I have been playing gigs for many years now on any one of my many flutes, or saxophone, or bassoon, or voice, or clarinet. I have been around the block and have played for weddings, funerals, parties, musicals, bands, orchestras, you name it. I even spent time as a military musician playing for ceremonies, concerts all around Europe, and parties, and I even sang for the rock band and the jazz band. I’ve been paid well for my time and sometimes, not as well as I would have liked. Sometimes, people have appreciated my talent, while at other times, my years of practice were brushed off like anyone could do what I did. This dismissal of skill was likely due to a lack of understanding of the work I had to put into my craft, or I was simply dismissed as the help! Regardless of the event or the music, I always tried to do my best for my audience. Recent events have had me thinking about my own moral compass and why I accept or turn down gigs, because it wasn’t always about the money.
Over the years, I have made union wages or simple honorariums, and in some cases, I’ve been paid out of someone’s personal bank account so that an event could be more special with live music. I have to say that there have been some very fulfilling moments on both ends of the spectrum. When it comes to gigs, I have learned that the money isn’t fulfilling but the experience is! I am at the point in my life that I would sooner take a gig making great music with people I like, music I enjoy, and audiences that appreciate me and what I am doing for next to nothing, before I would take a higher-paying gig playing music meant to be ignored in the background. Let me elaborate for a moment. Making $100 bucks to play a chamber music concert for an hour for a retirement home full of people who will appreciate the music and maybe find some joy in that moment is worth so much more than an extra zero on the end of the paycheck. We all like to pay our bills, so I am not saying anyone should turn down the financially beneficial gigs, but those smaller gigs leave me feeling more fulfilled at the end of the day.
How many of us have played a gig, collected a paycheck, and left without a single person thanking us for our work because they were too busy networking or just didn’t want to be there? I have made some really stupid amounts of money for weddings only to find myself chasing down the person who was supposed to pay me, and had not one person acknowledge I even did anything. I’ve had a bride request my services out of town with a laundry list of requests to include being there for the dress rehearsal and then scoff at the fees I quoted for carting a piano and driving over 100 hundred miles one way. They expected me to pay for my own hotel and meals and to provide all sorts of special music for next to nothing. On the flip side, I have had a friend pay me $25 dollars out of his own bank account (which I found out later) to play a church holiday event, after which I had a receiving line of congregants waiting to thank me and telling me how much they appreciated having me there. If you know me, you know which event I preferred and would later do many times for no charge because I was appreciated.
The money isn’t always the reason to take a gig. A backyard barbecue with friends where we just happen to play chamber music for others, for fun, is so much more rewarding and appreciated. Community and camaraderie are music making at its finest when I’m with friends I enjoy being around. A supportive and attentive audience is life-changing and brings so much positive energy to making good music. Despite the music being challenging, it never once feels like work.
Again, we all like to pay the bills, but I am suggesting that once in a while, you should take a gig that brings you joy rather than money. Fun fact: I have priced myself so high for weddings that if they are willing to pay my fee, I am willing to put up with the stress because it leaves me time to enjoy the gigs that I play for fun. Years of playing pit orchestra gigs for kids and seeing the cast looking on in amazement as we play the opening curtain for the first time during rehearsal, watching our energy ignite their spark, is payment enough sometimes. Do what brings you joy and inspire others when you can. Life is too short to give the almighty dollar absolute dominion over our lives. Have fun, make music, find joy!