“I do not have a band to play with.” This is 1 of the greatest misconceptions in the music business nowadays. Ever because the beginning of music there have been solo artists. Take a medieval singer: all they had to do was go to the city center or marketplace and begin to belt it out. Take a trumpet player in present New York City: all they have to do is obtain a low-cost subway ticket and play for the individuals waiting for trains. These two examples relate to busking, or street performing, which despite its connotations has been the reputable beginning of hundreds of musicians.

Johnnie Mac is a great example of making a really productive living off performing solo and creating the BuskerWorld site. A lot of restaurants have wanted the unique ambiance of live music but not the price of a full band, so they will have a solo or duo perform. This keeps the price low for the restaurant and performer. If a venue is willing to pay $50/hour, why have a 10 piece ensemble? If you are a solo artist, $50/hour is great pay and far more than most folks make at other jobs.

If you really feel you Need to have accompaniment to your solo playing, why not obtain some pre-recorded tracks? Pre-recorded tracks are readily out there and can come as just a drum loop or a full orchestra accompaniment. You can download these to an iPod or MP3 player and have the band, literally, at your fingertips. These tracks can be discovered on iTunes and Amazon which has tracks for public domain songs. A number of of these tracks come with an alternative to license them for other use.

As a musician, you Require to be making a productive industry. This can be tough, but by performing by your self you are eliminating the costs of other musicians, the Will need for far more equipment, and other profit depleting aspects of a band.

1 of the finest aspects of playing with out a band is a useful lesson- entertaining by your self. This is not merely playing or singing but entertaining the audience. When you have a band, you can turn to them, talk to them, joke with the, rely on them, blame them, etc. With out the band, your abilities as a performer, musician, and speaker develop exponentially. About 10 years ago, it was the norm for a huge name musician or singer to come out and sing a stripped, acoustic, or simplified version of a few songs.

All the colored lights and a lot more band members would fade away and the spotlight would highlight the entertainer in a uncomplicated circle of light. All the focus would be on that entertainer, if they had not learned how to be entertaining and capture the audience as a solo artist, it would be a train wreck. As most musicians begin out as solo performers, this is not the disaster it could be. Additional and a lot more though we see this spotlight, solo performance fade since musicians right now are not comfy with being a solo entertainer.

Having a band is not a hindrance but extremely a gift: monetarily, creatively, and as a growing tool for entertaining. If you really feel you Need to have accompaniment, you can download tracks, but keep in mind they need to not be utilized as a crutch but as a little dash of spice to your performance. The biggest lesson a musician can learn is how to entertain as a solo performer.

In My Own Expertise:
As a singer, I had constantly sung with a choir, band, orchestra, or some other form of accompaniment. By no means did I believe I would be able to perform as a solo artist. My husband and I had been asked to perform at a retirement residence and, of course, we accepted. After we had accepted, we realized we pretty did not have any musician pals in the region at which we had been to perform. So we set about brainstorming possibilities: singing a Capella, singing with the original MP3′s of the singer and song, or play to karaoke tracks. My husband has had a profitable career as a music recording engineer and had recorded tracks for himself with which to record his own music and singing.

These tracks had been paid for by him in order to record his vocal and sell his own CDs. We took off the vocals and it sounded just like a live band. So our very first performance at that retirement property, we played to pre-recorded tracks or karaoke tracks. This opened our eyes to a broader marketplace– playing as solo or duo artists with out hiring a band. Karaoke tracks now are not the cheesy sounding synthesizer tracks of yesteryear. Instead, they are occasionally the original tracks with just the vocals stripped. In the case of Taylor swift’s newest album, 1 karaoke business has the original music that her studio band played– you can sing to Taylor swift’s real tracks! Because we found pre-recorded music and tracks, we have performed at hundreds of venues singing as solo or duo performers.

Natalie Oman: Singer/songwriter dispelling the old notions of the defunct music business and bringing back live music by “Thinking Outside the Stage”.

http://www.NatalieOman.com
http://www.PDSongs.com