I do not think it is a stretch to say that paying gigs are harder to come by these days. Professional musicians who earn their living solely by performing and recording are in short supply. I know very few musicians who do not have to supplement their income with another job¬—granted, the other job is usually in the music field but not in a performance capacity.

The following commentary does not concern any one particular genre. To skip the following rhetoric and get right to my point scroll down to the summary.

The job title “musician” does not seem to imply a skill set with which one might become employed, it only seems to imply a goal not yet met. When I am asked what I do, and I say, “I am a musician,” the next question is usually, “what’s the name of your band?” It IS logical that I might be in a band, but why is the question not, “where do you work?” I could be a solo classical performer or a studio musician; I might be in an orchestra, or write jingles. The term “band,” to me, refers to an entity that may or may not “make it” and “making it” is the public perception of what being a musician is, and sadly it is also the perception of many musicians.
I could go on about how many of today’s stars would not sound the way they do if there were not skilled musicians making the music with which the star sings, but this blog entry is not about equal spotlight for supporting musicians. There is often a “star”, a pretty face, or charismatic front person in pop music (as well as other genre) and this is where the spotlight usually belongs to be commercially successful and that is fine. Today’s topic is more about acknowledgment (or lack thereof) of the trade of musicians as a legitimate line of work.

The first step we, as musicians, must do to regain respect as a profession is to demand payment for our services. Put bluntly…don’t play for FREE. This is a small step but is also the easiest to do and control. As long as there are performers (musicians) concerned only with “making it,” there will always be people who play for free. For those of us who dare to call ourselves professional, this is simply unacceptable. When we play for free we are not only robbing ourselves we are robbing our fellow musicians.
Oh, and clubs are NOT to blame. If I am a club owner and in order for my business to survive I have to make money, would I spend it on a band or save it by hiring a band that will play for free. I think I will go with the free one.

Simple fact break: As Americans we live in a capitalistic society. In order to survive in that society we have to make an income with a chosen skill(s). Now if you do not believe in charging a fee to perform music that’s fine, you would simply play that music at home. No, I do not believe that the essence of music lies in monetary gain, but the fact is that many people rely on this profession to earn a living and are constantly loosing work to those who perform only to get noticed or as a hobby.

Example: My hobby is carpentry. I have become quite the capable cabinetmaker Because I enjoy it so much I have decided to solicit my services as a cabinetmaker to local contractors and homeowners…for free. Is this right?

Exceptions. Obvious one first: auditions. Secondly, there are venues and clubs that simply do not pay; it is their policy and that is that, so enter at your own peril. (Note: Beware also of venues that offer to pay a percentage of the house take.) Community orchestras and bands would fit this scenario and the next. Third, donations, certainly donate your time for a good cause if you so choose. I would probably be inclined to say that church gigs are also discretionary in this matter.

Summary. If you are a musician, professional or amateur, do NOT play for free.

Buddie Emmons transcription

“There Will Never Be Another You” is the final track on Buddie Emmons’ 1963 Mercury album Steel Guitar Jazz.  Emmons swinging solo on this take is a great example of how to play through these traditional harmonies. Charli Persip (drums) and Art Davis (bass) provide an immovable foundation yet relaxed feel throughout the tune. The contour of Emmons’ lines creates beautiful phrase shaping over the form.  He combines bebop and country phrases in this solo, utilizing the classic characteristics of his instrument. He exits his chorus by quoting the melody and setting up a smooth transition into the sax solo.

Emmons’ melodic ideas sound deliberate and always have a sense of direction. He stays close to the harmony constantly creating dialogue with his phrases. Other than typical passing tones the solo is mostly diatonic. The first thing to notice is the smoothness with which Emmons transitions from chord to chord. Rarely does he approach the next chord by more than a step. The chord tone he often prefers to land on is the third, as seen in measures 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 20, 24, which can also be heard in a great deal of country solo phrasing.

A recurring device in this solo is Emmons’ use of the descending triplet to arrive at the third of the chord seen in measures 12, 18, 26, 27.  He also makes nice use of the B natural over Cmin7 in measure 6 and again in the Cmin7 arpeggio played over F7 in measures 14 and 15. Both B naturals lead into the C hinting at a harmonic minor idea. The Ab major phrase over Bbmin7 in measure 8 creates a Ab6/9 chord sound while the G natural gives it symmetry serving as the beginning and end of the idea as well as the aforementioned preferred 3^rd of the E7.

The pedal steel is often heard playing chords and arpeggios in both solos and accompaniment. Emmons uses the pedals to create linear phrases and his slide technique makes accenting the swing wonderfully smooth. Combined, these pedal steel characteristics efficiently provide an effective weight to the swinging eighth note lines and triplets. This can be heard throughout the chorus but is a little more pronounced on the slurs in measures 1, 6, 7, 27.  He incorporates more of a country sound in measures 19-22 with double stops and harmonies that are reminiscent of bluegrass vocal harmonies.

The non-tempered characteristic of the instrument makes shaping phrases a little more personal. One example of this can be found in the typical jazz/swing phrase using the raised 4^th as an ascending passing tone, (mm. 2=G-Ab-A-Bb). The pedal steel player has the ability to tune every note therefore emphasizing “blue” notes and passing tones, just as an “orchestral” string player might play a leading tone slightly sharp to emphasize the tonic.

The passages that do not contain slurs sound very guitar like and the slurs give the impression of a violin.  Emmons finishes his solo by alluding to the last four bars of the melody using an organ like Bb pedal under the Eb and D. He resumes this organ approach by using volume swells in measure 33 and his comping that follows.

Emmons is a pioneer of his instrument and this solo is again a shining example of how to navigate standard changes.

-Jonathan Bass

Buddie Emmons transcription

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