Musicians probably already know this, but the rest of you may not. Sometimes (rarely) I get questions, like how do people know to call you? Or another question I got recently (okay, in response to a prompt, but still: how do I organize my time?)
Okay, so let’s start with my system. Currently I use google calendar for my everything, and I use My Music Staff to organize my private teaching studio. My Music Staff syncs with my google calendar so it’s all on there, but it makes it easier to keep track of attendance and for students to do their own canceling and rescheduling, plus it sends them reminders via text and email.
I get asked to play for things all the time! I’ll have days where I get asked for a half dozen things at once, and then perhaps a week where nothing happens. Sometimes I try to track these things, but it’s hard to stay on top of, and honestly, it’s pretty much throughout the year. So when I get asked to play something, it could be via text, email, phone, whatever. I try to respond as quickly as possible, and if the answer is, not sure, let me check, I’ll let them know that as well. I want to be the person people ask because they know I’ll respond right away.
How do I decide whether to take a job? Mostly the question is, am I free, and does it pay reasonably for effort? And, if it doesn’t pay well, is it something I want to do for another reason (usually that reason would be, because it is a chamber music opportunity to play something that isn’t commercial but really feeds my soul). I also play things that pay a little lower if I know it keeps me on the radar for other things.
Oh, and it’s always important to consider the location of things: you have to factor in, is there enough time to drive there and not be stressed out about arriving on time? And on time means early for musicians, with different (often unspoken) arrival times expected depending on what the gig is. So I always put the address into google calendar so I know that too, as well as putting important information in the “notes” part of the event.
The question as to if I am free can be a little tricky something. Let’s say I’m not technically “free” but I need to move two students to do something that pays decently–I’ll do that. Unless I look and see that I’m moving those same two students several weeks in a row, maybe, or if I notice that it’s the week before a big performance for them. I might know they are students that aren’t flexible, or perhaps I know they ARE more flexible. So a lot of things go into consideration with that.
Let’s say it’s a several week long show, and yet it conflicts with a small gig or two that I already have (for instance, a wedding)–if it’s a lot of money for one larger job and it’s a decent amount of time away, I might ask the contractor for the one-off job about finding a sub instead. This is where things can get tricky: you want to be seen as reliable and not constantly chasing something higher paying or better, but yet there are obvious times where one job is worth finding a sub for. You have to weigh these options as well.
How far in advance are things booked? Well, I already have some things on the calendar for May, but nothing past that at this time. I’m sure wedding contractors have weddings on the books already for next summer but haven’t asked people yet. That usually starts happening after the new year. Easter and Christmas Eve usually book up 9-12 months early for me, and jobs in December will come up at any time from February on, with some early and others late. People definitely hire musicians last minute, but they also hire them early! I’ll get last minute gigs that fill in a gap sometimes, but other times everything on my calendar will have been there for months.
How do people know to find me? Word of mouth, internet, I don’t know! The more you play out, the more people you meet. My goals are to arrive early, be responsible and organized, be friendly and polite, and of course, to do a terrific job on my instrument. I never want to play a job and have somebody feel doubtful about hiring me again based on my skills or how I do the job. And I always try to give my best effort, regardless of what’s going on around me.
What kinds of things do I play? Everything! Weddings, funerals, church services, small orchestras for choirs, string quartet concerts, other chamber music, pit orchestras, regular orchestras, recording sessions, baroque ensembles (this is a new things to me!), background music for touring artists, and more! One thing I love about being a freelancer is the variety of stuff I do, though a LOT of it is weddings, the wedding business is booming apparently.
The one thing I haven’t mentioned is practicing: I usually don’t worry too much about getting music learned. Generally for difficult things you’ll get the music far enough in advance to learn it, and otherwise I’ll fit things into my schedule as needed. I make time to practice when I can, though it’s never as much as I “should” or as much as I used to when I was younger. Sometimes it would be nice to have more time to practice, but that’s really hard to make happen. I’m also a really skilled sight-reader and I have decades of experience behind me with repertoire, so often what I’m playing I’ve played in the past. So for a less experienced musician, this might be more of a concern, but I don’t worry too much: I figure I’ll make it happen, and I pretty much do. Occasionally I’ll have a performance where I wished I had been able to put a little more time in (usually some difficult chamber music piece) but I do have to treat this whole “thing” as a job, and sometimes that means you take the gig when you get it.
So, let me know if you have more questions! I never feel like an expert (being a classical musician means constantly questioning your skills) but as I get older I realize, maybe I am in some senses.
