How do you earn money with guitar talent? -

I m a 27 year old female who has been playing guitar (mostly blues and rock) for a bit over ten years. It was always hard to play with other people because I never took myself seriously, but now I ve gained the confidence to do so... I d would love nothing more than to play for people and earn money while going to school. Anyone s experience or advice would be great. Thank you.________There are many avenues available. That said you would have more opportunity in a larger city than a smaller town. I have been playing professionally most of my life and have always managed to stay quot;employed. You might have to start out in a coffee house type setting but you will gain recognition which equates to paying jobs. Some cities have local shows available T.V. and radio, you probably won t get paid but you ll get seen/heard which again = money paying jobs in the future. Another source is to have a demo made and distribute it to various sources such as bridal shops. Weddings can be great paying gigs. You also mentioned blues, which is what I play mostly now. There are Blues Societies all over the U.S. and throughout the world. Check your area and see if there is one available. These societies gather usually on a monthly basis and the have an open forum where you can sign up on the list and get your turn to play. Plus it is a great way to meet other musicians. Once you feel confident enough you can enter our International Blues competition. If you are good enough you will get noticed. Check out Blues Festivals et. al. Best of luck to you. Don t let ANYONE keep you from you dreams. Chile P.S. get a myspace page and put yourself on there singing. :)________Hi, I played in a band in my early to mid 20 s. We played covers and a couple originals...didn t made much first few gigs - eventually I made 50-200$ a gig + free beer. We played in a really blue collar area 0 i had a blast, but I really started studying music at your age and now I m a totally different guitarist. I just jam by myself for different reasons. If you JUST play guitar your going to need a band - and i hate to break it to you, but if you want to make money - and get the people dancing you will have to learn a lot of songs...songs that people want to hear. Remember your playing for people you just want to get loose for the weekend..not musicians. I wasn t that good at all, but i was lucky to hook up with some good musicians, and we became the biggest band in my area. I had to learn about 50 songs over a couple months. If you can buy some sort of guitar trainer so you can loop a part of a song to get it tight. You just need to get your feet wet, then you can worry about making money. Play for free or open up for a friend s band then create a buzz - then start calling clubs/bars and book your band. good luck________Hey :) You could start a band: do you have any musical friends (even relatives) that would be happy to work with you? You could search your local area for people wanting a guitar player, and socialize! extra curricular and social activities can be a ticket to other musicians! check the local pub, or a venue that features local artists and get a slot! Promoting yourself on myspace etc. is a good idea to be well known. You can allways busk! Good luck, hope you can become famous! ^__^