Attitude

During my travels I at times come across musicians who tend to have a negative attitude towards themselves, their music, and their audience. It seems to be that if they've been in the business a long time they tend to grow tired of what they're doing and can start to feel a little stale. Hey, I understand that if you're playing the same songs to the same audiences time and again then you're going to find it increasingly difficult to maintain freshness and enthusiasm for what you're doing.

It doesn't have to be that way, and neither it should. Let's not forget that as professional musicians we have the best job in the world and that's reason enough to turn up for work with a smile on our faces. If you're not enjoying your music then you shouldn't be doing it for a living, simple as that. The bottom line is that if you're not enjoying yourself and you're disrespectful of your audience then that energy is certainly going to come across in your performance and ultimately you're going to find it a lot tougher to get gigs in the future.

So what do you do? Well, firstly you need to take responsibility for your attitude and decide that if you really want to continue in a professional music career that you're prepared to make some changes. It's a competitive industry and there are plenty of other hungry musicians eager to pick up your gigs.

Put things into perpective. We all have those nights when you're playing to an empty room wondering what on earth we're doing there. If you're not playing music for a living, what are the alternatives? Would you rather be slinging burgers at Macca's or stuck behind a desk in an office all day? See, it's not so bad. That's a good start, isn't it?

Take a look at your song list. When was the last time you learnt a new song? Maybe it's time to add some new material. Learning new songs not only keeps you fresh as a musician, it also adds to your versatility and appeal to booking agents, venues, and audiences.

Find some other musicians to either jam with or form a group with. You learn so much from interacting with other musicians and you have the opportunity to share stories and swap ideas as well.

Look for another creative outlet for your music. Perhaps you're a frustrated songwriter and you're sick of playing cover songs in order to make a living. Record your songs, release a CD, hang out at songwriter nights. You don't have to stop doing what you're doing but finding a creative outlet may be the breath of fresh air you need to keep you focused on your music business.

Seek out new venues to perform in or consider leaving town for a while and doing a mini-tour. I'm sure you've heard the saying, a change is as good as a holiday.

These are just a few suggestions but above all, remember that it's a privilege to play music for a living. Keep smiling.