maximising your earnings from piping.

[rorybbellows]

Just say you were sick of the nine to five and you wanted to make a career from piping ,what can you do to make as much money as possible ? Lets also say that you a reasonably good musician and piper, I would say the obvious thing is that you play as often as possible either gigging or busking, but would having a CD of your playing to sell ay gig’s or when busking be a good idea. Is it worth while investing in a website to advertise your services. Wedding and funerals organisers sometimes like a piper to play,so what tunes would you have to know ?
Any other idea’s on how to make a living from piping.

RORY

[CHasR]

Just say you were sick of the nine to five and you wanted to make a career from piping ,what can you do to make as much money as possible ? Lets also say that you a reasonably good musician and piper, I would say the obvious thing is that you play as often as possible either gigging or busking, but would having a CD of your playing to sell ay gig’s or when busking be a good idea. Is it worth while investing in a website to advertise your services. Wedding and funerals organisers sometimes like a piper to play,so what tunes would you have to know ?
Any other idea’s on how to make a living from piping.

RORY

Rory, there are simply so many variables here. So much depends on the supply & demand of performing musicians (of any sort) in your intended coverage area, and the venues & events your target demographic will hire live music for. Merchandise, online presence, quality media content both paid & free, networking, professional organizations, reputation, your prices, all this helps, and has to be a essential part of a working musicians package today. Also, to some extent one must sell out: holding artistic integrity so dear that it precludes pandering for profit is an unavoidable issue for the working pro.
My recent "light bulb moment" is that the music (although has to be top notch) is only one part of the sale. Image matters just as much as your music; but what REALLY engages today;s audiences (ahem... 'clientele'...) is your story: WHY youre doing this, HOW you came to do this, WHO you are- musically, WHAT it all means for you - & them, WHEN your playing near them....people want to be in on your ride, 'cause you're you ! really. & if you have *this* then the rest is cake. So long as you stay out of my town.

OH,, and PS: after 20+ years of playing during other peoples happenings(or not!), that 9-5 regularity can look awfully tempting...
....especially after one gets a royalty payment of US $0.00001

[tommykleen]

Some of the world's greatest pipers married doctors.

[Oldpiping]

I would say - GO for IT. If Davy Spillane and John Mcsherry succeed, why you would not. I gues the basic is to possess that same grand musicality and passion and a few more things I was thinking of this same scenario for myself, but I think, mybe it would be a bit more realistic or easier to feed my kids by making good chanters or sets than to become the next O'Flynn. I May be wrong. Actualy doing both would be the best, but as Ronan Browne once said, It's hard to be maestro on two instruments, Cheers

[PJ]

... I think, mybe it would be a bit more realistic or easier to feed my kids by making good chanters or sets than to become the next O'Flynn.

You'd make more money working full time in McDonalds.

[john]

for most players you need to be somewhere where there's a strong session scene where hopefully you get 3 or 4 gigs a week which should help to cover basics of living - one thing to bear in mind is how hard it is to get established on the session circuit: it's very hard to break into

busking is hit and miss but it's worth knowing when and where the best opportunities are eg. during the galway races or the galway festival in galway city - apparently busking to the celtic fans in glasgow on home matches can be rewarding too - time of day also matters

one of the biggest difficulties for professional musicians is the travelling involved - maybe keenan has an advantage here as, as well as being a great player, travelling is in his blood

get in with a big rock band and go on tour with them like mcgoldrick did with mark knopfler

[Oldpiping]

You'd make more money working full time in McDonalds.

C'mon... I know that! The only way to make pipes is to make them with passion and the fact that you just can't or want to do nothing else. Why everyone on this forum is so sensitive when the words living and making pipes come together. I said FEED my kids, nothing else! I know you can't get rich, or make a lot, but you CAN live with it, Period! (if you make good pipes). For me living is just that, for someone else having house and good car and going to vacation twice a year...

Yes, being electricist or plumber is much better in $$$ then making pipes, but who cares! I tried doing 20 years the things I didn't like & which would have to bring some normal or serious money, but the ironic thing is they didn't. I would still prefer to make pipes, sweating in workshop and live from day to day then working in some office all my life, doing something which kills me slowly and sucks all my passion and creativity - in other words not doing 100% what I am capable and best in.

I am sure that good makers don't starve! They have something to eat and they pay the bills. And moustly they are happy doing their job. Thats enought, isn't it.

This community should encourage people only to find their best strengths and use them and contribute. Why would you want to work in McDonalds if you can be great piper or mybe great maker or something else. That would be waste of life. And McDonalds also need people who realy like to work there & not someone lousy who is thinking about pipes all the time Cheers

[Oldpiping]

Once again Rory, GO for IT if thats what you want - you will find the ways. I would still rather choose to be musician then maker, but having family, making is probably a bit more friendly for keeping it. Cheers

[PJ]

Good luck to anyone who wants to do that, but if they have responsibiliies such as children, then a reality check is important.

Everyone I know in the music business tells me that it is very hard to earn a living as a professional musician. It's even harder as a traditional musician, since the market is so much smaller. Everyone wants to hire a piper for St. Patrick's day but the rest of the year, it's slim pickings.

I few years back I found myself "between jobs". To make ends meet, I took on a part-time day job and managed to get a few paying gigs once a week or so. I didn't consider myself a professional musician but I was dependent on the money I made from gigs. A gig usually involved 2 hours driving (there and back), 1 hour setting up/taking down equipment and 2 hours playing (2x45 minute sets), all for the princely sum of $125 and the chance of selling a few CDs.

I only did that for a few months, and even at a rate of once a week, it was tough. I know some people (non pipers) who do 5 or 6 gigs a week in similar circumstances. After paying their travel, meals, instruments & equipment, etc. take-home is about $25,000, which might be enough to keep a single adult, but it isn't much to feed a family.

[Mike Hulme]

Rory, you could always become an "entrepreneur". Simply put your name down on multiple pipemaker's waiting lists and, after an interest gaining period, sell your place at a profit. That way you are involved in piping but don't have the hassle of gigs, reeds,pipes, morality, etc.

[tompipes]

Rory,
You've covered most of the angles.
I've been making a living as a piper for about 20 years now and there have been many ups and downs.
The 2 main routes you can follow is to become the professional piper that is the chap who gets all the one off jobs or 'project gigs'. Stuff like corporate entertainment events, music festivals, pub gigs, weddings & funerals, workshop weekends, playing on commissioned works, etc.
That involves good organisational, book keeping and timekeeping skills too. You could easily spend 1 day per week planning ahead, budgeting, etc. Also consider time for learning new material.

The other option is to try and get a gig in a touring show like Riverdance, Ragus, Celtic Woman (taken Celtic Nights, etc.
Playing the same stuff every night can be tedious but a steady income for a good chunk of the year can be every professional musicians goal.

An additional skill that some pipers overlook is music theory.
A lot of the time you'll be expected to read music on the fly and if you can complete a recording session in good time you may get a bonus payment. Some composers are fussy about their music getting out before a recording is released so as a result they may not send it out in advance.
It also helps to speak the lingo too.

Treat every new gig like an interview/audition. Be on time, be presentable and above all make sure the pipes are in tip top shape.

Go for it!

Tommy

[CHasR]

what he said ^
although; "time for learning new material" can be like,
somewhat less than 24hrs...
(this is why im always on the moan about learnin how to read & sightread a proper page of music; as opposed to that "abc" bunk ...)
anyway.

even with all the best case scenarios that Tommy points out in place,, its still feast or famine.

You're either struggling to keep up with all the comittments, or struggling to fill the empty book...

[pancelticpiper]

There are only a few guys around here who make their living piping.

Three of them are brilliant Highland pipers who tour in groups. Two of these brilliant Highland pipers picked up uilleann pipes later and got quite good, incorporating both types of pipes into their bands.

One of those two, Eric Rigler, does a ton of studio work as well. For him, maximizing his earnings means doing lucrative studio gigs when they happen and touring as much as possible, in addition to doing some of the typical Highland pipe sorts of gigs when available.

Then there's one Highland piper who's a decent player and makes his living, mostly, doing funerals. If you get connected with a large cemetery you can do funerals fulltime, like he does.

There's another Highland piper who makes most of his money teaching and judging, but also performs. It's quite possible to make a living teaching; an old friend of mine had around 40 students a week and that plus all the funerals and wedding he did made him a comfortable living.

The most I've ever made from piping is around $25,000 a year, not enough to live on around here.

Anyhow maximizing earnings around here means being a good player on both Highland and uilleann pipes, being able to sightread, having good appearance/presentation, and being easy to 'work with'.

[oleorezinator]

Unless you are a virtuoso on the uilleann pipes you really need to play
the scotch pipes. All across the good old US of A if you don't play the
scotch pipes forget it. In terms of the wedding/funeral/party part of
the business the people hiring pipers across the board in this country
are fixated on the scotch thing. How many of you who play uilleann pipes
have been asked if you wear a kilt when contacted for a gig?

[CHasR]

Unless you are a virtuoso on the uilleann pipes you really need to play
the scotch pipes. All across the good old US of A if you don't play the
scotch pipes forget it. In terms of the wedding/funeral/party part of
the business the people hiring pipers across the board in this country
are fixated on the scotch thing. How many of you who play uilleann pipes
have been asked if you wear a kilt when contacted for a gig?

completely agree what youre saying, knee-jerk reaction that "BAGPIPE" can only mean "what you got on under there" most of the time.

But as you know, in our quadrant, there is/are such a high concentration of Irish-born folk, 1st & 2nd gen Irish, & Irish/Americans, PLUS people who have traveled abroad, identify with ITM & fallen in love w/ uilleann pipe for numerous reasons. Even though I've seen the ratio of 'highland' to 'uilleann' gigs for pluggers like me steadily improve over the years, theres still long stretches when the uilleann pipe goes completely off the usa radar screen despite everyone's best efforts.
To be fair,
I think we ask a lot of folks who weren't exposed to the rarer pipes as kids through their families & communities. Its a hard sell for sure, and uilleann especially, if its not presented in an ideal setting, the first flush of it is lost for many. Scots pipes really do spoil it due to the pagentry, mobility, loudness, & ability to work in all kinds of weather. Difficult to inspire confidence in the customer when we say "I need a bench & a microphone, & if its too cold/hot/wet/dry the pipe might get un cooperative..." Ah, but when it does cooperate