IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Olaf Furniss P H O T O
Girls Rock School and co-founder Fiona Watt (with guitar, front centre)
I
: J A N N C A H O N E Y
Anastasia Connor Rose Manson
OLAF FURNISS FOUNDER OF BORN TO BE WIDE HAVE THE RIGHT REASON What is it that really attracts you to working in music? Too many people just want to hang out with bands or, in the case of some musicians, only want to be famous. Employers can usually spot the former as they are reluctant to get their hands dirty. In the case of the latter, the best thing to do is just i nd out when the next heats are for one of the TV talent shows. That saves everybody a bit of time and irritation. Most acts who just want to be famous stand out because they do not go to see other bands and come across as entitled narcissists. Above all, their music usually ranks somewhere between mediocre and generic pish.
approach GET OUT THERE It is surprising how few people actually music organisations and companies about work experience, but this is an excellent way to get a perspective on different areas of the business. A lot of people start out in one area of the business and end up somewhere different, so nobody should worry about it too much. Making connections across the board is always useful and will be seen as a positive by potential employers. If someone has spent a week at a label, a week working for a merch company and a week with a promoter, I know they will be able to pick up the phone to any of them. It also shows initiative. Connections are everything and should come organically if you are
going to gigs and taking a genuine interest in the music scene. The more you are out and about, the more people will notice you and friendships will develop.
FIONA WATT CO-FOUNDER AND VOCALS TUTOR AT GIRLS ROCK SCHOOL
EDINBURGH
PREPARE FOR HARD GRAFT It takes dedication and hard work, but you need to be able to enjoy it too. At GRSE, we’re focused on people getting started; we’re interested in attitude and passion, rather than technical ability – that comes with time and effort. Making your living from performing can be a hard road: you just have to keep all
options open and don’t give up the day job. The music industry offers lots of career opportunities besides being a musician, so we also run classes on music promotion, sound engineering, and DJing. The only way to i nd out what you like doing best is to give it a try.
CONFIDENCE IS KEY A big part of our classes is about coni dence and we aim to teach in a very supportive way, but the most important thing is that people come along and give it a go. Our school motto is: ‘Just Keep Going’. We also advise people touch with Help Musicians UK, who can help provide funding for career development, and offer advice and support. to get
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1 Sep–31 Oct 2017 THE LIST 113