Sunday, November 23, 2008

#67 Doing it for a living.

When you have to choose a career, a lot of people say "Do what you love". I think this is extremely naive; it is definitely not that easy. I love to sleep, but I can't make a living off of that.


The ideal career path for a person has to fit three categories:


- It is something you are good at.


- It is something you love doing.


- It is something people will pay you to do.


If the answer to all of those is "yes", then that is the perfect career choice for you. When it comes to the piano, you've got to ask yourself those questions when making the decision. Not only do you have to be good at it to be a pianist, you have to be very good, or people won't pay you, and you definitely have to love doing it; especially if you are going to be a teacher.


Choosing a career in music isn't just about "doing something you love". There is more to it than that; there is a lot of competition.

1 comment:

  1. Lately, with the way the economy has been - it might be good to get a general feel for aptitudes and be willing to shift to several things that one can do to bring in income. After all, one can teach piano several days a week and do something else also that can be 'steadier' and not unpaid should the student go on vacation or become sick.

    Many musicians are actually good at math and don't know it. There is a lot of precision required of a music major. And, math/reading tutoring was something i was personally drawn to - so i took a tutoring course which didn't cost that much at a community college and did tutoring for a while. It was fun.

    I also enjoy creative projects (however they sometimes don't pay that much piece by piece) and enjoy design in art, fashion, architecture, gardening. Some pianists would be excellent in art galleries presenting pieces of work and explaining them. However, i don't know if docents get paid that much. Art is always such an interest - and poetry - too bad there's not as much money in it for the average musician.

    If i could choose any job and get paid - i'd like being a writer, too. Hmmm. Guess it just takes figuring out what you like - and then work isn't really work. I love teaching piano. Someday i'd like to perform again - but not for the money.

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