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| Becoming a Cat A Guide For The Professional Musician by Christopher Cortez Introduction As a professional bandleader, I have come in contact with hundreds of musicians over the years who audition for my group, and are loaded with talent but lack basic music theory training. Once in a while I will hire the talented novice, who agrees to study hard, only to be dissapointed later when the discipline required proves to be too much for them. On the other hand, I have also seen this investment pay off, and I was once the young novice myself, so I tend to have a soft spot for these people. Each time this has happened, I have had to assemble the same set of materials for their education from multiple sources. To simplify the process for myself and the student, I’ve created these articles as an “all in one” reference for such situations. The most valuable musicians are known to each other as, “The Cats”. It’s sort of an insider’s club for the best players. They share a basic work ethic that states, “If I’m to do a thing, I will strive to do it to the best of my ability.” “I will do this for the love of the work itself, and I am willing to do whatever is required to make it the best that it can be.” People who have this basic work ethic, run their lives in a very organized manner. They are usually prompt, reliable, and understand the need for a schedule. They set goals for themselves, and budget their time to accomodate their practice needs. They also share a passion for music that is unstoppable. They are constantly listening to, practicing, performing, and composing music. They study the masters who have come before, while remaining aware of current trends. They realize that, while they may have their own personal preferences, all music is valid and deserves to be studied, and played, with respect for the composer’s intent. The ideal players seem to have a unique ability to add something of their own to the mix, all the while respecting the form, melody, and structure of the arranger’s point of view. In addition to this, they all read music which speeds and simplifies the process of rehearsal for everyone. They seem to gobble up new music with a voracious appetite. When improvising, their spontaneous melodies illustrate the harmonic environment they are being presented with. Now that we have a picture of the model employee, lets take a look at the typical novice. First of all, this person doesn’t read music. He or she may or may not know all of the chords, can’t hear subtle changes in the chord structure, and consequently chooses wrong chords that “sound right” to them. They may have been popular in high school because they could pluck out a few pop tunes, but stopped learning new music a long time ago. If they practice at all, they simply play something they already know so they are unprepared for any new situation. Since they don’t read music, they are dependant on someone to play the music for them, or prepare a tape, to illustrate how the song goes. |
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