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How do I find people who want to hire me to play music?

I am a saxophone player pursuing saxophone playing in college and wanting to make that my profession. It's very hard to find enough gigs to fill up one's time or get a desired income. How do I get the right people knowing who I am and what I can do for them. #music #networking #saxophone #music-production #career #performing-arts

music networking music-production performing-arts saxophone
Thank you comment icon Hi Tanner! If you are a jazz musician, I would suggest going onto google and searching jazz jam sessions in your area, this is a way for some older cats to give you good feedback and get good connections. If you are a classical musician talk to your lesson teacher about attending any recitals and such. Any way that you get your horn out and play for people would be good start. Gabriella
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Marcos’s Answer

I am a saxophone player myself, played from 4th grade to freshman year in college. The most important thing to do as a musician is to make your self known by networking. Once of the things my friends did was go downtown Chicago and play on the street. From their, individuals that are watching you will see your talent and then request your to help them out with a gig or concert. This then leads to a gig, which will lead to future gigs if you perform as expected.

If you focus on networking and hone your skillset, you will be a very sought after and have gigs many times during the week.

If you also teach music lessons, that will help you meet other individuals that can put you in a position to land gigs.

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thanks!
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Mia’s Answer

Build a good network. I found my girls' guitar teacher through the instrument store that I got their guitars from. I just asked if they would recommend teacher. You may want to audition at family clubs to see if they need someone.
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Corina’s Answer

To start, it will be important for you to determine what type of gigs you would like. Once you have identified this, I would connect with someone who is currently successful, and listen to their story about how they began to build their network. You could also considering performing alongside of someone who is already established if there is an opportunity to do so.

At a basic level, you're providing a service (a performance) to meet a demand. We hired a saxophone player for our wedding. Like our other wedding vendors, we found them through trusted sites, and recommendations from our wedding planner. It's important for you to be able to market your brand, and make it easy for those looking for this service to find you.

It's also important to treat your brand with the seriousness it deserves. Have a polished profile you can lead potential clients to, an easy and clear way to book services, and a place to collect client feedback will all be essential in keeping a steady flow of business going.
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Angela’s Answer

Hi Tanner,

Start with volunteering. Not many paid-gigs will find strangers to play. There are many active musicians looking for work and they all know each others. Music is a very small world. Volunteering is the best way to spread out your name and let people know you. When time comes, you will be contacted.

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Robin’s Answer

Setup a youtube channel, get some good quality recordings of you playing different pieces of music. Corina made a great point - find wedding planners, event planners and advertise your services/skills with them. Build a LinkedIn profile - consider playing at corporate functions too
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