Habits of being a professional musician: taking care of your investments and improving your stage presence
What makes an amateur musician different from a professional musician?
Assuming that both artists make great music, what are the other factors that determine the success or failure of a musical career?
In fact, we could spend hours discussing all the different internal and external criteria that can influence the success of an artist and therefore his professionalization.
But in this article we will first come back to the mindset and good habits to adopt in order to behave like a true professional musician.
Take care of your creations and investments
As an entrepreneur (or musicpreneur), the professional musician understands the importance of his investments.
It may first be a monetary investment, for example in the form of the equipment used.
If you come into a gig with a budget guitar, worn strings, and a 15-watt amp, you might come across as an amateur.
Invest in quality equipment and take care of it (maintenance, transport, insurance, etc.).
The same goes for your creations, the fruit of the time and effort you have invested.
It is the duty of the professional musician to protect his albums and songs in order to be legally recognized as a songwriter.
Improve your stage presence
The scene is fair. If once in front of your audience you are not up to the task, they will quickly realize how unprofessional you are.
It could be showing anxiety, shyness, or annoying your audience. It is not enough to play your songs in front of an audience to create a remarkable concert.
A professional and successful concert is prepared well in advance in order to offer an unforgettable and unique experience for its fans.
The professional artists have understood this well and set up consistent and strong shows. At your level, nothing prevents you from adding surprises or originalities in order to surprise your audience.
To do this, don't hesitate to have your live performances filmed so that you can take a step back and see what needs improvement.
By adopting these habits that I have mentioned in this article, you are going one step ahead of all other amateur musicians, and even some “pro” musicians.
It's up to you to put all of this in place and make the right decisions.