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Careers in Music

Music Performance
Melissa Davis

This was an assignment I had for my class at Gustavus Adolphus College. The class was called "Careers in Music." We had to each explore a certain topic, but in an interesting way. My way of going about it was consulting some of the respected musicican/teachers whom I have come to know during my musical experiences. This class made me realize a lot about myself and who I would like to become. Thanks to all who have helped me with this project and for all of your help in my past. :)

1. Introduction to Topic:

As a career in music, I chose to elaborate on performance. I decided that the best way to go about this was to get actual accounts from the performers themselves. Some I know, others I do not. Those I know have been influential music teachers whose opinions I respect highly.

2. Definition of Topic:

Both the definition and spirit of music performance can be best described by my high school band director, Mr. Steve Boyd. “Every time you play a piece, find something new about it that you didn’t know, or a new way to appreciate an old favorite part. Keep it fresh, that way it always will be so for your audience.” He goes on to say that he “imagine[s] the composer is sitting in the back of the auditorium. Would he be pleased with how his music sounds now 100, 200 years after his death? When [one] play[s] a great work of music, for that part of time, that composer lives again. There are not too many other areas in life besides the arts where you can truly experience someone else’s personality years after they are gone. You know what is like to get goose bumps or feel the emotions the composer did when he wrote this. Enjoy it; it’s a rare experience. It’s also one that many other people can never fully understand, so recognize that you are lucky.”

3. Preparation:

Again, Mr. Boyd describes perhaps the most important criteria for this section. “First, you must love to play. Obviously, getting paid is great and necessary, but if you wouldn’t, secretly, be willing to do it for free, it’s not for you. Secondly, you must be confident. Know that you can nail the solo and go after it full force.”

My previous private instructor, Ray Vasquez, in his publication, The University of Minnesota Duluth Trumpet Studio Student Handbook, stresses practice, practice, and more practice. He suggests getting familiar with the most familiar orchestral excerpts and also, scales, and solo pieces, at all levels.

Mr. Boyd adds, “Have a well designed warm-up routine for 1 minute, five, fifteen, and sixty minutes. Somewhere along the line, a schedule will be screwed up and you will arrive at the performance with barely the time to get your horn out.”

My music theory teacher at Northland College, David Oliver, also had something to say when it came to schooling. I know that this topic has been addressed in this class: when should one go on to get his or her masters degree? This is what he had to say: “The thing that most influenced my musical career was the time I took off between degrees. Between my bachelors and masters, I spent 1.5 years in New York, taking a piano lesson every two weeks (while working temporarily and restaurant jobs)…it was from a spectacular teacher, and in the most lively of all possible settings…between my masters and DMA, I spent two years in Baltimore, studying piano (and working restaurant and church jobs) with another fantastic teacher. Each time, these little breaks brought me back to the reality that is making a living. I was much more prepared for auditions to the next level, and benefited enormously from every possible angle.” He suggests, when, looking toward a career in music, to “take time to stop and smell the roses.”

When consulting outsiders, I also turned to a message board on the Internet, Trumpet Geeks International. I received several replies on what they all felt one needed to do in order to accomplish a career in performance. Someone wrote: “Well, first of all, if you want to be a professional performer, you have to be a little bit crazy and slightly an idiot. Obviously practice is the most important, but I would have to say that the number one way to succeed is your networking skills. Almost every job I’ve acquired has been through friends. I’ve had a ton of friends refer me to cruise ship, big band, church, symphony, gigs a plenty. The connections you make in school are probably the most beneficial. Being in the right place at the right time helps a lot. You have to be where the music is: New York, LA, Chicago, etc.” They conclude by saying, “Never practice, always perform…”

Yet another person told me “there’s always going to be someone better than you. I’ve just started on this little journey of mine and all I’ve learned in the last year is practice, meet people and never turn down an opportunity…ever.”

Finally, someone said, “You have to want to want to do it so badly that you don’t have any other choice. The music chooses you, not the other way around! Learn from everybody, not just your teachers and professional musicians, but your friends, parents, people you see every day. Everyone has something you can learn from, be it a new technique, or how to make French toast; it’s all important. Remember, music isn’t just a bunch of notes; it’s a way of life. Going by what this person says, performance is a career of which one is always learning, always striving for the next level. Remember, warns Mr. Boyd, “arrogance will prevent you from ever learning from others.”

4. History of Music Performance:

In Western history the business of performance begins with the fall of Rome and the beginning of the Middle Ages (c. 400-1450). The principle group that promoted music performance/composition during this time was the Catholic Church. At first, musicians really didn’t have any freedom as to who they wanted to perform for and/or what. Often they’d have to commission pieces for their hirers. The hirers would, like those of painters, sculptures, etc, would hire them for long periods of time, and they’d become their permanent musician. With impressionism and different philosophies setting in as time moved forward, people began to celebrate the individual; they went out on their own, wrote what they wanted, and performed it in many places, not just the church. Also, singers would get together to perform motets just for fun, for after-dinner entertainment.

5. Salary/Wages:

When playing professionally in an orchestra, one can expect wages ranging from $45,000 - $95,000 a year. Mr. Boyd cautions to “make sure that you have insurance to cover your checks if you are out of work. If your check comes from a symphony, one car wreck and you might be very hungry for six months. Random gigs usually vary. Sometimes, however, a group can end up owing: sometimes in order to play the group themselves pays, not gets paid.

6. Individual Response:

Dr. Stephen Jones, of Western Michigan University, gave me a one-sentence email reply that basically said an extreme amount for me. “I tell my students – ‘it’s not hard to figure out what we have to be able to do. It’s being able to do it, which takes all the work. The first 80-90% is easy; the last 10% is the hard part.’”

With this statement, and all of the above comments, not to mention the whole idea behind this course, I have concluded that I am not cut out to be a music performance major. I do not want my music to slip over to the money side of that scale we always talk about. Also, some things have happened in my life, which takes even more dedication and gives more enjoyment to me than the trumpet. With the trumpet, one cannot have this. There was a time when I practiced like mad, 5 hours a day, reading repertoire like crazy, too. I was taking private lessons, soloing, and even auditioning in Chicago. I no longer have the dedication to confine myself to the practice room. Sometimes I feel sad about not having that dedication anymore. I had worked so hard to achieve many, many things. Sometimes I feel that because I have so chosen to not major in music performance, that I am a failure and that all of my extensive private studies and soloist works have been wasteful. They haven’t in the least bit. All of this has only helped me to grow as a person, and will live on in my heart as some of the best memories I’ve ever had.

Another reason as to why I’ve changed my mind about performance other than the dedication part is my hatred of seeing music portrayed as “a business.” I know that it has been accepted as a way to make a living, and I do agree that doing something you enjoy doing to make a living is the best way to make a living, but I do not want to take the chance that some day I’ll forget about music as an art. My only goal at this time, concerning music, is to keep it as a part of my life forever.