Make hay while it’s raining

Ever heard the expression “Make hay while the sun shines”? For music professionals the sun probably doesn’t shine that often. I subscribe to the theory that the times when you aren’t doing much paid work are an opportunity, not a threat. A couple of years ago I lost my music job and was thrown back into the world of freelancing. I spent the next few months working the hardest I have ever done and all for no immediate gain. It is only now with time passing am I able to look back and see the fruit of my efforts.

So here’s what I did: a stock take of skills. I listed my areas of interest and skills and I brainstormed how I could monetise them. This lead to me establishing myself not only as a professional music performer (as I was previously) but also as a composer, arranger, publisher, teacher, lecturer and more. I did the obvious updating of my résumé and started circulating it for work. I then started work on building a new body of work, and composed and arranged music for brass instruments and ensembles. I set up new bands, and, using recordings and photos from previous incarnations, I was able to establish web sites with the aim of securing some gigs. I learnt how to manipulate CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) – so I could tweak and adapt themes for WordPress websites. I blogged. I networked both in the real world and online. I got some cash together and made some promotional recordings – which not only generated work for me but also proved a useful connection with the studio owner which then led to other recording and live work.

This weekend saw some of my hens come home to roost. On Saturday I led a brass ensemble performing a concert of remembrance. I arranged all the music the brass ensemble played (work done two years ago) and I got an extra fee on top of the one for performing. On Sunday I performed one of my regular gigs as a member of the Fat Chops Big Band and they premiered one of my compositions. This then got the notice of the guest artist who asked for my card and discussed the possibility of working together. Extra money, further opportunity and all this from speculative work I did whilst not employed.

I am not fighting off work with a big stick, but nor am I a poor starving musician. I always use my ‘dead’ time to work on updating existing work and creating new opportunities. If you are a musician or other arts professional, what do you do when work is slack? Follow my lead and up your game. You never know when it will pay off.