We recently connected with Christian Harvey and have shared our conversation below.

Christian, appreciate you joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

As a freelance musician, I am not totally sure where, or who, my next paycheck will come from. I may get contracted to play with a local symphony needing a musician to sub in the orchestra, or with a small ensemble for a wedding and reception. I can speak for all freelance artists when I say that the “freelance” part of our work is the most terrifying; will we go one week or one month in between work? However, what I can assure you to be factual is that it WILL get easier to make opportunities to earn an income.

I first started my freelance career at the age of 13, when I was paid $40 to perform with a high school band who needed a double bassist. At that very young age, that $40 was enough to buy a fresh, new pair of shoes! Now at the age of 22, I can perform with a symphony orchestra making $600 for the 3-day concert weekend, and barely cover half of my bills. It’s crazy how life can get exponentially more expensive in less than 10 years, huh? But regardless of if I am making $60 teaching a lesson, $150 playing at a wedding, or $600 playing with a symphony orchestra, what remains the same is my drive and passion for what I do.

I did not realize this until I got older, but passion for what you do directly correlates with how much work and income you make. I also learned that if you are pursuing something solely for the projected income, it will be much harder to be successful fiscally, and mentally. I have seen many artists in my field that get burned out and stop pursuing their passion because they do not see the monetary payoffs as quickly as they anticipate. I can give my assurance that if you focus on perfecting your craft more and more, you WILL see the results come easier and quicker.

For example, just yesterday, I was contacted through Instagram and invited to perform with a local orchestra. Three years ago, I would’ve had to email a resume and sign up for an instrumental audition to even get this possibility! However, I feel that I have put time and effort trying to be the best musician I could be, and people can easily see this. People from all over the world can look at my social media and discern my love, skill, accolades, and ability with what I do. All because I put the building blocks into my business and you can look at my page and tell “Oh, I want to pay this guy for a service. Christian has proven he knows what he is doing.”

Though I am currently not making a full-time living from my art, I am getting closer and closer every year! I know that I will reach my financial goal very quick, but only if I keep focusing on why I do what I love, and why I love what I do.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Christian Harvey, and I am a musician born and raised in Atlanta, but currently living in Houston. I play the double bass (known colloquially as “that big ol’ violin”), and I started playing at the age of 13. I stuck with music since middle school, and I am currently getting my master’s degree in music at the renowned Rice University.

I am sure many people start playing instruments at a young age, but rarely do people stick with those instruments for a lifetime. It may become a hobby at best; performing at family events primarily. However for me, I chose playing my instrument as a lifelong career. It is still crazy to think I am still continuing with music for this long. But, music has always been fun to me. When I started playing, my middle school teacher Ms. Renita Humphrey taught us Miguel’s “Adorn”, which had just came out on the radio at the time. I always think back to how much fun and laughter we all shared in the classroom. I have taken that joy that music provides with me through all steps of my career.

As a freelance double basses, I perform all kinds of music. The bass is included in every genre of music, so there is always an opportunity to play with different ensembles and groups. That is a blessing and a curse, as most bassists are required to know and understand all genres of music. I have performed classical, jazz, RnB, Neo-Soul, gospel, pop, and even a fusion of many music genres on double bass and electric bass. I currently perform classical music on double bass, and RnB music on electric bass. My goal is to become a full-time symphony orchestra musician. This job includes 50-week seasons, and classical music concerts performing everything from Beethoven masterworks, to Pops concerts featuring Lizzo.

Besides performing on my instrument, I also teach music lessons. I am firm believer that in order to play an instrument very well, we must be able to teach very well (and vice versa!). I find that when I teach a student a technique on the bass, I inadvertently solidify my understanding of this same concept. If you imagine teaching a 4-year old rocket science, you as the teacher would need to understand every little part of the rocket science. This way, you can efficiently explain it to a young child, and be able to readily answer every question they may have. This is the same when it comes to explaining how to play an instrument; I must know four different ways to help them understand a concept.

I am most proud that I am finding freelance work on my own. In the past, I would mainly receive performances if my bass teacher recommended me. Though I appreciated my teacher getting me into the local musician scene, I always felt this was a bit undeserving. I felt that this person only gave me this opportunity because they know my teacher! Recently, however, a lot of my gigs and income have come solely from me and my networking. It is a good feeling knowing that I have the ability to meet a contractor, and make a good enough impression that they are willing to hire me for services.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to unlearn that I deserve a successful career. It sounds crazy, but I came to realize I would go no where in my career if I did not put in the work to warrant success. I remember vividly when I was an 18-year-old freshman in college. A guest masterclass with a phenomenal and successful double bassist was answering questions. I asked him “Be honest… what is the secret trick to winning an audition with a major symphony orchestra?” and he gave me an almost disgusted face in return. He replied to me saying “there is no trick, you should just focus on being the best bassist you can possibly be.” When he told me this, I sat there confusingly. It wasn’t until two years later where I finally understood what he meant. I could not achieve my great aspirations by following a guidebook and crossing off a to-do list. I would only get further if I focus on perfecting my craft more and more.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

One of the enjoyable things of having a career in music is social media, as everyone loves the joyous sounds of music! Music can reach all different ages, races, languages, and regions of people. Its universal. I use this to my advantage. As a musician, I frequently post videos of me playing my instrument. Some of them are from recitals on grand concert stages, and some of them are just me in my room struggling to figure out a passage. I do this so that people can see all facets of my craft, and see how my practicing leads to performing. Through social media, I meet so many talented musicians from across the world. I have friends that I frequently communicate with from the UK, Europe, Mexico, and Australia. I have also met musicians that are in the same town as me, and I reach out to introduce myself. It may or may not lead to anything, but it is always worth the risk. I moved to Houston less than a month ago, and I have already gotten two performance opportunities just through people I met on Instagram. A newly-found friend of mine reached out to me to play with a church, and I feel I only got that opportunity because I commented on his post saying how much I enjoyed his posts. I am so proud of how I have my page set up, because you can tell everything little thing about me on each of my post. My parents always taught me that being nice will get you a long way, and I can definitely see the effects of it through my social media.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: instagram.com/ChristianHarveyBass
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christian.harvey.7568/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianharveybass/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBTtQ5-VOoKMddtTkG-tsRw

Image Credits
Amaya White Bryant Alcorn Blythe Porter Christian Harvey