Gigging for Dummies

1. Find and Get the Gig. Obvious, but remember you can’t play a gig you don’t have. Steps to take include activating your network, which may be one-on-one personal connections, social networking sites, or simply hanging around with your peers. In the old days, we used to call up fellow weekend warriors and say, “Got Saturday night? I’m looking if you hear anything.” There’s nothing wrong with asking. Making the work come to you can be an arduous process requiring everything from a simple query to an all-out schmooze attack. You need to let folks know what you do, that you can do it well, and that you are available — and interested. Get it on the hook and reel it in.
2. Do the Gig. Once you land the gig, panic may ensue; you really have to perform now. Don’t get caught staring blankly at a page in front of a band. Learn the tunes, make your own charts, record your practicing, and record your rehearsals. Know the music so well you could teach a course in it. Don’t forget that the creative potential of the job is inversely proportional to the amount you’re being paid, so make sure you’re providing the full service you’re hired to do, and don’t overstep your role. Assimilate the music, and always be early to rehearsal; many things are decided during the coffee klatch. 
3. Own the Gig. It’s yours, so make it so. Repeat in your head before you play, “This is mine,” or “I got this tune down. I own it.” I know a famous drummer who makes mini charts with chord symbols so he can remind the non-readers (guitarists, mainly) what chord the bridge starts on. He’s an instant genius. Make it clear that you are in total control of your material, and only then can you start playing it your way. The best players are able to accomplish steps two and three at the same time. Amaze and impress your fellow gigsters while you’re flopping it on the boat.
4. Have a Blast. Playing an instrument for a living is the most fun a human can have outside of the hot tub. You are now free to lay back, smile, scan the front row, and enjoy the fruits of your labors — and don’t even think of leaving the club without being paid.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 many times and enjoy.

Session Sensei would welcome your comments on this. Please visit myspace.com/sessionsensei — or write me care of Keyboard magazine at keyboard@musicplayer.com — and tell me what you would do.