Thought's about becoming a full time musician?

[Ficticious]

So I really want to become a full time musician. I'm 4 months in and I just love it so much, it's not like I won't go to work or do other things. but for me every new day is a new sound and a new track etc.

Problem is I've got 5 courses & Work. Thinking about dropping 3 of my courses, I know about balance but I just feel that composing and learning music is so much more enjoyable.

Not really sure what I should do...

Advice would be helpful.

[constrobuz]

yolo

[idontreallygiveashit]

[quote="Ficticious"]it's not like I won't go to work or do other things

Not full time then.

Don't bother, won't happen. Disappointment awaits.

Safe.

[Ficticious]

Pretty much full time, 16 hours a day minus the days I got work or go out with buddies.

always reading, always learning.

Could say that i'm addicted.

[idontreallygiveashit]

What answer are you looking for?

"No, i have no objections to you being passionate about creating music around your job."

wtf.

[OfficialDAPT]

Pretty much full time, 16 hours a day minus the days I got work or go out with buddies.

always reading, always learning.

Could say that i'm addicted.

That's the feeling I had at 4 months in but I decided to play it safe and go to college and just do music for fun. Still as fulfilling and awesome to learn new stuff and make tracks in your free time. From what I hear it's a long and bumpy road trying to make a living off of music.

[Ficticious]

What answer are you looking for?

"No, i have no objections to you being passionate about creating music around your job."

wtf.

Stick with 5 courses or drop 3 for the passion of music?

Maybe a good 2012 article on music business.

Or possibly take a college engineering course on audio engineering?

[Huts]

Don't drop classes or quit your job or anything like that. Work on music whenever you can but at this point, 4 months in and receiving no financial gain from your music, it'd be silly to cut out school when you can work on music whenever you're free. This stuff has no time limit, no age cutoff or anything like that. If you love it this much now, you'll love it just as much in a few years when you're done with school. Except now you'll have a degree, a job, some experience (4 month is awfully short to want to drop school and go full time with this), and you're love for music won't have altered. Just chill

[Ficticious]

Don't drop classes or quit your job or anything like that. Work on music whenever you can but at this point, 4 months in and receiving no financial gain from your music, it'd be silly to cut out school when you can work on music whenever you're free. This stuff has no time limit, no age cutoff or anything like that. If you love it this much now, you'll love it just as much in a few years when you're done with school. Except now you'll have a degree, a job, some experience (4 month is awfully short to want to drop school and go full time with this), and you're love for music won't have altered. Just chill

Makes sense.

Can I get a article on the music business 2012?

And I would never quit my job ever. that'd be silly.

[alphacat]

+1 on what Huts said, plus...

Everyone I've ever known with a creative passion who tried to parlay that passion into money wound up compromising somehow and losing their passion for the thing they did - painters who became graphic designers, musicians who wound up playing in cover bands or working at Guitar Center, or dancers who became giant-headed costumed mascots in amusement parks... because when the priority becomes making money off of it no matter what, you're compromising yourself. A lot.

If on the other hand you're making music because you're compelled to and you're less concerned with 'being a musician' (which is mostly image, and mostly other peoples' perception of an image at that) then it's not gonna go anywhere anytime soon, and it will be your joy and refuge; sometimes you won't be able to do as much as you'd like, but when you do get around to it you'll appreciate it more and take it that much more seriously. You can take time refining your craft, whatever it is, and when you're ready put it out there for release if you like instead of being so desperate for income that you're pushing releases that aren't reflective of where you're at musically and are really only designed to sell to some target audience (the true definition of selling out imo... "there's so much bad house music: I can make better bad house music, and that shit sells! I smell profits, yo...")
But I would add that the missing ingredient from the secret sauce - and something I wish I'd figured out when I was a young feller like you - is that it's a really, really good thing to cultivate discipline... both in music and in life in general. When your willpower is focused and resolute, that's when shit happens. So I'd say yeah, all of the above stuff about just getting well-grounded in life and letting the music be the icing on the cake instead of shlepping cake batter in a hot factory for a living, so to speak - that's all true. And when you come at your music, as with anything worth doing at all, be consistent and put the time in when the inspiration is flowing especially. Good things will follow. Don't half-ass it and then lament that you never got your shot. You don't have to hustle like a fiend, but do make the full effort. Only then can you say that you truly gave it your best shot, too, and feel proud about it no matter what happens.

Going to take my geriatric vitamins now... and by that I mean weed.

[AxeD]

I study audio engineering, but that's entirely different than trying to become a musician.
It's just a career.

[Ficticious]

+1 on what Huts said, plus...

Everyone I've ever known with a creative passion who tried to parlay that passion into money wound up compromising somehow and losing their passion for the thing they did - painters who became graphic designers, musicians who wound up playing in cover bands or working at Guitar Center, or dancers who became giant-headed costumed mascots in amusement parks... because when the priority becomes making money off of it no matter what, you're compromising yourself. A lot.

If on the other hand you're making music because you're compelled to and you're less concerned with 'being a musician' (which is mostly image, and mostly other peoples' perception of an image at that) then it's not gonna go anywhere anytime soon, and it will be your joy and refuge; sometimes you won't be able to do as much as you'd like, but when you do get around to it you'll appreciate it more and take it that much more seriously. You can take time refining your craft, whatever it is, and when you're ready put it out there for release if you like instead of being so desperate for income that you're pushing releases that aren't reflective of where you're at musically and are really only designed to sell to some target audience (the true definition of selling out imo... "there's so much bad house music: I can make better bad house music, and that shit sells! I smell profits, yo...")
But I would add that the missing ingredient from the secret sauce - and something I wish I'd figured out when I was a young feller like you - is that it's a really, really good thing to cultivate discipline... both in music and in life in general. When your willpower is focused and resolute, that's when shit happens. So I'd say yeah, all of the above stuff about just getting well-grounded in life and letting the music be the icing on the cake instead of shlepping cake batter in a hot factory for a living, so to speak - that's all true. And when you come at your music, as with anything worth doing at all, be consistent and put the time in when the inspiration is flowing especially. Good things will follow. Don't half-ass it and then lament that you never got your shot. You don't have to hustle like a fiend, but do make the full effort. Only then can you say that you truly gave it your best shot, too, and feel proud about it no matter what happens.

Going to take my geriatric vitamins now... and by that I mean weed.

Oh I'm not talking about selling out or anything like that, money isn't really on my mind for music. It's more like, I don't know it's overbearing all I wanna do is make music all day cause I enjoy it that much (Other than again, when I have to go to work or have friends to go out with) and college is kind of like a box-in place for me, feel I could do so much more from work experience and such ahr har...

Audio engineering seemed cool.

My dream would be to be able to sit and learn about music and make it all day personally, but I know that's impossible.

[idontreallygiveashit]

what you are asking is if it's a good idea to spend more free time with your hobby that you already spend all your free time on anyway.

do the classes if you think you'll enjoy it.

a lot of people lose interest in stuff they find fun when doing it at an "academic" level.

[Hircine]

learn how to do other shit aside from making beats. learn how to mix, record, capture live sound, perform acoustic treament (for factories and classrooms), fix electronics and instruments, in depth synthesis, how to edit audio, how to setup different sound systems for different situations, et coetera. then also learn how to do some other shit like how to manage a business, get a lawyer degree, whatever. Important thing is to be good at whatever you are doing and to always have options.

[alphacat]

learn how to do other shit aside from making beats. learn how to mix, record, capture live sound, perform acoustic treament (for factories and classrooms), fix electronics and instruments, in depth synthesis, how to edit audio, how to setup different sound systems for different situations, et coetera. then also learn how to do some other shit like how to manage a business, get a lawyer degree, whatever. Important thing is to be good at whatever you are doing and to always have options.

</thread>

[Ficticious]

learn how to do other shit aside from making beats. learn how to mix, record, capture live sound, perform acoustic treament (for factories and classrooms), fix electronics and instruments, in depth synthesis, how to edit audio, how to setup different sound systems for different situations, et coetera. then also learn how to do some other shit like how to manage a business, get a lawyer degree, whatever. Important thing is to be good at whatever you are doing and to always have options.

</thread>

Thanks. Suppose that's what I needed.

[Aufnahmewindwuschel]

the less time you have the sharper your ideas and your will to make something worthwile will be when i have lots of time after a few weeks of beeing on fire i start playing around with 1/128 arps and all that stuff and and up with huge wierd clusterfucks of halfass ideas cause you just dont care at some point anymore if its worth to continue or it its just crap. but wit les time you feel you have to get shit done

[Hircine]

learn how to do other shit aside from making beats. learn how to mix, record, capture live sound, perform acoustic treament (for factories and classrooms), fix electronics and instruments, in depth synthesis, how to edit audio, how to setup different sound systems for different situations, et coetera. then also learn how to do some other shit like how to manage a business, get a lawyer degree, whatever. Important thing is to be good at whatever you are doing and to always have options.

</thread>

Thanks. Suppose that's what I needed.

you can dj every weekend with a full time job, you can also produce during the night. go out less, do less drugs, sleep less; you will have enough time to study, work, make music and perform. I'm currently in law school and doing scientific research for credits. Still producing 3~4 tunes per month (every two ~ three months I come up with one that is good enough to play out), got a gig coming in December and I plan to start a internship next semester. focus and discipline is all you need. And I always have time to record my friends' bands. just be realistic about shit, the more music feels like a getaway from every day life, the better your art will be.

[Ficticious]

learn how to do other shit aside from making beats. learn how to mix, record, capture live sound, perform acoustic treament (for factories and classrooms), fix electronics and instruments, in depth synthesis, how to edit audio, how to setup different sound systems for different situations, et coetera. then also learn how to do some other shit like how to manage a business, get a lawyer degree, whatever. Important thing is to be good at whatever you are doing and to always have options.

</thread>

Thanks. Suppose that's what I needed.

you can dj every weekend with a full time job, you can also produce during the night. go out less, do less drugs, sleep less; you will have enough time to study, work, make music and perform. I'm currently in law school and doing scientific research for credits. Still producing 3~4 tunes per month (every two ~ three months I come up with one that is good enough to play out), got a gig coming in December and I plan to start a internship next semester. focus and discipline is all you need. And I always have time to record my friends' bands. just be realistic about shit, the more music feels like a getaway from every day life, the better your art will be.

That;'s discipline man. wish I had that discipline.

I understand. Feel kinda better about this all now.

[deadly_habit]

prepare to be poor
most full time musicians, even successful ones don't have all their eggs all in one basket
IE: have a bud who was in two moderately successful bands (touring, putting out albums even in physical form) who not only did all that, also gave private lessons on drums and keyboard/piano, worked full time at guitar center, later went to part time to work full time as a chef as well, all to make ends meet and be beyond the poverty line.