Getting Gigs As a Professional Band

Everyone has dreamed at some point of being in a band. But playing Wembley Stadium to 1000s of screaming fans and travelling around in chauffeur driven limousines unfortunately isn't the reality of your average professional band.

Every successful band is treated as a 'business model'.

The internet is usually the place that every band starts, using social websites such as Facebook, Twitter and most recently, Linked In are increasingly accommodating to bands & Musicians. It is often free for bands to join, upload MP3s, videos, gig dates and biographies. By doing this you are keeping your fans up to date with what your band is up to and reaching a wider audience.

Websites such as Bandcamp have also cropped up in recent years. These sites allow users to design a profile, which they can upload songs and artwork to. In addition to this users are able to keep track of fans email addresses, which can be downloaded to an Excel document, making it easy to send newsletters to your all important fans! To top it all off Bandcamp only takes a small commission from its users sales, meaning it is a cost effective way of getting your music out there. For this reason it has become a bands best friend.

Musician Directory websites are also very popular, although it is often very difficult to be found as potential customers have to sift through a never-ending list of mediocre bands in order to find the diamond in the rough. There are often hundreds of profiles so make sure that you include as much information as possible in order to make your profile stand out from the rest! Adding videos of your band playing is a great start to show people what to expect from a live show (assuming the videos are good quality!). It's also a good idea to get people to write a review of your gig on your profile page. The more great reviews, the more gigs!

Busking isn't something everyone has tried. However, it's undoubtedly a great way of making some money and promoting your talent. Contemporary and function bands have taken to the streets countless times in order to entertain the masses. If you're any good you're bound to be offered a gig somewhere, if not at least you'll make some money!

Another option is to offer yourself as an acoustic act as well as a full band to accommodate everyone's needs. Being a Jack of all trades' isn't a bad thing in music.

Last, but definitely not least are house bands. House bands regularly play in a venue 2-3 times a week and become very popular with the locals usually having a standard repertoire of 20-30 songs. This exposure results in the bands receiving more bookings from their ever-growing audience. The practice doesn't do any harm either!

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How To Be A Professional Singer

So you want to sing professionally, but do you have what it takes to become one? Many people want to take up singing as a profession and many more dreamed of being pop stars who could fill concert halls with screaming fans.

For those with natural talents and good connections in the music industry, the road to become a professional singer can be much easier than those without these advantages. Whatever it is, just like in any profession, it can be hard work before you see glorious success.

You can start off with learning the basics of singing such as breathing techniques, voice projection, work on your vocal range and many more things a good singer must learn and master. So taking formal singing lesson is highly recommended although there are singers who made it without formal training. However, it is singers who never stop learning and are willing to improve their craft are the ones who succeed and last longer.

Many aspiring singers actually think that they could just do it on their own and don't realise that taking singing lessons can improve their voice and singing skills tremendously. If you are one of them, please think again because if you do not know how to use your voice properly, you may damage your voice, sometimes permanently and your career as a singer simply goes up in a puff of smoke.

Next, learn from other successful singers. Observe them singing, how they move and capture audience attention. Where did they get their singing talent and what did they do to get where they are? But do not imitate them entirely. You don't want to be a clone. No clones has ever become superstars.

So develop your own style in order to create a unique identity that is you. It is what branding is all about. You want to brand yourself, not take other people's brand.

New singers often face stage fright especially on their initial performances. These singers think that after practicing hard they could face the audience easily. So how can you conquer stage fright? One way is to get used to singing in front of people like joining your church choir, joining small contests or singing in front of your family and friends.

Once you think that you are ready to turn professional, then go out and get a job. No matter how good you are as a singer, if you do not go out there to get a job and sing in public, no one will know that you are a good singer. So go join a band and perform regularly, be a wedding singer and write to clubs that employ singers or you may even register yourself with music talent agencies.

When you begin singing professionally, you will soon get noticed and if you are good, you will be offered better and better jobs and who knows, you may one day become an international superstar.

Chris Chew is a music consultant and said that if you really want to be a great singer, then read Good singer singing lesson and good singing techniques and sing like a star.

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