Linda Stout

Last night at our gig, Nate Marshall mentioned how diverse -- and contradictory -- a professional musician's skills must be. To survive or thrive, I'm finding the job demands a smorgasbord of requirements. And it's not always yummy. So... 1. Disciplined Musician. I think a basic requirement, whatever style you do, means having the discipline to learn music and pull it off. Different people have different voices or approaches to their instrument, but it takes some basic work. If someone has the quirkiest of voices, they still have to have their act down. Getting there takes time. I think of the hours in practice rooms at music school, or the late nights playing, or even when I'm juggling multiple other things (that's coming), I play pretty much every single day. Sometimes it's not for long, but 5 minutes is better than nothing. It's usually longer. I think I missed about 3 in the last year. I could start on myself about including the metronome or drum track every time, but that's another blog. 2. You have to communicate well. That is probably music's purpose, but in the more mundane world as well of setting up gigs, it means talking and writing. 3. Being organized is important. It's a business getting music out into the world. 4. But, letting loose. The ability of an artist to go deep, let loose on stage or in the creative process is pretty different from being organized. It means being willing to feel and go with it. I like that the best. Maybe it can help my business skills in some way. I've done PR and newswriting and counseling as day jobs. Maybe my passion for music can infuse the business end. I'm not bad at the business, which is really just talking with people. I'm great at e-mailing, type fast as I think, and have even done a little graphic design work, though I'll want to hire people for the big stuff. To be continued...I am going to play music. Fun.