Be willing to adapt. Honestly, the best way to get a lot of work is to stop saying, “I’m this kind of player,” or, “I only play this kind of music,” or, “this is the only tone I like.” I’ll be frank. No one wants to work with that guy. Though I typically find this kind of behavior in guitar players and mixing engineers, it is a stubbornness that will result in you getting less gigs.

Now don’t get me wrong; there’s nothing wrong with you having your own individual voice. By all means, have one! It’s what makes you unique! But what if I want to hire a guy to NOT be unique? What if I need a player that sounds like musician Y instead of musician X? You will find yourself looking for a job if you can’t adapt to my requirements.

Let’s be honest, if we were to apply this principle to any other industry it would make perfect sense. Let’s say you hire a guy to mend a fence. He gets there and says, “Cool. I’m gonna work on your roof.” You’d probably dip your eyebrows in puzzlement. “Ummm, that’s cool, but I need my fence fixed,” and he says, “Sweet, but I don’t really like doing fences. I can do your roof though.”

What would you say to him? “Sorry, I need to hire someone who can do this job.”

Apply this to music. When a producer, band leader, or songwriter is hiring you to play on their project, they are hiring you to do a job for them. And most of the time they’ll let you have free reign over what you do. But quite often they’ll have some specific requests. DO NOT ignore them! If you can’t give them what they need they’ll look for it elsewhere, and they won’t call you again. Would you ever call that roof-guy ever again? And on the opposite, if you are someone who can adapt (and adapt quickly) they will certainly remember you, as well as recommend you to everyone they can.

So you play with your fingers only, that’s cool. I’m the same way; I think it sounds way better. But when they ask me to use a pick I do.

You only play passive basses? I love a passive 4 string! Make sure you have an active 5 string and know how to use it. I play 5 string more often because they ask for it more often (not because I like it).

You only play rock? Rock is great, but make sure you can hold your own on country. It’s way harder than it looks, and simply because of the wide demographic it appeals to, it is without doubt the most popular music in the US.

See where I’m going here? I get a lot of different work from different people playing different kinds music because I’ve developed a reputation for myself as being diverse: one who can adapt to the song/band/artist and wont put up a fuss in the process.

So do you want more work? Give this a try. It won’t hurt, I promise. And if you like not having as many gigs you can always go back 🙂