The #1 Mistake Young Musicians Make
Every day I get to meet countless young musicians who share similar passions, dreams and drive. However, there is one trait I found that consistently distinguishes those who get ahead from those who sadly, either give up trying or become bitter about the world that just ‘does not get them’.
In the course of my professional career I get the opportunity to daily be in contact with young musicians. It is no exaggeration to say I met more than 1000 young students and regardless of their personal circumstances, almost 99% of them share one common trait: they believe their career will begin after they finish their studies.
At any high music education institution, it is inevitable that not only the main subject teachers but most of the supporting staff as well, are musicians themselves still actively performing outside of their working hours. Or at the very least, they have a curated, extensive network of other professionals within the field such as programmers, promoters, journalists, casting directors, conductors and agents.
We are often seen as mere office clerks, stage busybodies, writers of annoying mails and enforcers of tiresome rules. After all, you do not see us with an instrument in our hands so it is easy to conclude that we could not possible either understand how it is to be a student nor anything we say or do could have value equal to the instructions spoken by the instrument teacher. Sure, we are also people, but not quite of the same caliber as a teacher.
However, studies last for a limited amount of time and once that final exam starts approaching, suddenly a very real existential dread kicks in. You ask yourself: what now? Although you are graduating, you are still broke, gigs are sparse, teaching options limited and the overall market is oversaturated. It is at this point every year that I inevitably get a slide of mails that more or less all contain the same questions: do I know about some paid playing opportunities, can I recommend a programmer of a concert series, do I know of some auditions coming up, can I call them when substitute musicians are needed?
So yes, you want and need to work because life goes on and because you want to put in good use everything you have learned form your teachers. But you realize that the same teacher who has taught you so much cannot or will not help you because he/she is in the exactly the same position you are finding yourself in now. You are now the competition. Naturally, you then decide to reach out to anyone and everyone you know and have met who you do not consider to be competing with you. And then you mail me and my colleagues.
There is no shame in reaching out and I often encourage graduate students to keep in touch. However, before you do so, ask yourself the following:
Have I always been on time for a rehearsal?
Have I ever cancelled a project at the last moment or worse, did not show up at all?
Have I ever left any of the mails of this person unanswered?
Have I ever cut corners and tried to undermine the authority of this person in front of others?
Have I ever acted out in person or in an email and did not apologize afterwards?
Have I ever met this person on the street and did not even say hello?
Has this person ever given me a task I did not fulfill?
Have I consistently shown to this person that I am reliable and accountable for my actions?
If you recognize you at some point have exhibited any or even more than one of the aforementioned behaviors, I can tell you right now not to bother. Re-evaluate your way of acting and try to be honest with yourself about what made you conduct in a particular way. Make a pact with yourself that you will correct any questionable behavior that can only hold you back in your career and worse, lead you to feel embittered and contemptuous.
Remember: your reputation will always precede you. I would go as far as to say it is the most valuable commodity for any professional. Be aware that if you have proven to be unreliable but ask for favors from people you made a bad impression on, we will not only never recommend you for anything, but when asked, we will warn people within our network never to trust or hire you either.
At the end of the day, it does not matter what you do but how you do it. Remember this, even if at some point you decide a music career is not for you. This is a universal rule applied to all things in life. The ones who get it will always succeed.