Finding success as a musician
posted Friday Nov 10, 2023 by Scott Ertz
If you have been thinking about trying to become a professional musician, then I've got some good news for you. There is a way to improve yourself and your skillset in order to create a successful career. All in all, you just need to know what you can do to actually make that work, and that is something that we are going to look at in some detail.
Here are many of the important things that you might want to do if you are going to find success as a musician. As long as you can do the following, and you stick with it, you should find that you are going to be so much more successful and that you are likely to really notice a difference in your life. Let's take a look at what is involved in all of this.
Create an action plan
As with nearly any other job in any industry, it is best if you start out with some kind of action plan that you are going to follow. Just having a plan is going to be really important and will help to ensure that you are going to have a much better chance of success in the end. That plan can be approached in a lot of different ways, but the main point is that you need to know roughly what direction you are going in and how you can make sure that you are going to stick with it.
That plan should also have a good set of the goals that you hope to achieve, and this is something that you might need to think about a little first of all. It might also change over time, but a roadmap can help you know where you are going. Once you figure it out, however, you should find that you can get to a place where you are much more likely to appreciate what you are going for and why. And that is a much stronger place to start out overall.
Get some inspiration
There are probably a wide variety of people who are going to inspire you, and it's a good idea to make sure that you are paying attention to them and their music. Having people to look up to in this way can be really important, and it's the kind of thing that you are going to need to go outside of your comfort zone if you want to ensure you are going to carry on and find the success you are really hoping for. Whether it's looking at what kind of Audio-Visual Services they use to make sure their shows are top notch or asking for recommendations on venues for your type of crowd, getting inspiration from others is never a bad thing.
If you are short on inspiration, then it can be helpful to have a period of research, where you look for new music and try to actually find people that are going to help you in terms of figuring out what you personally want with your own music. So make sure that you find some inspiration of this type if you really want to be successful in the end.
Practice your instrument
Of course, most of what you need to do is to simply make sure that you are practicing your instrument as best as you can. This is something that is going to be really important to do at all times, and you should never feel as though there is not more practice to be done, because there always is, no matter what. The fact is that practicing your instrument is going to help you to become a much more confident and assured musician in no time, and it is actually the most important thing that you can do.
So you should make sure that you are working at this, and that you do all you can to give it as much time as possible. It can take a lot of patience to get good at any instrument, but that is very much part of the point, and something that you can always work on as you see fit. And the better you get at your main instrument, the easier you will find it to become a better musician more generally too. There are tons of tools available, no matter what you play. Find an app that helps you learn to fine tune your skills. Get a tutor to improve your abilities. Whatever it takes, get there.
A key part of practicing an instrument is owning one. The last thing you want to do is practice with a borrowed instrument as that will only delay your progress. So, be ready to invest in an instrument of your own and pick one you can easily feel comfortable playing. You should also invest in a good brand that suits your skill level and will withstand frequent use. For example, if you're now learning to play, focus only on the good violin brands ideal for learners when looking to purchase your first instrument. This way, you can continue to practice your instrument, master your craft, and find success as a musician.
Branch out
It can be a very handy thing to branch out and learn other instruments. Once you have gotten to a place that you are happy with for one instrument, you might then want to move on and look at learning another one, which can be a very exciting and effective way to improve your musical skills considerably. That is especially the case if you go for a completely different kind of instrument, as that is going to help you to have so much more success on the whole. Branching out in this way is actually going to be really enjoyable as long as you do it for the right reasons and you make a point of enjoying it for what it is. It can also change your perspective music as a whole and give you a better understanding on how music works and how different musicians work together.
Again you will need to make sure that you are being patient as it can take a long time to learn any new instrument, even if you have another one under your belt. So make sure that you are being somewhat gentle with yourself, and you should find that this helps a lot. Branching out can be a really good thing to do if you want to be a better musician.
Perform more
Although not all musicians like to perform, it is a major part of the whole lifestyle, and something that you might want to try for yourself. The more of a performance you can make your music, the easier you will find it to get it out there, because it is going to be such a better thing for people to hear it live. However, performance is a whole other skill set in itself that you will need to try and develop, and there are many things to consider here.
For instance, maybe your music does not easily translate to the stage, and you have to think about what you can do to make it work. Whether that means the use of a foot controller, or hiring people to play with you who didn't make the music with you, all of that can be really important in making sure that the performance is as it should be.
And you might just generally want to make sure that you are performing your music more often, because the more practice you get here, the better that is going to be for your music and for your career. So make sure that you are doing that.
Market yourself
Of course, in addition to the music iteself, there is the business side of things and this is something that you are going to really need to focus on as well. If you are serious about being a successful musician, you have to think about how you are showcasing yourself to the world, and how it might be improved upon. Make sure that you are marketing yourself as well as you can if you want to find success.
Find where your potential fans are at, whether that be Facebook, Reddit, Discord, or somewhere else. Also, find out where your potential sales venues are, whether it be bars, clubs, marketing agencies, and more. Wherever they are, you should be there, too. That's how new people will discover you and your music. This activity will often be the main difference between a successful musician and one nobody remembers.
Conclusion
Those are just some of the things that you should make sure you are thinking about when it comes to finding success as a musician in today's world. If you've got more suggestions, drop them in the comments below.
