Posted on 03/13/2016 3:38:53 PM PDT by taxcontrol
My son is 16 and is a fairly good musician. He started with clarinet, then moved to Sax and is really good at sax. From that experience, he is very good at reading music and music theory. For the past couple of years he has also been investing in the guitar and is now at the point that he is not benefiting from his high school program.
We have been sending him to private tutors and he is now studying Satriani, Yes, Van Halen, Yngwie Malmsteen's arpeggios from hell, and to my untrained ear doing very well. The boy gets his talent from his mom's side 'cause I have zero music tallent. He is doing well enough that we have changed his after school program and now he is starting with an after school program that will get him to concert venues.
The problem that I am experiencing is that I do not know the music profession and do not know 1) how good he is, 2) what his next move / education should be.
Do we try to get him to a music college after he finishes HighSchool? Do we try to get into a cover band? He is writing and composing his own songs so ... do we try to get his work out there?
Any Freeper musicians that are professionals that can give some good advice?
Lots of folks can play and sing really well. The money is in the songs.
To your comments I would add. Get a band going. Play as many venues as he can. Get a following of fans. Record execs expect some dues paying experience and a fan base. Or cut your own CDs. Have a website for song download of course. Write the songs. Royalties for songs is where the long term money is. Go to school get a degree or have a career to fall back on. In the meantime, play, have some fun, you are only young once.
Ahhh! Proud Papa! You should be :D!
His odds of "making it" in the music field/indstry are slim to none unless he is incredibly talented, I mean uber, Jimmy Hendrix, Eric Clapton great and has the "right connections".
If you want to see what it really takes to even begin to have a shot, sit down with him and watch the move "Whiplash". That's what it takes, nothing less and even then there is no guarantee that he will even be given a chance because you have to have the right "connections/conacts" otherwise he is wasting his time. Not trying to burst his bubble, just pointing out reality.
What is the definition of a software engineer?
Near Cincinnati. Lakota West. Congratulations, must have been exciting.
Near Cincinnati. Lakota West. Congratulations, must have been exciting.
https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/highest-paying-jobs-demand/
I have a degree in comouter science, but I live music. I played flute from elementary through high school, but gave it up to get a “good” degree.
I wish I would have looked into making a career out of something I loved.
University of North Texas is a liberal hell hole.
Keep your kid away from there unless you want them aspiring to nothing.
Real great liberal professors there who despise capitalism.
The chances of becoming a professional musician and making it big are about the same chances of becoming a major league baseball player. It is pretty slim.
But, if you meet the right people and create the right songs, you can make it. I have played in bands for 35+ years and still do the weekend warrior thing, playing a lot of weddings and special events for $300 a show for each musician. It is fun and I enjoy entertaining people.
All of the music schools are going to be liberal
At least North Texas is in Texas. It has active Christian student ministries.
I have lots of Christian friends who went there and liked it.
What’s the name of your friends’ 80s LA punk band?
I love 80s LA punk!
Descendents
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.