differences between amateur and professional harmonica player
Hi
I'd like to know your opinions on this topic,
What do you think is your definition of professional and amateur, as regards both the approach and practice.
thanks in advance for the answers :)
Best Regards
Marko
thanks for the great answer hank stefaniak !!!
then there is only one type of amateur and two types of professional...
to be professional i think it's important to have the the opportunity to travel,
the semi-professional play only in local places
the repertorie of professional and semiprofessional i think it's similar...
thanks
Marko
I agree that the repertoire is similar although a professional (or regular gigging semi pro) needs to have enough to do a 3 or 4 set (usually 1 hour each) performance and usually considers tempo, key and style to provide interest and not sound the same. Hobbyists and many semi pros don't have the same level of need.
The conflict that occurs is when semi pros take on gigs for less money (they don't have the same need to make a living from music because of their 'day job') which puts pros at a disadvantage and often out of work. This applies more to club gigs at local bars and small festivals than it does to big festivals and major shows. Its a very interesting situations because it impacts on things like ticket prices and and whether or not there is a charge at the door in clubs. Clubs/ bars are mainly (only?) interested in selling booze and food. The music is to get the customers in the door and most customers aren/t that fussy when it comes to good music vs great.
Think $40 for great and free or $5 for good - hmmmmm?? This is becoming a real dilemma for the pros that I have met in our local area and I'm fairly certain we are not unique in this respect.
Thanks!
great topic hank stefaniak !!!
at this point, with that dilemma,
i think the only thing a professional can do to beat the competition of semi professionals,
it's do a better show than semi pros,
like you say great vs good,
and not in terms of technique but more on entertainement,
a professional have more time to practice to work on that...
Probably most others on this site play gigs or jams and have contact with 'professional' and 'semi professional' players. Any other thoughts on the subject??
Interesting question given some of the 'issues' in our neck of the woods right now.
To me a professional is one who makes his/her living from playing/teaching harmonica. An amateur is one who does it as a hobby (for enjoyment, love of it, entertainment, social activity) without any thought of payment.
The crossover complication is the whole area of those who have a regular job and also play in a band, have gigs on a regular or occasional basis and get paid for it. A lot of these I would call excellent harp players on the basis of the quality of their playing but I would not call them professional. I guess thats where the 'weasel words' come into play. They are "semi-professional"