Want To Become A Professional Musician?

Why so many good musicians struggle to begin their music career.

If you are like most people who want a career as a professional musician, the first question you ask is probably, “What do I have to do?” You ask this because you are not sure what you need to do first, second, third, etc. And it seems obvious that you must actually do things in order to move forward and launch your own music career.

Whether you are just starting out, or already have some experience in the music business, there are important steps you must take and many things you will need to do. However, the order in which you take each step will make a big difference in the results you get.

It’s not about what you must do… It’s about who you must become.

Some years ago, I had a great mentor who was a very successful entrepreneur. At that time, I was not yet very far along in my own music career. I asked him all the usual questions like, “How can I get on a world tour?”, “Where should I send my CDs to?”, “Who do I need to talk to at the record company?”, “How can I make more money with my music and talents?”, “What do I need to do to sell my music in other countries?”, etc.

He replied, “Tom, you aren’t ready for any of that yet. You might be ready as a musician, but you haven’t really prepared yourself mentally. When you “do things” now, you will make some progress along the way, but that isn’t success - that won’t create a lucrative and stable career over the long term. Successful people are successful not because they are intelligent or talented, nor do they succeed simply because they ‘do the right things’. When you become ‘success-minded’, you will have the power to achieve success in anything you want to do. Don’t worry now about ‘doing things’. Let’s begin working on ‘who you must become’. Your success needs to be built from the inside first, then the external things you must do will fall into place much more easily.

I only proved him to be right when I reacted by saying, “I already know all this positive thinking stuff, I need specific advice on what, when, where and how to do things now.” His response back to me was, “Ok Tom, if you really know this then I challenge you to show me at least 25 ways in which you have already implemented these mental concepts (on your own) into your music career.” I didn’t have an answer to that. He continued, “The entrepreneurs and business people in any industry will know you are not really ready. They will smell your inferiority like a lion smells fear in its prey. And when they do, it generally won’t be good for you. It would be like going into the jungle without a weapon, without shelter and without a guide.”

After our discussion, I became convinced it was time to work more on who I needed to become before concerning myself with what I needed to do. Our first major task was to define exactly where my mental skills and preparedness for general success were.

To discover your mental preparedness for launching your own music career, take this 3-minute quiz to find out.

7 Things You Should Do Now to Begin Your Music Career

01. Don’t get caught speeding. Listen to the advice already given above. Focusing first on who you need to become is more important to your long term success than focusing on ‘what actions you should take’. Don’t get caught speeding through step 1 in order to get to step 2 faster. Who you will become will dramatically influence the results you receive when you are busy doing things in the future.

02. ‘inspect’ what you ‘expect’. What do you expect from yourself? What do you expect from life? What do you expect from others? Your entire life, up to this point, is a reflection of your own expectations. You alone control your own expectations. Only You can choose to expect greater things out of yourself, your life and your surroundings – when you do this you will become ready for the next step…

03. Demand and Command. To expect greater things from yourself and life is an important step. But expectations won’t have real power until and unless you demand from yourself and command yourself to do what is necessary for you to move forward no matter what obstacles, challenges, fears and setbacks you may encounter along the way. More importantly, you must demand and command even more from yourself when things ARE going well. Success often causes some people to lose their momentum. This happens to people who are not truly ‘success-minded’ but have only been granted some shorter term success. When you become ‘success-minded’ you will maintain high levels of demand and command in your life in all situations. This is key for long-term success (especially in the music business).

04. Shoot Fire! How do other people perceive you? As a quiet, private, introverted or reserved person? Or as someone who is so filled with passion, intensity and commitment that they can see flames of fire shooting out from the back of your head? You already know that passion is the fuel which drives your actions to move toward what you want. Beyond this obvious point is another important component. When you are on fire, other people notice it and become attracted to you, what you do and what you have to offer. Highly successful people have an intensity about them which most people do not possess. Many successful people will look for this quality in you as an indicator of what they perceive your success potential may be – this is especially true when you first meet a person who may be in a position of power to either help or hurt your career.

Of course, be cautious not to come across as arrogant or obnoxious. Show people your attitude of expectancy, confidence, passion, determination, conviction and…. FIRE!

05. Get Congruent. It should be your goal to align all (or most) of your daily thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, plans and actions with what you want to be, do and have. Although this might seem obvious, very few people truly focus on this in their daily lives. Typically, we may want to manifest a particular outcome, but we divide our mind into opposing directions. Here are two common examples…

A guy constantly thinks about becoming a touring guitar player, but does not really expect it to actually happen. The lack of ‘expectance’ leads to further incongruity, because, by wanting but not ‘believing’ he will really become a touring guitarist, he won’t make the necessary plans, contacts, and other actions which could take him there.

College students, who want to become musicians, often major in a non music related (and non entrepreneurial related) subject. In this case, most of these students’ time and energy are spent doing things which take them only further from their musical aspirations…. As a general rule, the more congruent you are, the faster and easier you will get where you want to go.

06. Weed your garden....You might not always have the freedom to choose the physical location of where you live, but it is not always necessary to relocate your home. You can find success from virtually any physical place. In addition, not all of us have been blessed with supportive family environments. Although we cannot choose our family, we can choose our friends and other people we associate with (both on and offline). If the friends you have don’t support you, find new friends who will. The environment where your mind lives is very important. You must find supportive, positive and empowering peer group environments. People who have similar aspirations, ambitions and experience in the areas you seek are like good soil for which your career can develop and grow. Negative, pessimistic and disempowering people are like weeds. Do people around you build you up or tear you down? Associate with other success minded people, surround yourself with them…. It’s hard for flowers to grow among weeds….. so weed your garden.

07. Don’t depend on the sun and rain alone…. use fertilizer! Your musical skills (no matter how great they may be) will not be enough to create and sustain a significant level of success in the music industry (sad but true). You may even already have a reasonably decent understanding of how the music business works today (though most people don’t). Becoming a successful professional musician is a lot like being a gardener. To be sure your career grows, you need high quality seed (your mental preparedness), lots of sun (knowledge and skills), rain (physical action), and fertilizer (a mentor). Yes it is possible to grow a blooming flower without fertilizer, but the chances of long-term life and maximum healthy growth go way up when you use fertilizer. The same is true with your level of success as a professional musician.

The average person’s score on the assessment mentioned above is 4 out of 10. Take the assessment yourself to find out what your score is TomHess.net

It matters little where you are now, it matters greatly what you are willing to do now….

About the author: Tom Hess is a professional touring guitarist and recording artist. He teaches, trains and mentors musicians from all around the world. Visit TomHess.net to discover highly effective musician learning resources – free advice, lessons and online assessments.

2008 © Tom Hess Music Corporation

POSTED: 04/29/2008 - 09:21 am

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Comments

[indra13]

How to become a popular musician: Wear a top hat

[leeb rocks]

very useful article with lots of interesting stuff. I wouldn't mind seeing more of this sort of thing here.

[CrowLord]

I am not sure I agree. Its not what you think, but who you know.

[mnhockey99]

Sounds like another Tom Hess sales pitch to me.

[Heat-13]

Hmm interesting. but i'm not sure i totally agree

[Valathalion]

good arcticle

[HUNYeti]

I totally disagree, this makes no sense, the music industry is not a jungle with predators.
And the most of these point loose there sense when talking about a metal band/metal musician.

[Morik]

To be successful, knowledge is nothing. You gotta know people in the right places, and thats all you need.

[Jaytron]

Hannah Montana. Fast track to the success? Disney Bandwagon.

[I_love_sandbags]

This is seriously awesome stuff! I recently joined his latest group in the music Careers program and it has been very eye opening and inspiring!

[A-G-guitarist]

You guys are way off. This guy is a genius. And yay go me I scored 7 out of 10 on that test!

[HughF]

Ugh, bastards like this guy are the reason this article is even necessary. He sounds like one of those people on the infomercials who offer their DVD's for three easy payments of 39.99. Salesmen.

[broken fusion!]

****, I'm so glad they don't pay you for this

[Mazzakazza]

This article is no more than a sales pitch, trying to convince consumers that they lack a certain mindset or other intangible value, which can only be fulfilled through training. Most people will score low on the test because the questions and answers are ambiguous. They then feel that they must sign up to the program provided.

No thank you.

[broken fusion!]

i wanna punch this guy in the head

[broken fusion!]

tom hess I challenge you to a fight cause you're such a douche

[Mike_Philippov]

I don't understand what all the negativity is about. Thanks to this guy's training and coaching I've become a professional musician and know many others who have done the same as well. I have seen from experience that everything Tom talks about in this article is true of the music industry and the mindset required to succeed.

Mike Philippov

[broken fusion!]

but hey when you're done sucking toms dick im ready to go

[Millsz]

'success is in the mind' right...
It's luck. We all know it. This guy's either a Buddha, or a unashamedly cynical salesman

[Billyjson]

You seem to play talent down a bit too much, if you have an awesome band with talented members then you'll find a way to succeed.

[2mins2midnite]

Anyone can get succesfull as long to their music appeals to the bigger percent of the public
or what is the "Trend" nowadays and having solid, good contacts i.e. A&R department at EMI or your dad knows a big band very well, and can get you on tour with them playing big venues

[2mins2midnite]

PLUS THIS ARTICLE DON'T MEAN SHIT

[ValoRhoads]

Morik wrote:

To be successful, knowledge is nothing. You gotta know people in the right places, and thats all you need.

That's an old husbands tale, let me ask you this:
How do you get to know these people? Why would they help you?
This article is more designed for before you even meet anyone. This is a really good article for self motivaion, keep it up!
Nathan:I LOVE BEING MOTIVATED!

[Paul Tauterouff]

Mike_Philippov wrote:

I don't understand what all the negativity is about. Thanks to this guy's training and coaching I've become a professional musician and know many others who have done the same as well. I have seen from experience that everything Tom talks about in this article is true of the music industry and the mindset required to succeed.

Mike Philippov

i have to agree with this. I like Tom's articles and with what he is saying makes sense to me. What's all the fighting about? this guy has obviously done some significant things in his music career, so when he gives advice it only makes sense to listen if you want to learn and grow.

[Paul Tauterouff]

Crap - I accidentally posted before I was finished above!

I have also studied with Tom and am very close (months away) from supporting myself and my family 100% from music business related income. This is all thanks to what I have learned from Tom.

Hey broken fusion - why do you have to be so negative and rude? I'm sure you wouldn't talk like that to someone in person.

[strat0blaster]

It's all good advice, but it could have been summed up in a single idea -

Bust your ass, work hard, and don't give up.

Good advice, like I said, but too drawn out and over analyzed. If you want it, work hard for it and don't give in. Period. No need for the flashy semantics.

[HavokStrife]

Wow, the age and level of maturity around here is pretty apparent on these replies.

In all honesty, I used to like this guy's articles a lot, a while ago when I sucked and seeped info out of everything I could get. As time went on, I got better, started getting my own goals, dreams, and ideas, and found myself rolling my eyes a couple of times while reading his articles.

But, no one is seeing the huge value and truth in what the dude said.. This isn't a guitar lesson as much as it is a life lesson. You're not going to able to be a pro musician, athlete, or be a rich and famous, lose weight, find the right woman, man, or find any real value in life until you get your own head on straight. The self image is the key to absolutely everything. So keep calling him a @#%^&(^%#*^%$#@er, waste more of your time, while this dude is on the other side of the world playing with his hair on fire in front of 50,000 people and you're still trying to figure out to play the damn intro to Crazy Train right. He's trying to point you in the right direction and you're telling him STFU. Silly rabbits.

It did come down to a pitch at the end though, haha. I mean, I would have took the test if I didn't have to join the damn mailing list to do it. I was answering the questions until I saw I had to create an account on the bottom..

[PVmelonhead91]

umm I read this article just for the heck of it. I have no ambitions toward being a proffesional musician. With that said, I do however have lots of friends who would like to. And I gotta say none of them are even thinking about going on a world tour or selling there music to other countries. So I don't think those are the "usual questions". I think they are a bit extreme actually, and slightly imature, for someone new in there career.

[RockInPeaceDime]

Jaytron wrote:

Hannah Montana. Fast track to the success? Disney Bandwagon.

Not really =/ Having a dad who has been fairly successful in the music business helps..

[RockInPeaceDime]

Jaytron wrote:

Hannah Montana. Fast track to the success? Disney Bandwagon.

Not really =/ Having a dad who has been fairly successful in the music business helps..

[lestat1836]

no one is seeing the huge value and truth in what the dude said.. This isn't a guitar lesson as much as it is a life lesson. You're not going to able to be a pro musician, athlete, or be a rich and famous, lose weight, find the right woman, man, or find any real value in life until you get your own head on straight. The self image is the key to absolutely everything. So keep calling him a @#%^&(^%#*^%$#@er, waste more of your time, while this dude is on the other side of the world playing with his hair on fire in front of 50,000 people and you're still trying to figure out to play the damn intro to Crazy Train right. He's trying to point you in the right direction and you're telling him STFU. Silly rabbits.

Agreed 100%. Tom Hess obviously knows what he is talking about. He is the one has gone on tour and played at some of the biggest metal festivals here in Europe. He is also the one who has helped a lot of people along the way. I can't say if he is 100% correct all the time. I can't say this, not because he is not right, I simply cannot say it because I am not arrogant enough to pretend that I know better than he does. He's made it. I haven't yet. It seems that the people who don't agree with this article also have NOT made it either. In that case, who are you (I'm including myself here as well) to bash this guy?

I'm grateful that Tom (and others like him who are real pros) have taken the time to offer their insights here. I don't care if there is a self promo element to this stuff or not. I benefit from such articles in any case.

[IvanGroznij]

WTF people? Chill out! Those of you who don't like the article, why don't you go on tour in front of 30,000 people, release records all over the world, teach hundreds of students, and then come back and tell us how it's done...I'm waiting...

+1 to paul, Mike havokStrife and the others who saw the value of the article.

[CommanderCool6]

This thread seems full of posters who are working for 'Tom Hess'
"I_love_sandbags :
This is seriously awesome stuff! I recently joined his latest group in the music Careers program and it has been very eye opening and inspiring!
"

[KevVin]

A) Sales Pitch
B) sounds liek the same positive thinking crap you get about everything, irrelevant to music.
C) Just rip off Led Zeppelin and sing about your car or your babys momma, to save time.

[a7xsoad]

Billyjson wrote:

You seem to play talent down a bit too much, if you have an awesome band with talented members then you'll find a way to succeed.

You can't just 'find a way' to succeed. The bottom line is people have taste, are stubborn, and popular taste generally sucks, so genuine talent is never recieved in the way it would be in an ideal world. But I think we've all pretty much accepted that now. I have.

Note: This article is useless :P

[a7xsoad]

Billyjson wrote:

You seem to play talent down a bit too much, if you have an awesome band with talented members then you'll find a way to succeed.

You can't just 'find a way' to succeed. The bottom line is people have taste, are stubborn, and popular taste generally sucks, so genuine talent is never recieved in the way it would be in an ideal world. But I think we've all pretty much accepted that now. I have.

Note: This article is useless :P

[Roopelatvalafan]

Well this seems like an artickel on how to become a pop musician.. very much focus on succes, seems like succes = popular in this article.. but Pop music is for people who only understand to make simple music, who will NEver get a long carrier, because they will make a couple of hits, and then be forgotten forever.. i would say, that the way to succes for a person personnaly, would be to try to create your own music, and don't let rules or mainstream things get in you way!

[blue_strat]

There are a ton of factors that lead to someone succeeding in the music industry. Personal determination and drive is only one of them, but I would agree that it is the first one to aquire.

I would still say that you would need training to get your playing up to a professional level; and you would need to get your foot in the door by accumulating contacts, but it takes drive to do those things and believe that you aren't wasting your time.

It's a useful article, though I wouldn't sign up to his program, and there are a dozen books in every library that can help. Websites generally ask for a credit card =/.

[captainjackass]

Ancient chinese fortune cookie say: "Think happy! Be happy! Pay $50!"

[Gibjian]

haha. a7xsoad, you're a retard

[Ibzman]

Thanks A LOT for this article. I hardly understands any negative comment toward the article. Tom is apparently a successful artist and I doubt anyone here recorded something that sold to more than a thousand of copies. His advices truly lit something into me that I neglected. Talent never does it all. There are skillful and passioned musicians on YouTube and there are bands like Simple Plan touring the world. I think the difference between them is the time invested in MARKETING. It goes beyond talent, we now talk about it like a job. You must think of it as job. Thanks again and I'll be looking forward to other articles of yours !

[sampleninja]

He's talking about focus here. A clear vision of what (and why) you want to be in the business. And who are you to trash Mike Phillipov? That guy's a great teacher.

And yeah, it does apply to metal, because there are "Suits" in all genres of the game. You think Century Media lets everyone have a cakewalk on their roster?

[XXXguitarman]

I thought this was a good article. I checked out his site and the guy taught a lot of pretty damn good players. On this page: http://www.tomhess.net/Students.aspx and here http://www.tomhess.net/MCMPStudentAccomplishments.aspx
So looks like some of these guys thought he knows what he is talking about.

[lestat1836]

+10

[lespaulfromhell]

if you want to be a professional guitar player, be yourself and play your damn guitar boy! if you're of professional musician quality, you'll be one, if you're not, atleast you will think you are

[SL!!!]

HUNYeti wrote:

I totally disagree, this makes no sense, the music industry is not a jungle with predators.
And the most of these point loose there sense when talking about a metal band/metal musician.

No, it does. Trust me. The whole article is very good.

[Phe4rTheGod]

if you think this is too much, reread in a year...it may make more sense...

and to those that think this is 100% correct, reevaluate your playing...money's not a necessity in playing (unless you play in a gay pop band aka fagoutboy or panic in the a**hole)...

basically it comes down to this: i f*ckin rock!!!

[MorbidVirus]

WILL TO POWER.

[iml84myd8]

Get Rockstar quick with Tom Hess. Order now and receive jim morrison pez dispenser free.

[foo_diddles]

there is a good nugget of practicality in there. i would love to be a musician for a living, and i would like to have a family along the way, so if you have no plans to make it big then the article would be bs. but how do you hope to be signed amongst a million other great bands if yours is falling apart and you don't have anything to offer to a record company. the music business is complete shit all the way but if i want to be a pro i'll keep reading all the free stuff from mr. hess that can be found around the web and continue to take what i feel is useful. and no i don't feel i need to join his online course since an archive of his stuff can be found on theshredzone.com , read it before calling this man a douche.

[dann_blood]

This article is pretty much a salespitch. No disrespect to Tom, but writing an article like this is pretty bad taste. It's all fine and dandy to take steps to give yourself a better chance of having a career, but there is still a huge chance of failure.
Plus, most people's achilles heel is aiming too high. Sure, everyone wants to world tour and get signed with their demo tapes, sometimes it does happen, but in 99% of cases, every band starts by playing a below-standard gig in a pub.
The music industry is a business. I could write an article about making yourself more marketable in todays music environment, but that doesn't mean your going to get signed.
The other thing is that most people give up simply because they won't get to be in a band. There are hundreds of different jobs in music. But still there's this focus on just being famous, and how to do it, even though if you do everything your told there are thousands of carbon copies that could just as easily be picked.

[SL!!!]

lespaulfromhell wrote:

if you want to be a professional guitar player, be yourself and play your damn guitar boy! if you're of professional musician quality, you'll be one, if you're not, atleast you will think you are

No, you won't if you don't get out and work at it. If you just sit in your room and get really good but never perform or go out and actively try to make a living, you're going to go nowhere.

[SL!!!]

Phe4rTheGod wrote:

if you think this is too much, reread in a year...it may make more sense...

and to those that think this is 100% correct, reevaluate your playing...money's not a necessity in playing (unless you play in a gay pop band aka fagoutboy or panic in the a**hole)...

basically it comes down to this: i f*ckin rock!!!

Yes and no. I don't think people are taking it the right way. Basically to sum it up, if you want to be a professional musician, whatever that may curtail for you, then you need to believe that you can actually do it, so then you will go out and be pro-active about it and work to accomplish this goal. It's not rocket science, and it applies to just about anything. Although it does appear this is a bit of an ad for the guy who wrote it, it is some pretty standard, but good advice.

[Delanoir]

Like it's already been said,

the way most of you are reacting is proof as to why so many people don't make it.

[Jondy]

7 habits of effectively lucky people

[mdawg24]

Personally I think this positive thinking stuff is crap. I mean yes, you have to have a good attitude and hope that you can do it, but come on, just believe and it will happen? Sounds like Oprah time or something.

[VKombinator]

This is a good article. i was referred to hess by a few other people on the forum earler. He does seem to have some pretty badass students.

[last_biscuit]

This is a load of rubbish, just like a sales pitch, and claiming to have some secret knowledge which is rubbish.

To make it in the industry you need two things a) To know the right people, and b) be in the right place at the right time (i.e trend-wise).

[fastfretjazz]

Yeah I don't think you need talent to make it in the music industry I mean Look at Fall out boy.

[121lespaul]

the music business is all about being in the right place at the right time or banging the right guys daughter and having her tell her daddy about your amazing.....band! rarely do artist make it because they kept sending demos most were seen at a night club or bar playing their asses off and having a drink/smoke with the right person

[es_kraken]

alot of ppl r saying things like u "have to kno the right ppl" bull. u need the drive to go out there and find the right ppl. the "right ppl" will kno ure a serious contender if u really r, they can smell ure determination.

[es_kraken]

alot of ppl r saying things like u "have to kno the right ppl" bull. u need the drive to go out there and find the right ppl. the "right ppl" will kno ure a serious contender if u really r, they can smell ure determination.

[jshwak]

A good article, which does end up being a sales-pitch.. but there is some valuable information the can be taken from it.. however.. I've seen alot of post about how grit and determination are what, and all, you need.. and that is absolutely true, *to a point*. but keeping in mind that you are competing with tens and hundreds of thousands of other musicians for success, it pays big time to Know the right people.. and to have some dumb luck... Talent is obviously important.. however, some of the most talented musicians of our time are barely recognized.. ie. Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert, john petrucci etc.. Rolling stone did a 100 greatest guitarist of all time.. none of these guys were even mentioned..Which is punishable by death in my opinion

[libertines4ever]

headache

[wildchild6660]

So the music industry is not all about the music. Thats new (note sarcasm)

[BlisteringDDj]

The quiz is far from accurate. No such quiz can be close to accurate no matter what. Btw, I got 6 out of 10 on the test xD

[mr_tea]

weres the most important thing. u have to enjoy what ur doing.

[mnhockey99]

I'm not arguing that Tom has not instructed some talented people but, what he is doing here is providing a free snippet so you will go out to his website and sign up. It's a sales pitch as I said before. Some people will buy and some will not. His articles are always very transparent as to their intention. My issue with Tom Hess is that he uses this medium to sell his wares (he does the same thing on craigslist). I'd rather see articles that don't have an ulterior motive to them and are pure in instruction or knowledge building purposes. Bottomline I think he is a dick. Just something about the guy annoys the hell out of me, he may be good at what he does, but he just looks and sounds like a little worm.

[gu1tar4lyf3]

success is when preparation meets opportunity...always be prepared and you'll find the opportunity...

[j-e-f-f-e-r-s]

Bah, this article is a load of psychobabble and waffle mixed in with some outright rubbish. 'Don't get caught speeding'? 'Shoot fire'? 'Weed your garden'? I've read better analogies on baked bean labels.

[The Maw]

awesome loved it

[Steed51]

i dont totally disgree with this guy. but it sems to me that for tom hess the music is the last thing on his mind. musicians want to play music and if they really love it they will continue to play it if they are flat broke with no friends.

plus i looked at that students page, and never heardof any of them. great success, doing what some guy told you to do for a living.

I am more worried about all these people with great minds for success and crappy ear for music getting into positions where they fill the airwaves with garbage.

[epicweapon]

great article

[Jehuty]

Steed51 wrote:

i dont totally disgree with this guy. but it sems to me that for tom hess the music is the last thing on his mind.

Totally agree.

[tmd9314]

d,d,d,d,d,dooooouche..... salesman.

[lestat1836]

Whether you like the article or not, it has brought a lot of value to many of us at this forum. What does not add any value here is the stupid immature name calling and accusations towards each other and towards Hess. Wouldn't it be better if we all posted things which are useful? I searched through these comments hoping to find something useful from other members. Instead I mostly found attacks on the author, or towards other users. Sometimes I found those who liked the article simply defending it. What I would like to see most is people adding something which is USEFUL. I wish I could be one of those people to add useful comments, but I am not advanced enough yet to be able to do that with an intelligent and informed perspective. It seems clear to me that many people here talk as if they know something, but really don't. Nothing wrong with being ignorant to an issue (as I am). What is wrong in my view is talking about something if you know little or know nothing about it. I don't mean to offend anyone here, I am only seeking to get more out of my time here at UG and not have to sort through a bunch of meaningless posts in order to find something cool.

[VIRUSDETECTED]

Great read, and it definetly helped me prepare for what I need to do now.

[A7X/GD/MCR]

so i should take advice on how to become famous from a guy nobody's ever heard of?

[keavader]

yeah. great. all in your mind. so i can pick up a banjo tomorrow, decide i'm gonna be in a folk band, determine to do it (and order Tom Hess's plan and advice, OF COURSE!) and TA-DA! I'll be a famous banjoist.

salesman. congrats, it works for you, but that quiz was utter bs. the musicians we worship are talented individuals who became who they were through work, not mindset and psychological hope. hard work, talent, patience are the answer. not mindset. it's a part of that modern "love yourself and believe!" ideal. if it worked for him, fantastic. if it works for others, fantastic. but in all honest truth, anyone who posts an article with links and advice all about his website and forces me to register with his site to see his "test results", then i'm afraid i can't take this seriously.

[Regression]

Roopelatvalafan wrote:

Well this seems like an artickel on how to become a pop musician.. very much focus on succes, seems like succes = popular in this article.. but Pop music is for people who only understand to make simple music, who will NEver get a long carrier, because they will make a couple of hits, and then be forgotten forever.. i would say, that the way to succes for a person personnaly, would be to try to create your own music, and don't let rules or mainstream things get in you way!

You obviously know next to nothing. Everyone underrates pop music, why don't you try writing a song that will get to number 1 in atleast one country. You talk about it like it's so easy and takes no talent, but if that was the case, then millions and millions of people would have no.1 hits. And how about write 36 no.1 singles like Ayumi Hamasaki over 10 years, which btw are amazing instrumentally.

As for the article, I tried to draw something out of it, but I just didn't really find anything in it that I could apply to myself. I guess it was the sales pitch that everyone is talking about.

[pissonemo]

Regression wrote:

Roopelatvalafan wrote:

Well this seems like an artickel on how to become a pop musician.. very much focus on succes, seems like succes = popular in this article.. but Pop music is for people who only understand to make simple music, who will NEver get a long carrier, because they will make a couple of hits, and then be forgotten forever.. i would say, that the way to succes for a person personnaly, would be to try to create your own music, and don't let rules or mainstream things get in you way!

You obviously know next to nothing. Everyone underrates pop music, why don't you try writing a song that will get to number 1 in atleast one country. You talk about it like it's so easy and takes no talent, but if that was the case, then millions and millions of people would have no.1 hits. And how about write 36 no.1 singles like Ayumi Hamasaki over 10 years, which btw are amazing instrumentally.

As for the article, I tried to draw something out of it, but I just didn't really find anything in it that I could apply to myself. I guess it was the sales pitch that everyone is talking about.

Writing a #1 song only requires 3 things.

1) Good Image

2)LOTS of money to pay for promotions and management

3)People out there who have to listen to your same shitty pop song cause it's the only ****ing thing on the radio...but we just heard it like 10 ****ing minutes ago on that station over there!

[Regression]

pissonemo wrote:

Regression wrote:

Roopelatvalafan wrote:

Well this seems like an artickel on how to become a pop musician.. very much focus on succes, seems like succes = popular in this article.. but Pop music is for people who only understand to make simple music, who will NEver get a long carrier, because they will make a couple of hits, and then be forgotten forever.. i would say, that the way to succes for a person personnaly, would be to try to create your own music, and don't let rules or mainstream things get in you way!

You obviously know next to nothing. Everyone underrates pop music, why don't you try writing a song that will get to number 1 in atleast one country. You talk about it like it's so easy and takes no talent, but if that was the case, then millions and millions of people would have no.1 hits. And how about write 36 no.1 singles like Ayumi Hamasaki over 10 years, which btw are amazing instrumentally.

As for the article, I tried to draw something out of it, but I just didn't really find anything in it that I could apply to myself. I guess it was the sales pitch that everyone is talking about.


Writing a #1 song only requires 3 things.

1) Good Image

2)LOTS of money to pay for promotions and management

3)People out there who have to listen to your same shitty pop song cause it's the only ****ing thing on the radio...but we just heard it like 10 ****ing minutes ago on that station over there!

While I realise image and money do influence it alot, just because you, and often me, dislike the song, others do actually like it. And surprisingly it takes a little more than looking 'good' and having lots of money. Although I realise very occasionally it can come down to almost purely that.

But now I see your username and I realise you will be very stubborn so I'm not going to try prove my point to you. But when you hear pop songs, listen to all the layers of music, maybe one day you will realise that someone with absolutely no talent or skill couldn't write a song like that.

[Wannabe Page!]

Jaytron wrote:

Hannah Montana. Fast track to the success? Disney Bandwagon.

well said

[Halcyon91]

Why is this article getting bashed? It's so good!

[Jonny92]

keavader wrote:

yeah. great. all in your mind. so i can pick up a banjo tomorrow, decide i'm gonna be in a folk band, determine to do it (and order Tom Hess's plan and advice, OF COURSE!) and TA-DA! I'll be a famous banjoist.

salesman. congrats, it works for you, but that quiz was utter bs. the musicians we worship are talented individuals who became who they were through work, not mindset and psychological hope. hard work, talent, patience are the answer. not mindset. it's a part of that modern "love yourself and believe!" ideal. if it worked for him, fantastic. if it works for others, fantastic. but in all honest truth, anyone who posts an article with links and advice all about his website and forces me to register with his site to see his "test results", then i'm afraid i can't take this seriously.

I agree... mostly.
It deffinatly seems as though he doesn't really care about the music and is making too much of a sales pitch. If it was just pure advice and you didnt have to sign up to get the quiz results, it would be much better and my view of him would be a lot higher.

I think there is some good advice in what he says, well it's quite obvious if you think your crap and think you'll never be famous it will decrease your changes by a lot of actually becoming famous.
So part of the self image thing is good but they way he puts it makes it seem your banjo idea would work. It takes more hard work and normally a fair bit of luck to become famous.

If you know someone, your parents or a friend knows someone or even a friends relative knows someone, it will increase your chances by a huge amount.

Parts of this article are good, but tbh, way too much of a sales pitch. If you want to give us advice, then give it to us, don't make us sign up!

[pissonemo]

Regression wrote:

pissonemo wrote:

Regression wrote:

Roopelatvalafan wrote:

Well this seems like an artickel on how to become a pop musician.. very much focus on succes, seems like succes = popular in this article.. but Pop music is for people who only understand to make simple music, who will NEver get a long carrier, because they will make a couple of hits, and then be forgotten forever.. i would say, that the way to succes for a person personnaly, would be to try to create your own music, and don't let rules or mainstream things get in you way!

You obviously know next to nothing. Everyone underrates pop music, why don't you try writing a song that will get to number 1 in atleast one country. You talk about it like it's so easy and takes no talent, but if that was the case, then millions and millions of people would have no.1 hits. And how about write 36 no.1 singles like Ayumi Hamasaki over 10 years, which btw are amazing instrumentally.

As for the article, I tried to draw something out of it, but I just didn't really find anything in it that I could apply to myself. I guess it was the sales pitch that everyone is talking about.


Writing a #1 song only requires 3 things.

1) Good Image

2)LOTS of money to pay for promotions and management

3)People out there who have to listen to your same shitty pop song cause it's the only ****ing thing on the radio...but we just heard it like 10 ****ing minutes ago on that station over there!

While I realise image and money do influence it alot, just because you, and often me, dislike the song, others do actually like it. And surprisingly it takes a little more than looking 'good' and having lots of money. Although I realise very occasionally it can come down to almost purely that.

But now I see your username and I realise you will be very stubborn so I'm not going to try prove my point to you. But when you hear pop songs, listen to all the layers of music, maybe one day you will realise that someone with absolutely no talent or skill couldn't write a song like that.

Don't judge me based on my name =).

I listen to a wide variety of music. I am fond of anyone person or group that is deeply musically talented. The reason I do not like most pop songs that reach #1 is because about 50% of the time, They didn't write that song. Hiring a songwriter is as easy as dishing out a couple of thousand dollars.

[MetallicaNRoses]

the thing that annoys me about tom hess articles are that even though they make good points, that's all they ever do, make points. if any one of his articles were summed up in a single good paragraph, it would be a good introduction to something helpful. they always say "you gotta do this!" and never give you any clue as to what exactly "this" is, because he spends too much time saying how much "this" can help you.

just my thoughts.

[LD_Luke D]

its a good article it brings up a lot of stuff not a lot of people want to hear or do, but it all sounds very wise and a makes a lot of sense

[i_r_guitar]

iml84myd8 wrote:

Get Rockstar quick with Tom Hess. Order now and receive jim morrison pez dispenser free.

yess! finnally i have been waiting so long! guitar power in a pez dispenser!!!!!

[darrenhigh]

mnhockey99 wrote:

Sounds like another Tom Hess sales pitch to me.

Isn't that the truth...

[feedback4353]

FUCKIN RON L HUBBARD...

[Palpatine MD]

I love the way he draws an analogy between cultivating a healthy garden and success in the music industry. The guy is either a genius or hasnt got a clue. I'm going to go with the latter.

"Here he is the biggest douche of the universe. In all the galaxies there's no bigger douche than you. You've reached the top the pinnacle of douchedom. Good goin' douche your dreams have come true"

[Dan Weiler]

Personally I think this guy is a genius.

[doncashimere]

It's all in your mindset. Yeah, by the law of averages a few schmucks will "make it", then probably end up like the guy who wins the lottery and is bankrupt two years later. Real success is a mindset and has nothing to do with money. There's plenty of great stuff just in this article, never mind what you can get out of his courses.

[Mike_Philippov]

+1

[Obie]

CrowLord wrote:

I am not sure I agree. Its not what you think, but who you know.

well it seems you dont really understand. your mindset is definitely the first step

[lestat1836]

I'm no expert, but it seems that having the right mindset is the very first place to start. That's why this article made so much sense to me. I had not really thought about all of this before, but now after reading the whole article again, it seems spot on. I hope to see more articles like this in the future.

[Martindecorum]

IvanGroznij wrote:

WTF people? Chill out! Those of you who don't like the article, why don't you go on tour in front of 30,000 people, release records all over the world, teach hundreds of students, and then come back and tell us how it's done...I'm waiting...

+1 to paul, Mike havokStrife and the others who saw the value of the article.

hey, i dont like this article one bit, but guess what i teach hundreds of students,

[Dyers]

eh this article doesnt mesh too well with me

[Jonny_V]

I'd LOVE to see some workable advice from some of the other so-called experts on here. Thanks to advice such as this I'm now getting paid to play guitar as are many others on here. If you think this doesn't work then either give us an article full of your pearls of wisdom or eat your words. We're waiting...

[Randy Johnson]

Nice article Tom.

[Draven Grey]

"To be sure your career grows, you need high quality seed (your mental preparedness), lots of sun (knowledge and skills), rain (physical action), and fertilizer (a mentor)."

How is this a "believe it and it will happen" speech? Mindset is obviously important, but he clearly states what else is important too. His advice is right on with the mentors, authors, and researchers who have studied incredible successful and sustained businesses, coached some of the most successful entrepeneurs in the world, or are one themselves. This article could be a a treasure chest of information, if you let it. There's a lot to glean from this guy.

I also don't see the sales pitch. So, he points you to his website in his bio at the end. Who doesn't? He also offers a great resource... a personal evaluation from someone who is highly successful. And the people he has mentored... many of them are making a nice living in music. Many of them are making more money and more time doing what they love than some of the top name, famous artists out there. Have you read letters like Courtney Love's about how the money actually works when you're signed to a major label?

This article is spot on, as are the other articles I've read from Hess. Your mindset determines if you put yourself in that "right place at the right time", instead of just dreaming and hoping that you will get your lucky break on day. But are you prepared for success? Have you honed your skills? Are you determined to take consistant action towards your goals? And are you willing to listen to those who have gone before you and experienced the success that you want? These are what this article is asking. It's not saying "name it and claim it" crap. It's talking about the focus and determination that makes people successful and has for countless years.

[hvm_pt]

lestat1836 wrote:
I'm grateful that Tom (and others like him who are real pros) have taken the time to offer their insights here. I don't care if there is a self promo element to this stuff or not. I benefit from such articles in any case.

That's what people don't realize! The benefit they can get with knowledge of those who reached a successful music career.

I see allot of child-comments in here, from those who don't have anything in their life to backup what their saying...and think they are in a position to discredit someone who is INSIDE the music industry!

[thedarkrocker]

Some of these comments crack me up! A lot of people are saying you have one of these 3 things:

1. You have to know significant people in the music business

2. You have to be a talented and skilled musician

3. You have to be an awesome songwriter

I say be all of those plus a lot more things that weren't listed. They are not all necessary to "make it," but the more tools you have the more your chances will grow, bigtime!

A lot of people obviously did not read the whole article...Tom was once doubting this idea the same way a lot of you are only to find that there is a lot of truth in this approach.

[thedarkrocker]

Martindecorum wrote:
hey, i dont like this article one bit, but guess what i teach hundreds of students,

You teach hundreds of students either because you A. are a school teacher (in which case, who cares)or B. You are a private teacher and you lose most of your students...haha

[ChadCrawford]

Great article. Interesting responses. This guy is already a successful pro musician. He obviously knows what he is talking about ans is sharing the steps he took, yet I see folks bashing him and his advice. I make a living in a field unrelated to music, but the ideas expressed in this article are indeed right on the money, works the same no matter what you are trying to accomplish. Best for some folks if they shut up and learn instead of displaying their ignorance for all to see. But they won't learn, and that is why they will never see much success at anything.

[lestat1836]

ChadCrawford wrote:

Great article. Interesting responses. This guy is already a successful pro musician. He obviously knows what he is talking about ans is sharing the steps he took, yet I see folks bashing him and his advice. I make a living in a field unrelated to music, but the ideas expressed in this article are indeed right on the money, works the same no matter what you are trying to accomplish. Best for some folks if they shut up and learn instead of displaying their ignorance for all to see. But they won't learn, and that is why they will never see much success at anything.

I agree and thought the same from the beginning. I guess I only didn't have the balls to say it myself here since it seemed that so many people might start attacking me for saying it directly. I'm new here and do not want to enter this forum in a fight of any kind. I'm not about "fighting". The article is also applicable in my former occupation too. I hadn't made the same parallel until I rad your post ChadCarwford. Thanks for that connection.

[rags]

This is solid information.
Why all the hate?

[June Moris]

I think this is a very good article.I can personally verify from my own experience that this all makes sense.I know for a fact that great skill is not enough by itself or the way people perceive you has an influance on the way people communicate with you. THe 7 things you should... is very well structured.It's not some bunch of thoughts all over the place.It's an excellent brief summary.

[Jose Daniel]

Brilliant article Tom! Well articulated. I honestly enjoy reading and learning most of what you offer. I personally think that it's extremely important not to overlook “who I am as a person.” Who I am as a person will determine my level of success. Or rather, who I must become for that matter. Thank you for sharing!

To those of you who reacted so negatively, I really think that it might be in your best interest to review what you just said and be in the shoes of the author and ask yourself how would you feel if you were the one being commented so badly like that? Remember, how you treat others will reflect how others will treat you too.

"The first and best victory is to conquer self. To be conquered by self is, of all things, the most shameful and vile." - Plato

[Teemu Kleemola]

Great article Tom!

Also the big successful companies uses these kind of mental strategies to coach their staff to achieve better results company vice and as a person.

[Nick Layton]

No matter what you do in life---whether it's sports, music, corporate business, whatever--the mental aspect of your life is an absolute key component to achieving any kind of real and lasting success. Think about the great guitarists most of us all know and love---Malmsteen, Vai, Satriani, Rusty Cooly, John Petrucci, etc. These guys have it TOGETHER mentally. Of course they are all very skilled, but their success is not soley due to their musical ability.
The people who don't understand that are the same people bad mouthing Tom Hess.
Great article Tom---thanks!

[guitarist10]

Well, I had a look at his website and he asks an extremely high price for once-a-week lessons. I would like to TRY it but I don't have a paypal account.

[lestat1836]

guitarist10 wrote:

Well, I had a look at his website and he asks an extremely high price for once-a-week lessons. I would like to TRY it but I don't have a paypal account.

you do not need a paypal account in order to use paypal to buy stuff. I buy stuff from ebay all the time with paypal. I don't have a oaypal account either.

[Schexy]

Great article. Everything in life starts in your head...if you can think it, you can believe it, and you can find a way to do it.

Read the book "Think and Grow Rich"...everything good or bad in your life starts as a thought.

[Submerged]

This is so stupid, of course you have to have the right mindset to make positive steps toward success. That is true of anything in life. But, it's also friggen obvious general advice.

Are people really that dense that articles like this actually point something out to them?

Seriously, before getting my degree I did not pay money to someone to tell me 'To succeed you don't just need to be naturally smart, you have to work hard the whole time and get help from tutors!' It's true advice, but it doesn't require an article because it's self-evident to anyone with half a brain.

To lose weight go to the gym and exercise, learn the machines, speak to the instructors. Don't go to a seminar that explains what a gym is, why you should go, how to be determined, etc.

Hess' point about mindset is true, but his rambling self promotional musings on the matter are complete crap. I could turn on any Dr.Phil episode and translate the vague life lessons learned into a guitar orientated Tom Hess article. But then I guess people watch Dr.Phil like the obvious solutions he gives to retards are insightful...

I can't wait for Hess' next article about how if you put effort into networking and promoting your band you'll meet helpful people and promote your band! There probably won't be any detailed help in doing this but it will certainly be a wordy departure into obviousland.

[duexe]

Wow, reading the responses just suck the life out of you. If I cant succeed without knowing someone and be lucky, I guess we are all hosed.

So every successful musician was lucky and knew the right people? That is so stupid.

It has nothing to do with knowing your craft? It has nothing to do with working your ass off? It has nothing to do with learning from others?

Good god, so wonder there are so many unsuccessful musicians out there if everyone believes in the luck drivel.

[Tevis Maloney]

Interesting article. Thanks for posting it Tom.

[duexe]

Martindecorum wrote:
hey, i dont like this article one bit, but guess what i teach hundreds of students,

Whats your secret? I would love to know your secret to getting so many students. No YouTube vids, a canceled Domain Name, no articles, nothing on craigslist. You must live in a large city devoid of guitar teachers. Could be luck maybe? Your doing pretty well at 26 with so many students.

[Regression]

pissonemo wrote:

Regression wrote:

pissonemo wrote:

Regression wrote:

Roopelatvalafan wrote:

Well this seems like an artickel on how to become a pop musician.. very much focus on succes, seems like succes = popular in this article.. but Pop music is for people who only understand to make simple music, who will NEver get a long carrier, because they will make a couple of hits, and then be forgotten forever.. i would say, that the way to succes for a person personnaly, would be to try to create your own music, and don't let rules or mainstream things get in you way!

You obviously know next to nothing. Everyone underrates pop music, why don't you try writing a song that will get to number 1 in atleast one country. You talk about it like it's so easy and takes no talent, but if that was the case, then millions and millions of people would have no.1 hits. And how about write 36 no.1 singles like Ayumi Hamasaki over 10 years, which btw are amazing instrumentally.

As for the article, I tried to draw something out of it, but I just didn't really find anything in it that I could apply to myself. I guess it was the sales pitch that everyone is talking about.


Writing a #1 song only requires 3 things.

1) Good Image

2)LOTS of money to pay for promotions and management

3)People out there who have to listen to your same shitty pop song cause it's the only ****ing thing on the radio...but we just heard it like 10 ****ing minutes ago on that station over there!

While I realise image and money do influence it alot, just because you, and often me, dislike the song, others do actually like it. And surprisingly it takes a little more than looking 'good' and having lots of money. Although I realise very occasionally it can come down to almost purely that.

But now I see your username and I realise you will be very stubborn so I'm not going to try prove my point to you. But when you hear pop songs, listen to all the layers of music, maybe one day you will realise that someone with absolutely no talent or skill couldn't write a song like that.


Don't judge me based on my name =).

I listen to a wide variety of music. I am fond of anyone person or group that is deeply musically talented. The reason I do not like most pop songs that reach #1 is because about 50% of the time, They didn't write that song. Hiring a songwriter is as easy as dishing out a couple of thousand dollars.

So irrelevant of whether it sounds good or not, you won't listen to it, because the artist who is used for the marketing of it didn't write it? And there are pop artists out there who write there own songs.

Also on topic of the article, I find it funny how almost all of the 'people' praising it have very similar usernames.

Examples:
Paul Tauterouff
Dan Weiler
Jonny_V
Randy Johnson
Draven Grey
ChadCrawford
June Moris
Jose Daniel
Teemu Kleemola
Nick Layton
Tevis Maloney

Ironic, maybe? But I can't help but find it just a little bit suspicious that almost all the people defending him have names like this, and profiles with next to nothing in them. Maybe a few things to make it seem less suspicious. But come on, how many UG'ers have usernames like that.

[turksegitarist]

I got 3 out of 10.

BUT

That does certainly not demotivate me, in any way, to become a well-known fusion-guitarist when Im older!

[VKombinator]

Examples:
Paul Tauterouff
Dan Weiler
Jonny_V
Randy Johnson
Draven Grey
ChadCrawford
June Moris
Jose Daniel
Teemu Kleemola
Nick Layton
Tevis Maloney

dude, some of these guys are his students....I heard some of them play on this page: http://www.tomhess.net/Students.aspx

[Keith P. Boruff]

Outstanding article!

[Nick Layton]

You can find out more about me here dudes...lighten up on the conspiracy theories:
http://www.nicklayton.com

[tommaso.zillio]

But I can't help but find it just a little bit suspicious that almost all the people defending him have names like this, and profiles with next to nothing in them. Maybe a few things to make it seem less suspicious. But come on, how many UG'ers have usernames like that.

Why, they look like real names to me. Why don't you try to google some of them and see if they are real persons or not? : Feel free to start form my name. :)

BTW nice article, Tom.

[Randy Johnson]

Defending him? I said "Nice article Tom" and someone says I am defending him? Man are we a bit touchy here?

Not that I would not defend Tom Hess. I absolutely would. I have been a student of his for going on two years and have learned a TON.

But I really don't need to defend Tom. The truth can speak for itself and Tom's success can speak for itself.

Note that many of these defenders all stand behind their real names and not behind some anonymous id. Sorry to disappoint but your dealing with real people here.

OK back to whats