Music Career Advice: 5 Questions Every Musician Should

Answer

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yetSpyCy6c
(00.40) […] I was reading an interview with Cliff Magnus […] now in the interview when he was
asked how he prepares for working with a new artist Magnus said he usually asks the artist these
five key questions(06.49):
(01.05)
1. what are your influences? (01.45)(01.51) (02:15)
2. who are your favorite current artists? (02:22)
3. how do you see yourself as an artist ? (03.30)
4. how do you want to be seen as an artist? (03.46)
5. what kind of music career do you want to have in the future? (04.32) (-> 06.05)

18 Interview Questions for Music Artists

I was asked recently by one of my subscribers about interviewing music artists on their radio show
and what kind of questions they should ask. As a result, I compiled a list of interview questions for
music artists that could be used as a starting point.

For me the key to interviews is to treat each person as an individual, so not too many generic
questions that they will have answered hundreds of times before. Ask open questions that will
encourage detailed and honest answers. Be ready to adapt – it’s okay to have a list of questions you
want to ask, but if one of their answers takes things on a bit of a tangent, go with it. Finally, make
sure you do your research beforehand. The interview will likely go much better if it seems like you
are taking a genuine interest in the artist.

18 interview questions to get you started

 What first got you into music?

 Who inspired you to make music?

 How would you describe the music that you typically create?

 What is your creative process like?

  Who would you most like to collaborate with?

 If you could go open a show for any artist who would it be?

 What is one message you would give to your fans?

 What is the most useless talent you have?

 Do you sing in the shower? What songs?

 What would you be doing right now, if it wasn’t for your music career?

 Where have you performed? What are your favourite and least favourite venues? Do you

have any upcoming shows?

 How do you feel the Internet has impacted the music business?

 What is your favourite song to perform?

 Which famous musicians do you admire?

 What is the most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?

 What is the best advice you’ve been given?

 If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be?

 What’s next for you?

QUESTION FORMS
 https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/beginner-to-pre-intermediate/question-
forms

Do you know how to make questions?

Look at these examples to see how questions are made.

Is he a teacher?
Does she eat meat?
When did you get here?
How much does a train ticket cost?

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Grammar test 1 IN GROUPS

Read the explanation to learn more.

Grammar explanation
To make questions, we often put the verb before the subject. This is called inversion.

Affirmative Question
I am late. Am I late?
I can help. Can I help?
She is sleeping. Is she sleeping?
We have met before. Have we met before?

If there is a question word (why, what, where, how, etc.), it goes before the verb.

Question Question with question word

Are you late? Why are you late?
Was she there? When was she there?
Can I help? How can I help?
Question Question with question word
Have we met before? Where have we met before?

This is true for sentences with be, sentences that have auxiliary verbs (e.g. They are waiting. She
has finished.) and sentences with modal verbs (can, will, should, might, etc.).

Questions in the present simple and past simple

For other verbs in the present simple, we use the auxiliary verb do/does in the question.

Affirmative Question Question with question word

You work at home.   Do you work at home? Where do you work?
It costs £10.  Does it cost £10? How much does it cost?

We use the auxiliary verb did in the past simple.

Affirmative Question Question with question word

She went home.  Did she go home? Where did she go?
They went to the cinema.  Did they go to the cinema? Where did they go?

Subject questions

In some questions, who or what is the subject of the verb. There is no inversion of subject and verb
in these questions.

Who broke the window?

Who is knocking on the door?

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

GRAMMAR VIDEO – How to make questions

How to make questions GRAMMAR VIDEO

QUESTIONS ask you something

 https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/questions.htm#type

A statement is a sentence that tells you something. A question is a sentence that asks you
something. A statement does not require an answer. A question requires an answer.

statement: I like EnglishClub.  

question: Do you like EnglishClub? Yes
Why do you like EnglishClub? Because...

A written question in English always ends with a question mark: ?

Question Structure
The basic structure of a question is:

auxiliary verb + subject + main verb

Look at these example sentences. They all have the auxiliary verb before the subject:

  auxiliary verb subject main verb  

  Do you like Mary?
  Are they playing football?
  Will Anthony go to Tokyo?
  Did he leave early?
Why did he leave early?
When will he return?  

Exception! For the main verb be in Present Simple and Past Simple, there is no auxiliary verb. Look
at these example sentences. They all have the main verb before the subject:

  main verb be subject  

  Am I wrong?
  Are they Thai?
  Was it hot outside?
Why were you late?
Questions are also known as "interrogatives".

Question Types
There are three basic question types:

 Yes/No: the answer is "yes or no"

 Question-word: the answer is "information"
 Choice: the answer is "in the question"

We look at these in more detail below.

Yes/No questions

Sometimes the only answer that we need is yes or no. Look at these examples:

answer:
auxiliary verb subject not main verb  
yes or no
Do you   want dinner? Yes, I do.
Can you   drive?   No, I can't.
Has she not finished her work? Yes, she has.
Did they   go home? No, they didn't.

Exception! Main verb be in Present Simple and Past Simple:

main verb be subject  
Is Anne French?
Was Ram at home?

Question-word questions

Sometimes we want more than yes or no for an answer. When asking for information, we usually
place a question-word at the beginning of the sentence. The question-word indicates the information
that we want, for example: where (place), when (time), why (reason), who (person). Look at these
examples:

answer:
question word auxiliary verb not subject main verb  
information
Where do   you live?   In Paris.
When will   we have lunch? At 1pm.
Why has n't Tara done it? Because she can't.
Who(m) did   she meet?   She met Ram.
Who* has     run out? Ati has run out.
Who**       ran out? Ati ran out.
*When the question-word is who, it acts as the subject.
**In Present Simple and Past Simple tenses, there is no auxiliary verb with who.

Exception. Main verb be in Present Simple and Past Simple:

question word main verb be subject

Where is Bombay?
How was she?

Choice questions

Sometimes we give our listener a choice. We ask them to choose between two possible answers. So
their answer is (usually) already in the question. Look at these examples:

answer:
auxiliary verb subject main verb   or  
in question
Do you want tea or coffee? Coffee, please.
Will we meet John or James? John.

Exception. Main verb be in Present Simple and Past Simple:

main verb be subject   OR  

Is your car white or black?
Were they $15 or $50?

TABLE OF IRREGULAR VERBS

 https://dictionary.cambridge.org/it/grammatica/grammatica-britannico/table-of-irregular-
verbs
Note that be has several irregular forms:
Present: (I) am, (she, he, it) is, (you, we, they) are
Past: (I, she, he, it) was, (you, we, they) were
-ed form: been

base form past simple -ed translation

beat beat beaten
become became become
begin began begun
bend bent bent
bet bet bet
bite bit bitten
bleed bled bled
blow blew blown
break broke broken
breed bred bred
bring brought brought
build built built
burn burnt/burned burnt/burned
buy bought bought
catch caught caught
choose chose chosen
come came come
cost cost cost
cut cut cut
do did done
dig dug dug
draw drew drawn
dream dreamt/dreamed dreamt/dreamed
drink drank drunk
drive drove driven
eat ate eaten
fall fell fallen
feed fed fed
feel felt felt
fight fought fought
find found found
fly flew flown
forget forgot forgotten
forgive forgave forgiven
freeze froze frozen
get got got
give gave given
go went gone
base form past simple -ed translation
grow grew grown
have had had
hear heard heard
hide hid hidden
hit hit hit
hold held held
hurt hurt hurt
keep kept kept
know knew known
lay laid laid
lead led led
lean leant/leaned leant/leaned
leave left left
lend lent lent
let let let
lose lost lost
make made made
mean meant meant
meet met met
pay paid paid
put put put
quit quit quit
read /ri:d/ read /red/ read /red/
ride rode ridden
ring rang rung
rise rose risen
run ran run
say said said
see saw seen
sell sold sold
send sent sent
set set set
shake shook shaken
shine shone shone
shoe shod shod
shoot shot shot
show showed shown
shrink shrank shrunk
shut shut shut
sing sang sung
sink sank sunk
sit sat sat
sleep slept slept
speak spoke spoken
spend spent spent
base form past simple -ed translation
spill spilt/spilled spilt/spilled
spread spread spread
speed sped sped
stand stood stood
steal stole stolen
stick stuck stuck
sting stung stung
stink stank stunk
swear swore sworn
sweep swept swept
swim swam swum
swing swung swung
take took taken
teach taught taught
tear tore torn
tell told told
think thought thought
throw threw thrown
understand understood understood
wake woke woken
wear wore worn
win won won
write wrote written