To practitioners of the musical mathematical matrix.....
The Incredible Skill Sets of a Live Music Artist
One of my friends commented recently that you would have to be an idiot to be a musician these days. “What a waste of time that is. For what? Nothing.”
I paused for a minute and then asked her what her wedding would have been like without the seven piece band that she hired. What would it be like to go to the movies with a soundtrack on any of the commercials OR the main feature? What would the soundtrack to her life be without…. well the soundtrack? Those moments in our memory – what song was playing when your crush asked you to dance in grade nine? What song was playing at the dentist when you got your first filling? What about all the songs that followed us around a supermarket or on any purchasing decision we made - Aeroplane Jelly, Vegemite, Louie the Fly, Maccas (I’m lovin’ It), Bananas (make those bodies sing) AAMi (lucky you’re with) Aussie Kids are Weetbix Kids and of course Qantas (I still call Australia Home).
I reminded my friend of the musical mathematical matrix that influences our biochemistry and accompanies every aspect of our human experience.
She smiled and nodded “fair enough” however, her comment was a reflection of a distinct lack of comprehension of the complexity and specialty involved in working as a musician. Most people take music for granted like it’s a disposable no thing – anyone can do it, right?
Consider the years where the Music Industry across the planet was rudely interrupted? It wasn’t until we couldn’t just go out and see live music, that we realized just how important it was. From the Virtual Zoom concert, the Drive In Theatre concert, the fenced off corralled areas for audiences to sit – nothing matched the energy of a live music show.
Because what we are all actually looking for is a hit.
A hit of higher frequency.
Going to a bar, club, pub or concert hall, there is a live energy exchange between the audience and the musicians on stage, the bar staff and the patrons, the physical location, the environment inside the venue. Everything is vibrating at a higher frequency when you add live music into that environment.
It really doesn’t matter about the quality of musicianship, vocals, entertainment or even sound quality. Even though, of course, those things are vitally important, what the audience is truly seeking is to raise their own vibration.
Marilyn Manson once famously said “Music is the strongest form of magic.” The magic of the increase in frequency alone is a pretty major health benefit in itself. For that alone, it is impossible to underestimate the contribution that musicians make to the world every time they step out on stage.
But if we examine the elements of what it takes to deliver a live show on stage, it becomes crystal clear that the knowledge, expertise and capacity required for a working musician are actually highly in demand skills across every industry. Simply by being a working musician, you are quite literally building a monster resource and resume that will equip you for any job in any situation in any market.
Start with physical strength. Gigging musos have the dedication of a high-level athlete who conditions and builds strength in order to load the gear into the van, out at the gig, back into the bar and then back home again. To execute this at least five times a week, a precise exercise and stretching routine is necessary. Like an Olympian in training, a succinct risk management plan is in place for manual handling to more efficiently manage the heavy-duty lifting areas like knees, backs, wrists, elbows and shoulders. Stretching, breathing and specific exercises mitigate the collective RSI to build capacity into those areas.
Gigging musicians tune their instruments, and they tune into their bodies. A vocalist identifies which factors will influence the quality of the vocal delivery. So whether it's sleep, stress, diet, temperature; as a vocalist, risk factors are pin pointed and addressed. The ensuing development and management of a thoroughly researched, tested and disciplined practice oversees the preservation of the vocals in the face of multiple shows back-to-back. Like a scientist, the application of a meticulous wellness strategy manages the elements of recovery when needed.
Gigging musicians instinctively know how to read a room. Just as they tune into their bodies, they tune into their environment and can discern the right song at the right time, when to fill dance floor, when to fill the bar or how to wind the event down in a perfectly timed slow dance. They modulate the frequency.
Gigging musicians are masters of logistics, advancing shows, coordinating suppliers, installations, calculating stage dimensions and scheduling specific elements of the live show to create the spectacle.
As Influencers, self and cross promotion is second nature. Scoping and planning photo shoots for the best promo shots, writing copy, pressers and bios, designing brands and digital assets, setting up social media pages, teasing interesting and leveraging marketing assets and stories to build the music brand are all quite literally in a day’s work. When it comes to finding gigs, nothing gets in the way of selling the music brand to agents, event managers and promoters.
Gigging musicians are craftsmen maintaining instruments and equipment with the utmost precision. A broken guitar string won’t stop the show. There is nothing a ball of gaff cannot fix. A gigging musician can fix, repair and replace anything in the shortest amount of time. Few other humans can walk into a room and feel 250hZ in their chest and engineer any mixing desk to find the perfect mix.
Like a relationship savant, building long term connections with fans, punters, bar staff and security guards as well as retailers and instrument repairers simply comes naturally. Dealing with hecklers and overzealous fans develops high level communication skills simply to survive.
If you examine the theatrics of a show, from designing lighting and costuming, from audience engagement to good old fashioned banter, to the rise and fall of the energy in the room, it becomes clear just how skilled you need to be to work as a live musician.
Then there is the streamlined financial management required as a live music artist. Accounts Receivable and Payable. Bookkeeping. Budgets. Negotiating with Clients. Bartering with Suppliers. Paying players or PA hire companies. Live music entrepreneurs manage their accounts on their phones – Xero, Invoice post gig, linking bank accounts, tracking payments on line, emailing directly to all debtors and creditors. One phone. Accounts sorted. No fuss.
Any one of these skills is impressive. But the cumulative day to day management of a live music business is nothing less than spectacular.
I would suggest that any employer, in any market would happily target practitioners of the musical mathematical matrix, knowing the immense benefit their business would reap as a result.
Written by Nichola Burton. I work in partnership with Agents, Artist Managers and Event Producers, who juggle a diverse range of relationships in the Musoverse, to curate, manage and measure data in systems, experience, creative and content to support the entire Musoverse operation in my enterprise A Little Pitchy Copyright 2024
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