RE: [Harp-L] what makes a good professional player?

["Smith, Richard" <rismith@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jason - You might want to check with Randy Singer, who made available
his "Music Handbook" to us all for free.  I guess the link to it would
be in the Archives somewhere, but you might try Randy's website first.
It contains a lot of good information about getting jobs and getting
into the business.

Richard J. Smith
Wormleysburg, PA


-----Original Message-----
From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx]On
Behalf Of Jason Stolaruk
Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2005 11:48 AM
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Harp-L] what makes a good professional player?


As I am considering trying to make a career out of playing harmonica, I 
am very interested in hearing any answers to the following question: 
what makes a good professional harp player?

Here is what I already know (some things that I have come to realize I 
should consider, as well as some things that I figure I've got going 
for me).  Realistically, I can't expect much money (I figure that if I 
make enough to wear clothes, eat, and sleep somewhere sheltered, then I 
will be lucky).  I will have to be willing to engage in a great deal of 
self-promotion.  I will be up against tight bar managers, etc.  It will 
help me a great deal to sing (which I can do, though there is a lot of 
room for improvement in that department... however I am confident that 
I can and will improve with practice).  Although I primarily play 
blues, it would be a great idea for me to become versed in a variety of 
styles, in order to make session/studio work more feasible.  I am 
willing to relocate and tour.  The moment a band breaks up or I have to 
leave a band for whatever reason, I ought to get involved in another 
band right away.  I think I would very much enjoy teaching harmonica as 
well.  I am clean and sober and intend to stay that way (I say this 
because we all know that many musicians are not, so I have to figure 
this is a great asset).

A little more about me...  I am 26 years old and have been playing harp 
and other instruments for about 10 years, and I've constantly been in a 
variety of bands for all that time (but primarily as a hobby, with some 
paying gigs here and there).  I love almost all kinds of music, though 
I keep coming back to blues and the harmonica (which I excel at far 
more than any other instrument).  I am reaching a point in my life 
where the timing is good for me to try to give this a go.  For many 
years now I've been rather haunted (hehehe, is that the right word?) by 
thoughts such as, "You can do this... you can give it everything you've 
got..."  But to be honest I still have a lot to learn about playing 
itself (I suspect you will see more questions from me about technique 
in the near future... practice practice practice)!
So you see where I am.  Having said all of the above, if anyone can 
offer something in response to my original question, I am all ears.  
Particularly I am interested in what makes a good pro in terms of 
personality, particularly in the context of band relations/politics (I 
suspect things can get real sticky the minute a band makes the leap 
from playing as a hobby to playing for money).  But I am interested in 
hearing any kind of response on or off this list.  The prospect of 
trying this is really exciting but a little frightening at the same 
time.  I feel like if I don't give it a shot, I will regret it for the 
rest of my life.  If it completely flops, perhaps the regrets will be 
much less...
In any case, thanks for reading this long post.

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