sing. I have a synth, which is helping me to do scales. I want to buy a good mic, so I can record my singing. Want to buy a good headphones to actually hear better and analyze other musicians.
And I hope that the problems that you described here, will not affect me.
But it's only my opinion. Don't pretend on anything.
It's like quitting your job to be an actor as Bob mentioned above, but if you never took an acting class, chances are that you won't find much work if any.
The more you bring to the table, the more of an asset you are. (unless you go to Nashville. They like it if you do one thing only lol)
Building a solid reputation is important. Not only with your craft, but how personable you are, how reliable you are, how dedicated, etc........The music seems to be the easy part lol.
When you get the calling, all you can do is follow it, and always do your best.
Peace, Tony
If the fire in you is hot enough, you WILL find the time.
Peace, Tony
I have been on a long, satisfying, and sometimes trying musical journey, punctuated by keeping a roof over my head by whatever means necessary, that I feel very fortunate to have had the pleasure of living.
We all make choices. Sometimes we have fewer options, sometimes more.
Ken made a choice to not audition for Journey (the band) because his family was at a point where he was not willing to sacrifice his time with them in exchange for fame and fortune. Instead, he became a soccer coach for a while.
Ken definitely went at it full-force in his younger years. So did I. Maybe you want to, as well. I totally understand. Then a day arrives where you have to choose whether to continue to try for wealth and fame, which is not being offered to you, or accept normal wages to put food on the table. At that time, you will make the right decision. If your fire for singing is hot enough, that won't be the end of your singing. It will simply be time to take a different strategy to keep your singing journey moving along and continue your vocal growth. You can still love singing if it's not your full-time job.
Figure out how to make it work out best for you in the long run.
Recently I bought a pretty good headphones for my phone so I can hear better the music that I listen to. Sometimes I just feel myself in some way, my mind and thoughts thinking of something else, and I turn on the music and just listen and hear, how the flow of the music and lyrics intertwining with my thoughts and feelings. And I can't sing many tracks that I listen to, but I sing them in my mind. I don't know, I may sound like a lunatic right now, lol.
I heard about Ken did such a life-changing decision. But then again: many people think that happiness of everyone living under our Sun is in the fame and glory. So they say "why Ken did that decision?! He could be a STAR! He could earn so much money!" and etc. But as far as I can see it - some people don't need fame and glory to be happy in life. Some people don't need a big stadium with thousands of people cheering for them - they happy with small gigs with not so much people. They just grooving, and they are happy with their lives!
So I definitely will try this road and will try myself on this road. And when I will be on a crossroad and have to choose should I did music for a living, or should I step aside from it, I surely will do the right decision.
After all, I don't need to be famous to be happy too
Thank you for understanding me and helping me to figure this out.
im gonna give you my point of view and encourage you to follow your dream but I would say a couple of things and its gonna sound like a rant but someone has to say it hehe
In my personal point of view, for what I have read you are young and can do or not do a lot of things, If I would take your path, either I would try to get a mid time job or something that you can afford to get you to the place where you wanna get and make a living, with several roomates maybe, and be very conscious of your goals, or get a full time job and try the small rests or save money to later invest on training and music lessons or equipment or production engineering your band, anything music related that you are attracted to, but the point here is to focus on that, prepare, so you are ready, you can get really distracted, with stuff, the music business (scene) has a lot of distractions, invest your time in specializing in many music areas, like I said production, singing, guitar, engineering recording, I dont wanna sound like a dad, but stay out of drugs drinking and partying as much as you can, just focus on the relationships you make, and goals, really take everything you do really seriously, and as professional as you can, whatever the path you decide to take.
If you do that, you are probably gonna get somewhere good with that mindset, people get distracted with "oh I met this guy who is blah blah blah and he said that he would help me..." "or he knows someone" or whatever and start hanging out with people that is into drugs and partying and yes you meet more people but not really getting anywhere and get stuck in that instead of whats next with my band or project, people who are professional that are in the business and stay, are there not because of luck, but because they got what it takes, they are ready, whatever they do, engineers, producers or backup singers, professional musicians, songwriters, etc there are are serious people and there are some others that aren´t that serious, and guess who gets to stay till the end? the ones that are serious, I know, I know, I do sound like a dad, but trust me on this one, people today are in this mindset of "fake it till you make it" and end up living the dream of rock n roll instead of the living the dream of being professionals, if you are a professional you will stand out, and people will start trusting you recommend you and hire you, this is the mindset I would try to have
hope this was of help
Gaston
it's great to see how dedicated you are. You're curios in a very good way. It reminds me of my son asking me questions about life.
And believe me, WE DO NOT WANT to discourage you. Search and find your way. BUT WE DO WANT to prevent you from being NAIVE.
So if you really want to be a singer:
1.) Get the course (if you haven't yet)
2.) Learn, learn, learn
3.) Practice, practice, practice
4.) Do what Ken teaches us
5.) Prepare yourself for an uncertain journey
6.) Try to get the most out of it
I really wish you great success.
Kind regards,
Marco
You know, when you dream to be a musician you always imagine how you walk out on a scene, music start playing, you grab the microphone and start to sing. Everyone look at you, you in a spotlight and etc.
But what you just said turned the whole thing around. You're not a professional because you are a rock star, but you are rock star because you're professional. So being a professional is a main goal. First you are professional and after that you can be a rock star.
And yes, I will practice, practice and practice! Our credo - always! There can't be too much practice, there's only NOT ENOUGH practice!
I feel guilty before Ken. He gave so much effort to this course and I don't even paid for it.
it is good that you have the course. Watch the videos carefully. Not only once but nearly regularly. I always find new subtleties when reviewing the videos.
I do not know how it it is handled when you received the course as a second hand gift. Important is that the course is paid. Maybe you can get the receipt for the course from your friend und to demonstrate that the course you are using has been paid.
Regards, Marco
I will ask my friend if he had receipt for the course.
I don't sing it continuously, but I do put a lot of singing hours in during the course of a day. I might sing for two hours, have a 20 min break, and then back at it. I do it everyday even though it's recommended that you take a day off. When I do feel any type of fatigue, I take a couple of days off, and then I'm good as new, and sometimes even better.
Peace, Tony
For me I have only been working out in singing for about 6 months, and I have nine hours worth of singing workouts per week. My long days are 2 hours and it takes more than 2 hours to get it done. I had to work up to that and I am older so those are considerations. The bottom line is that if you do to much it isn't going to help especially if you are not focusing during practice. And I almost forgot, mental concentration plays a very important role in practice. If you are just mindless repeating your singing workouts because your brain checked out, you are going to get very little from the practice. Just FYI.