GUITAR
HOW TO BE AN EFFECTIVE MUSICIAN IN MODERN TIMES | Chris Rocha
Throughout the years of playing music and learning the ins and outs of my industry , I ’ ve come to acquire some characteristics that I believe I should share to those of you still searching to find your place . I ’ ve had so many friends that are just saturated with talent that ended up quitting music all together because they got frustrated with spinning their wheels and having to get jobs just to make ends meet . In this article I want to share personal insights of how I was able to stick with music and make it work for me .
I think that before we get into the thick of the monetizing aspect , we need to address the sensitive balance of the spiritual side and the business side of what we do . This applies mostly to those of you who get hired on at churches . Here in States , we ’ re blessed with so many churches that can hire musicians . I believe church is most effective and beneficial when it becomes your home church and your covering . If that place can hire you and pay you then go for it . I ’ ve seen musicians go through that phase where they go to the church that pays them the most , then stay there long enough to find the next church that ’ ll pay them more . I believe they ’ re doing themselves a disservice by not growing and receiving everything God has for them in their spiritual walk . I ’ ve personally had experiences with musicians where I ’ ve invited them to play at my church and the first thing they ask is how much we ’ ll pay them . Needless to say , I didn ’ t call them back . Find that sensitive balance of the spiritual side and the business side and you ’ ll see so many things line up for you .
I also want to make it clear that to be an effective musician you don ’ t necessarily have to make it your profession . You can apply so much of what I ’ m going write about in this article and still have a job outside of music . As long as you make the time to put into it , you can make a huge difference .
I think the first and obvious tool we have is social media . It ’ s in most cases free marketing and extremely effective . A few years back I ran into an old buddy who used to tour and play guitar with one of the biggest artists in my industry about 30 years ago . This guy played in some of the biggest stadiums and venues . They sold out so many concerts and pioneered so much of what we have today . He was going through a very hard time financially and couldn ’ t make ends meet when I saw him and told me this , “ I wish I had what you guys have today when I was at my prime ”. Social media is there for us to maximize .
Every time we post something we keep ourselves in the front of people ’ s minds . I remember going through that endless scroll on InstaGram that we all continuously do and saw this guy crushing a drum track . After I put my phone down , I started working in the studio and realized that I needed to record a drum track for a song I was producing . Guess who the first