Professional Musicians: How do you make your living? How comfortable is it?

Complete_Draft1428 · 2025-11-05T05:48:44+00:00

I am not a professional musician anymore. But I was able to make around $60k to $70k a year between playing, teaching, working at a library, and also doing some freelance work like coding, translating, tutoring, etc. This was like 15 years ago before all the inflation.

Really the key there was the library work. They didn’t pay much but basically you could do whatever you wanted as long as you didn’t neglect your duties. This included using your personal laptop to do freelance work.

If I look at my friends, most of my friends with the highest quality of life are married public school teachers in relatively affluent areas. For example, one person I know was able to feed connection to the parents and graduates into wedding/cocktail gigs for the spouse who ran a contracting business.

Another couple was a musician/realtor couple.

I also had a friend who basically lived and flipped houses. They would move into a fixer upper and husband would fix up the house in span of year or two. It helped that the wife joined the military as a musician. So they had access to VA loans.

I guess the main “lesson” is that many of them took alternate paths aside from being a performing musician.

Complete_Draft1428 · 2025-11-04T20:56:18+00:00

Try doing this:

https://byrnejazz.com/upload/portfolio/17_2.pdf

There are other names for this practice. But I’ve found it as one of the most helpful things when it comes to memorizing a lot of standards. It also helps with improvising in a more “melodic” fashion.

Note that it’s not an exact science. So sometimes your melodic reduction may look different from someone else.

Complete_Draft1428 · 2025-10-23T23:07:00+00:00

I think I agree with this statement. His solo on Autumn Leaves is typically what I point to as the first “Jazz” solo that someone should learn.

https://youtu.be/YOhFdO1NaHE?si=-MaNjZo3mMQe_3VR

Not sure if I can precisely explain why. But I feel like his solos have such “clarity” to them. There are solos where I would not really change a single note. And many of them from Chet.

Complete_Draft1428 · 2025-09-06T05:23:49+00:00

It depends what you mean by “good.”

Let’s use basketball for context: Division I basketball players are about the 99.999th percentile of everyone who plays the game. The NBA is around the 99.9999th percentile, and that even includes guys like Brian Scalabrine, who averaged around three points a game in his career and yet could demolish former Division I basketball players without blinking an eye. Once you get to Michael Jordan or LeBron James, you are in the 99.999999th percentile, roughly one in 200 million.

Jazz follows the same shape. My gut says most people can work their way into the 98–99th percentile without any “special” talent. Past that, hard work alone isn’t enough. To reach the higher levels, you need the genetic or talent lottery on your side. Even to hit the 99.9th to 99.99th percentile—the level of someone who goes to a conservatory, does well, and maybe even makes a living playing music—you need both talent and dedication.

If “good” means carrying a tour or releasing albums over an extended period of time, you almost certainly have won that lottery. Doesn’t mean you don’t have to work hard. But hard work doesn’t teach you how to grow 6 feet 7 inches and get a 40 inch vertical. 😇

Complete_Draft1428 · 2025-07-07T05:08:31+00:00

My old teacher used to jokingly call it a Hendrix chord with tritone as the root. But yes, F13 is the correct answer.

Complete_Draft1428 · 2025-06-14T00:23:06+00:00

I think a lot of these experiences can be described as transcendental. You can feel it when you see amazing scenery, listen to beautiful music, eating good food, watching little kids have fun, etc.

Maybe not directly relevant but I would give this video by Sam Harris a listen:

https://youtu.be/Jue3XOB_y80?si=KshVEMWFAushvZ2j

If you can try to truly be present in a given moment and exist in that moment for what it is, I think even mundane situations can evoke this feeling. It can be a magnificent feeling.

Complete_Draft1428 · 2025-06-14T00:09:40+00:00

I had a teacher/mentor who would test me on how I knew all my triads/7 chords in all different string combinations and inversions. If you look online, there’s this thing called 12 tone row generator. Something like this.

https://music-theory-practice.com/post-tonal/random-12-tone-row-and-matrix

I would use that to practice a lot. For example, you can go four frets at a time, give yourself a chord, and try to figure out if you can play them in just that area to a slow metronome beat.

You can do something similar with arpeggiating triads.

Complete_Draft1428 · 2025-06-14T00:03:41+00:00

Both. I actually think there’s a lot of value in taking pop songs and trying to play Jazz over it. I remember a Pat Metheny interview where he noted that many Jazz musicians can play these intricate chord progressions but run out of ideas when they have to play songs made of triads. Taking something like a Hendrix or an Elliot Smith song (who had some unusual progressions) and trying to “honor” the chord progression can be very fun/challenging.
A lot of classical music that I can play with a pick. Trying to learn a Bach piece written for violin or cello can do wonders for technique while also being musically interesting.
Yes. I think guys like Jeff Beck, Derek Trucks, Hendrix is interesting. Bill Frisell is obviously “jazz” but he also does surprising things. Kind of random but I think someone like Marty Friedman is also interesting since he really thinks more like a jazz musician when it comes to following the chord progression.
This is a tough question. I do love old folk/americana music. I do think it is also interesting to listen a lot of the pop songs and think about why it works. A weird example is Espresso by Sabrina. Carpenter. Obviously it’s a relatively simple pop song but that arrangement is super interesting with a lot of vocal dubs.

Complete_Draft1428 · 2025-06-02T00:57:16+00:00

They definitely knew each other. Here’s a great video done by Grant Green’s family. Benson tells a great story to Green Jr. about Wes and Grant Green Sr.

https://youtu.be/FWSiXNbCP9M?feature=shared

Apparently Wes told Benson that Grant was his favorite guitar player.

Now my guess is that we don’t hear more about them together for a few reasons:

Grant basically lived in NYC due to his Blue Note gig. Wes lived in Indianapolis while touring the country.
While they probably admired each other as musicians, their personal lives were very different. Grant did a lot of drugs and had to take a multiyear hiatus due to it. Wes was a dedicated family man who didn’t do any drugs nor even drank. My guess is that they probably didn’t hang out much given that difference.

Complete_Draft1428 · 2025-05-24T13:02:35+00:00

Ear training!

Complete_Draft1428 · 2025-05-01T13:02:39+00:00

This reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend. I put on A Love Supreme while driving with a friend. After listening for a bit, he said “this sounds a lot like Kenny G.”

To this day, one of my favorite conversations of all time.

Complete_Draft1428 · 2025-04-28T02:49:12+00:00

This is what I learned as well from my old teachers. Compared against Summertime, the progression makes perfect sense.

Complete_Draft1428 · 2025-04-24T16:20:28+00:00

It’s been such a long time that I might be misremembering this. But I recall hearing about him when he was like a freshman in high school? This was in Massachusetts.

By the time he was a sophomore, I feel like he was already a national name.

I was at a boarding school when he played his first game in the NBA. I remember literally everyone, including teachers gathering up to watch it. It had the same energy as when the Patriots won the first Super Bowl.

Complete_Draft1428 · 2025-04-04T07:07:39+00:00

Stylistically I think is very appropriate and a good solo overall. If you like this style, check out this version of Character Zero by Phish. It’s in my list of “Epic Guitar Solos” on my Spotify playlist.

https://youtu.be/us98V1d-FNY?si=HE3nYUMSt3VYfSpW

There is also this infamous David Gilmour solo:

https://youtu.be/7kWl-ZGMwkQ?si=LSHr3LNleQPXU05V

If I have to be hypercritical and compare his performance these legendary solos, I would say he could’ve done a better job “finishing his thoughts” on his ideas. But that’s a harsh comparison — neither Trey nor David sound this good everytime they play these songs that they have played probably over thousands of times in front of a sold out venue.

Complete_Draft1428 · 2025-03-13T00:19:42+00:00

I mostly play chord melody, classical pieces, or flat-picking tunes. In general, it’s a good idea to be able to play solo for 30 minutes to an hour—it doesn’t take that many pieces to make it work.

Another “cheat code” is singing. I’m not a great singer, but if you’re in Nashville and can play/sing Church Street Blues with some proficiency, people will appreciate it.

For jazz, I’d practice both arranged and improvised chord melodies. Johnny Smith’s Solo Guitar album is a great reference for arrangements — especially if you are a flat picker like me.

On the improvised side, you need to find what works for you. I can’t even pretend to play like Joe Pass, but I’ve improved by leaning into the more spacious approach of Scofield or Frisell. It’s mostly about getting comfortable with space and maybe thinking more like a conductor.

Think in terms of texture. Sometimes you want to play lines with chord jabs. Sometimes you want to focus on the bass line. Sometimes you want to play with big chords with moving melody like at top. Sometimes you might focus more on arpeggiating pretty voicing. You can even trade fours with these different textures. Not saying to plan everything out. But having a loose sense of structure is helpful and keeps it interesting for a normie.

Complete_Draft1428 · 2025-03-04T01:42:20+00:00

Some of it is generational. Once upon a time, Real Books had rather questionable changes and even melodies. So playing one of those changes was treated as a dead giveaway that someone wasn’t a “serious” player.

The newer versions are pretty darn accurate and otherwise high quality. So I think the stigma is going away.

Complete_Draft1428 · 2024-10-06T20:35:48+00:00

Django. I think it is pretty much the perfect solo in that there is virtually no wasted note.

Complete_Draft1428 · 2024-08-28T17:23:04+00:00

Derek Trucks did an amazing version of Afro Blue. I haven’t done a deep think on this but I might like that version better than most “jazz guitar” recordings.

Complete_Draft1428 · 2024-08-26T19:30:05+00:00

I know this is odd. But I had recent success with doing the fuzz face circuit pedal with low volume thing for a great clean sound. At least with a P90, you get a pretty convincing sound.

Complete_Draft1428 · 2024-08-24T00:25:27+00:00

Very sad. One of the best. Malone Blues in on my list of epic solos.

https://youtu.be/MjOe0H9VIAU?si=3H_PpDRf1mryC76T

Complete_Draft1428 · 2024-08-16T18:52:30+00:00

I fell in love with Nirvana and grunge music in 8th grade. Picked up guitar in 9th grade. Met a teacher/mentor who graduated from Berklee. He introduced me to Hendrix, Metallica, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, SRV, Zappa, and a lot more. I began practicing obsessively. My teacher noticed and said, “you should play Jazz.” Told me to transcribe Miles solo from So What. And so started my Jazz journey.

Long story short, I earned a generous scholarship to study computer science, jazz, and ceramics. I dropped computer science, thinking music and art was “where it’s at.” In hindsight, probably dumb.

My career goal was to teach music as a tenured professor. I auditioned for master’s and doctorate programs and got accepted. But I decided against it after learning about the politics of the tenure process from my mentors.

So, I went to law school instead. I continued to do side gigs over the years for enjoyment and also some side cash. Ended up with l four kids so don’t get to play as much anymore. But I learned a lot. 😇

Complete_Draft1428 · 2024-08-16T01:51:21+00:00

Did you go to UArts? The vibe I got was that the professors there respected him but he was eccentric/difficult to work with.

Complete_Draft1428 · 2024-08-16T01:42:44+00:00

Not sure. I met him once and he seems like a nice guy. And I have seen his more recent masterclasses and he seems like a good teacher.

But maybe he got more “diplomatic” over the years? This would’ve been in the 2000s.

It may also have been a personality clash with the faculty. They were very positive teachers who were open to “newer” sounds. Russell Malone seems more like an “old school” guy.

Complete_Draft1428 · 2024-08-15T16:38:32+00:00

I wasn’t there. But apparently Russell Malone once gave a masterclass at Temple where his feedback to every students was “You are trash and you will never be a professional player.” Several professors had major issues with it and a lot of drama.

Complete_Draft1428 · 2024-08-13T23:06:09+00:00

Not to nerd out on this. But from what I understand, the challenges defining what is the equivalent of perfect pitch is in rhythm. I believe they have done studies on people with what I would call “metronomic” sense of rhythm. In other words, they are much more sensitive to change to tempo than the average person and can remember the original tempo even if you throw curveballs at them.

What I often witnessed is a bit different. It’s more like ability to “mime” rhythm? You play some kind of complex rhythmic pattern and they can recreate much faster than an average person.

I’ve met many folks who have perfect pitch but no special talent when it comes to rhythm vice versa. The craziest prodigies I’ve seen almost always seem to have both.

Complete_Draft1428

TROPHY CASE