Being a Professional Drummer: WARNING: Windy roads ahead
- Matt Jones
- Mar 1, 2018
- 2 min read
I still get a lot of questions about my book and the reasons why I chose to write on planning and managing. Some people when I explain it still look at me perplexed. It's about what?... Well, it was true then and it is true now. There is more to your music career besides getting a degree, practicing 8 hours a day, and learning all the drum beats in the world possible.
You have to get out there... You have to network... You have to talk to people. Yes, not just like their Facebook posts. You have to harness technology, and your online presence. And if you really look into the drumming profession, there are multiple paths, not just ONE. If you truly have a passion for being a musician, and not just a "drumming god" in a huge band jet setting around the world, making millions, then this is the book for you. Life isn't a straight road. Neither is your career.
Your music career is a windy road, and it's hard to predict where you're gonna end up sometimes. But, with a truck load of persistence, a sense of discipline, and consistency, you can live a pretty great life. Forward is the only direction you need to stay focused on. You need to drive into the abyss, and embrace a bit of chaos. And within the book, you can formulate an outline of things you would like to do. Do you want to travel? Do you want to teach? What type of music are you interested in doing? How do you go about doing it? From someone who has traveled alot, touring isn't the best thing ever. WHAT? Truth. It can be quite grueling, and very difficult to be away from your family for long periods of time. Being a father now, I couldn't imagine being on the road all the time. So, what do I do locally at home to make it in music? What do other people do?
Planning I believe is biggest downfall of musicians. We can be very good at the creative, but so bad at the business side. We're all given the same 24 hours. So proceed with caution, for it's not easy. However, the worst thing in life is regret. You will never know if you never try, so you're worse off not taking a chance on yourself :)
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All the best,
Matt J.