Receiving advice from others who have experienced more than you can be helpful and rewarding. However, people can sometimes give their advice and opinions, even when it’s not needed or wanted. Unfortunately, many of these statements that you’ll read below are still told to myself and other musicians, even long after we’ve earned degrees and gained much valuable experience in our chosen profession
1.”Oh you sing? How fun!”
This is one of the most off-putting statements I get. A lot. It seems harmless, but it’s followed by “I didn’t know that people actually went to school for music.” Some people assume that music doesn’t require as much discipline or work as an engineer, athlete, or doctor. A musician keeps learning long after everyone else has established their full-time or part-time careers. That’s part of the fun.
2.”You’re too old to get your career off the ground.”
This one is entirely not true. There are plenty of musicians–and other people in other professions for that matter–who have started their careers and become very successful when they are well into their late 30’s, even 40’s. There are all types of music for everyone and tons of different career options involved or related to music, so it is never too late to achieve your goals.
3.”Don’t go to school for music.”
I remember when I was back in high school, getting ready to graduate and looking for college music programs. There were many people telling me that studying music would make me lose my artistic edge, change my tastes, or even change my voice completely. My tastes have changed and my voice changed, but I believe for the better. Studying music helps you to understand it better by teaching you how to read and write music, exposing you to musics that you might not necessarily be exposed to if you hadn’t gone to school, and begin your network of musicians that could lead to rewarding music experiences, gigs, and career opportunities. Going to school for music was the best thing that ever happened to me.
4.”If music is your profession, you need to go to school.”
This is another one that gets under my skin. Unfortunately, some people think that music, or being a musician, isn’t considered a “real job.” The only way they think you can make any type of decent money is through becoming a music professor. Although I, myself, am going the route of becoming a music professor, I don’t believe this statement to be true. There are plenty of musicians who gig on a consistent basis or have private students, and are very successful and happy. Like I said before: there are many different career paths that a musician can choose from. It all depends on you.
5.”Music teachers/professors are disillusioned, musicians who didn’t make it.”
This statement and notion is entirely misguided as well. Although there are some professors that I’ve met who seem to be very bitter about their careers and are not very pleasant individuals to interact with, there are plenty who are “doing it” in my opinion. These professors teach either full-time or part-time and still gig and travel, participating in their own meaningful, musical projects both inside and outside of the classroom. Making generalizations based off of a few sour apples gives the rest of the population bad ideas about certain professions.
Many of these people who say these things mean well and most of the time, they are just misinformed. However, it could give potential future musicians and/or companies or programs a slightly slanted view of music and being a musician. For those who have encountered situations similar to this should understand that, again, every person has their own life path so whether or not you choose to make music or try being a professional musician shouldn’t be dependent on the opinions or advice of others.
What kind of advice or statements have you heard in the past in regards to music or being a musician? Was it helpful or hurtful? Leave a comment below!