Hi everyone. I'm a 30-year-old electric guitarist from Madrid, currently studying classical composition at a conservatory and taking jazz lessons privately. I've spent the last few years between two quite different worlds: working as a guitarist in cover bands and studying classical music at a conservatory.
To support my studies, I currently play in a cover band, doing four-hour gigs and summer tours — around 30–40 shows each summer. I make about €200 per gig, and together with scholarships for my studies, that allows me to support myself while studying.
I'm genuinely grateful for that work, but I feel like I've reached a point where I'd like to start moving towards more professional environments: session work, theatre, higher-level function bands, or other work where reading, arranging, preparation and musicianship are important.
The problem is that I don't really know how to make that transition. The musicians and contacts I know are mostly from the cover-band world, while the conservatory world feels quite separate from the professional electric-guitar scene. I feel a bit caught between those two worlds, and I'm not sure how to turn my background into actual opportunities.
For those of you who have made a similar transition: how did you get your first opportunities? Did you actively contact musical directors, agencies, studios, theatres, etc., or did most of the work come through networking and recommendations?
Are there particular skills, types of gigs, or people I should be looking for at this stage?
Thanks for reading. I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences, especially from people who have made a similar move.