What sort of income could i earn playing bass in jazz bars?

Question

When i'm a student, to ease my financial problems i plan on plying my trade (bass) in jazz bars. What sort of income do you think this would generate.

How much could i get for one set.

Well i'm in the U.K and i don't know which part of the country i'll be going to uni in yet. Probably London

I don't play upright Bass i play electric Bass and i don't mean i want to earn a living off it i just mean to earn a bit of extra cash.

I'm at a decent standard now but i'm two years away from starting university and according to my tutor i'm not far off becoming great, apparently i'm better than most of the guys on the scene in my area (north east England) at 16. Although i do currently play rock and funk rather than jazz.

But jazz is always something that has fascinated me and i want to get into it, luckily jazz is what my tutor plays so i should get into the swing of things pretty soon.

Answer 1

Income will depend on how good you are as a musician, how big of a crowd you will draw in, and what specific venue you will be performing at. playing at jazz bars here in nyc is very competitive. many of them are local musicians from schools like manhattan school of music.

and just remember,
....first off, you will have to get a band together, practice and record a demo tape where you can send to bars, or clubs.

I don't know many solo bassists (upright bass, right?) that are hired to perform by themselves.

With "easing" your financial status, it's going to be hard. Some bars or clubs, are willing, that is, if you are good enough, to sign a contract where your band can perform at that venue every weekend, or any day out of the week.
Other wise, you will need a lot of time to promote yourself and your band (i suggest scoping out some venues -go out at night, have yourself a beer, ect, see if you like the atmosphere)

If you perform on a friday night, you can more money bc there are more people there than on a monday night.

For the creation of the band- if you don't have any other friends that can play with you...you can go to local bars, or open mike nights, preferably jazz venues, ofcourse, right?..and make friends with other jazz musicians. Or you can
hang up flyers at local music venues or SCHOOLS.

ofcourse remember, when you are being paid, you have to split the cost for your other band mates. (and sometimes the sound guy too!)

your pay can be anywhere from $50-100. maybe more.

you can't live off of it. trust me....i date a jazz guitarist.

however, i recommend-once you form your band,see if you can start teaching. people pay good money to learn guitar and bass lessons!

build up your students, make your own schedule--your own price...

you don't even have to pay taxes!

Answer 2

Well it really depends on what part of the country you are, how upscale the club is, if your will be playing as a solo or a group,etc. Also you are asking how much for one set. One set is about an hour. Most bars hire musicians for a full gig, which is 4 hours.
So while I cant give you a detailed answer, i can tell you that the rate in the Midwest averages 125 per person per gig.

Answer 3

Your looking at £50 per night bud,maybe few beers in with it. Music biz is not easy at the bar level,you have to be a human jukebox,able to play anything from old jazz to new music of today. People in bars ask you can you play this ? and if you play it they will come and ask again so tell them if when they ask first to put any requests on back of a 20,or dont ask.

Answer 4

I think I would not expect to earn any money playing in bars, but then again, I am a cynic.

Answer 5

Jim's quite fond of jazz and I think it would be soothing to the patients here in Sick Bay. If you'd like to come play Jazz aboard the Enterprise we'd pay you several dilithium crystals a year.