How to Get Hired as a Session Musician
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ก.ค. 2024
- www.JonathanCurtis.co.uk
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Introduction
3:26 - Hiring a Cellist
9:35 - email Replies and Portfolios
16:35 - What are Producers Looking For?
18:45 - What Most Helps/Hurts the Applicants?
21:01 - What Skillset is Expected in a Session Musician?
25:13 - Where to Look for Session Work
32:50 - Misconceptions
35:25 - Build a Portfolio
37:05 - Websites
In this video, I talk candidly about my experiences as both a session musician, and a producer/record label owner who hires session musicians on a regular basis.
I talk about I look for when hiring other musicians, why I chose one person over another, and try to be as open as I can about the process behind it all.
There is no magic bullet to instantly make you a session musician, but hopefully hearing it from somebody on both sides of the veil might provide you with a few insights.
Support this channel:
►Patreon: / jcurtisdrums
Follow me:
►Facebook: / jcurtisdrums
►Website: www.JonathanCurtis.co.uk
Buy Linear Freedom:
►Direct: www.jonathancurtis.co.uk/shop
►Amazon: amzn.eu/d/i6Hhqwy
Jonathan Curtis proudly endorses Bosphorus Cymbals - เพลง
John...This was ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! I subscribed immediately after hearing so much information in this video...I am a performing solo keyboard artist and found your down to earth commentary fascinating and hit me down to the core...I surely hope you continue to put up more videos such as this on various topics...Or continuing on perhaps a part two? LOL....Very nice John....Thumbs way up brother!!!
Hi Manik! Thanks so much for your kind comment. I'm really glad you found this useful. I'll definitely share a few more thoughts in the future.
Kind regards,
Jonathan
@@JCurtisDrums Would a Reverbnation page containing Videos (including TH-cam) of a lot of your Work count as a "portfolio"?
Thank you for the video, it was very informative!
Thank you for the inside. It was great video
Fantastic video, very informative.
Thanks for all your information, John; cannot wait to hear about how you got started in the industry, because it would help others to prepare and know who to approach and maybe some of the pitfalls that might be there. Keep doing what you are doing and thanks again.
Thanks for your kind words Sandy. Have you seen this video? It's an old one now, but I think I discuss how I got started: th-cam.com/video/9uqD5hKQsIA/w-d-xo.html
Great video mate thank you
You’re very welcome
Thank you so much!
You're welcome 🙏
Jonathan, I love this! It's an invaluable insight from a producer's perspective that a lot of us just aren't aware of. I'm thanking you for this because I've been chipping away at doing more routine drum recording gigs. All of what you mention makes so much sense. The gigs I've worked so far was through who I already knew, or people that are fans of the band I drum for (The Dickies). It still definitely took me making sure the people around me know I'm looking for session work. They can be a big fan of the band and love my drumming, but I don't actually say "I'm open for session work", then they most likely won't even ask!
By the way, are you in need of any drum work? 👍
Hi, and thanks for the kind comments. I'm glad this has resonated with you.
As for me, I'm always open to offers of drum work, so feel free to get in touch if you have something in mind.
Many thanks,
Jonathan
Hi.. you made me think of rewriting my professional resume (having nothing to do with music though)
I hope that’s a good thing!?
This was super helpful. Thank you. What facebook group did you post in?
Thanks. I think it was called something like UK Musicians for Gigs... something like that.
loved this video! just a small question, is age a huge deal? Im studying at music college part time while working with local musicians and running some social media accounts and am trying to do a bunch to make my worth go up. I have some solo music out for studios to listen to but I've been recently trying to reach out to studios for bigger session work than what I've done in my small town. So is age gonna hold me down?
Do you mean being young or old? I’m guessing you mean young, as you’re in college.
Ultimately, no, I wouldn’t say that age is a huge factor. However, for young players people will want to hear about your experiences. I’ve worked with musicians in their early 20s, in fact I think one was 19, but he was able to demonstrate a list of experience they gave me confidence he was up to the task.
Young or old, I think demonstrable experience and professionalism is far more important than the actual age itself.
Thanks for the video. I think in my experience the “producer “ experience is quite horrendous. Typically they run you threw takes looking for the hardest fastest Phil Woods bebop solo they can get while paying you literally nothing. How can a musician base their livelihoods on something so subjective and often you’re left without pay?
I’m sorry to hear that. What a bad experience. For me, I never enter the studio either as musician or performer without contracts in place, these days. It avoids this exact situation. I hope you have some good experiences in the future.
Hi Jonathan I just wanted to ask, would you be interested in hiring a Session musician I play drums grade 7
Hi there. Could you please contact me through my website: www.jonathancurtis.co.uk. The youtube comment section is not the most professional platform to discuss work. Thanks!