Session work

[equinox]

I have given up on band, they just really aren't for me. Now I worked very hard to get to where I am musically and it annoys me that despite all of that work I am still playing in my garage on my own. I have known a few guys in my time that did session work and I really though what they did was looked very rewarding. Now I don't pretend that I am ready for session work in any sence but I would like to aspire to this some day. Can anyone give me any advice on how one gets into this, I don't have much experiance with recording and I need help. Any advice at all would be really cool, thanks.

[rh15951]

Getting friendly with a local busy studio would help.

[BenJammin]

I'd imagine you would have to be an extremely versatile player, with well-rounded knowledge in technique and theory, and also have connections coming out of your ears.

Sometimes the most essential thing in getting a job is who you know.

[bleep_bloop]

Sometimes the most essential thing in getting a job is who you know.

word

[HaVIC5]

Getting a gig is one thing. Keeping getting gigs is what you need to do with session work, and thats tough. My advice is to learn how to read. Better than you could ever imagine. You're pretty much expected to sight read everything perfectly in one, maybe two takes tops.

[the101er]

To quote Leland Sklar

"If you want to get into session work, travel back 30 years"

Really, there isn't much work in the session scene anymore. I'm not saying it's impossible to find a gig, but as Havic said, finding a gig and continuing to be in demand is not easy.

[real_low_mind]

:( I know how you feel when you can't find decent band members.
Even though I'm 16, my life is obviously passing me by. And no one is getting any younger around here.
Session work = how uncreative. I wouldn't do it.
Be a recording engineer. At least you can be a little creative.
Better yet be a solo artist. I think that might be my road too under these circumstances.
We should start a club.

[Left Shoe]

session work uncreative?

[Riouken]

Reading is of super ultra massively duper importance. Learn to read, learn some more and keep reading some more and some more.

I think Marcus Miller said something along the liens of "Learn how to read but play it like you're not reading it."

Networking is a great idea and also, just performing a lot too, play on as much stuff as you can. Don't let opportunities go to waste. You are gonna have to be extremely versatile though if you want to get as much work as you can.

Good luck! :thumb:

[Soulfly666]

Check this out, it's a good read.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=173311

[real_low_mind]

session work uncreative?

it's when you go in the studio & play for other musicians, right? is that what we're talking about?

[HaVIC5]

it's when you go in the studio & play for other musicians, right? is that what we're talking about?
Yes. And we all know that coming up with powerful, tasteful lines within minutes of seeing the chart is highly uncreative.

Oh yes, and the pay is so much worse than playing in a band.

[real_low_mind]

Yes. And we all know that coming up with powerful, tasteful lines within minutes of seeing the chart is highly uncreative.

Oh yes, and the pay is so much worse than playing in a band.

Who said anything about the pay?

I still wouldn't do it. That's all I said.

[HaVIC5]

My first point remains vaild. Session work is plenty creative.

[LowExpectations]

I'm with havic.

Feeling someone else's music takes a lot more creative intuition than feeling your own. I see session work to be challenging.

[gaslight]

Session work requires much more from you as a player than being in an original band ever will.

Great session players (todays include Pino Palladino and Doug Wimbish) get plenty of work and they get gigs from it too, they aren't locked in a room all year.

Being a successful session player takes talent, creativity, technique and knowledge - of theory of course, but also of technique and especially of styles of music. You have to really know your way around different styles, not just the watered down stuff like "Oh, a bossa? Yeah easy, I'll just play the root and fifth." And you have to be able to read music like a mother****er.

Reading music may be hard to learn but its well worth it if you want a sure fire way to make real money out of music, not the other way of making real money which is to play in an originals band and hope it lucks out for whats basically a 1 in 10000 chance of being mega successful. Being a good reader means you can get a call for a gig in the afternoon and get paid that night.

[Left Shoe]

Who said anything about the pay?

I still wouldn't do it. That's all I said.

i dont think you seem to grasp what session work really is

[mastrrbasser]

obtain music from every artist/genre/style you can get your hands on. Load it into your media player, put it on shuffle, and play along with every song whether it be punk, funk, hardcore, jazz, hip hop, prog, big band...etc. I've been doing this for a while now and i can pick up the changes and structure after the first listen, and play the line/make up my own the second time through on most songs. It's fun as hell too. also drill on your reading, and learn to follow chord charts.

[equinox]

Thanks for the replies. Well my reading skills aren't great, I fully know how to read but sight-reading isn't a hot spot for me but I do work on it and it does seem to be improving. Like I said, I'm not ready for it now but I do think that in a few years with some real work and effort I might be ready to try it. The reason I want to do it it cause it seems like a really rewarding job and I think that it would be wonderful to be able to make money out music. Now, where are my sight reading books :D.

[mastrrbasser]

Thanks for the replies. Well my reading skills aren't great, I fully know how to read but sight-reading isn't a hot spot for me but I do work on it and it does seem to be improving. Like I said, I'm not ready for it now but I do think that in a few years with some real work and effort I might be ready to try it. The reason I want to do it it cause it seems like a really rewarding job and I think that it would be wonderful to be able to make money out music. Now, where are my sight reading books :D.

30 etudes for string bass by franz simandl is a great book to drill on reading. Some stuff is straight up 8ths and some of it is a lot more complicated than that. it's a fair balance of challenging tunes, and really helps your left hand technique.