a) you love it
b) you're really good at it
c) it's the easiest option for you
d) all of the above
I don't think any of these are the right answers, not even d, believe it or not. The right answer is,
e) you can't live without it.
To successfully make a living in music (or another profession where the odds are greatly against you, and the process is terrifying unpredictable), I think you have to realize that, you'd rather face constant failure in music than constant success in anything else. You have to be willing to take rejection, because chances are, you will be rejected...over and over and over again. Even the best of the best get rejected...what does that say about the rest of us? But, you have to love what you do so much that you can still find immense, irreplaceable joy, not just in playing music, but in trying again and again and again, even while you're constantly facing disappointment. Would you rather take audition after audition, rejected every time and not knowing why, and having to make the same recordings over and over, learn the same notes again and again, lock yourself in a jail cell of a practice room day after day to perfect five minutes of music? Or would you rather sail happily through life in another field...top of your class, getting prestigious internships, star athlete?
I told all this to my friend, while I was thinking aloud, and he said, "So...how is this supposed to make us feel better about rejection?"
Well, it's not. It's just something to be aware of.
I told all this to my friend, while I was thinking aloud, and he said, "So...how is this supposed to make us feel better about rejection?"
Well, it's not. It's just something to be aware of.
You've got to love what you're doing more than you love yourself--at least for now. I think that's the bottom line.
