Over at UAB Choirs, Philip Copeland brought my attention to an article by a singer, Michelle Bennett, who wanted to warn students about the risks of choosing a career in music.

It's a good post, and Philip is wise to warn his students about the risks of choosing a career in music. I commented on his blog, but I thought I'd expand a little over here.

I have mixed emotions about Bennett's post. Yes, it IS indeed tough to be a musician. She's smart to tell students that there are NO guarantees. But really, in what field does one truly have a guarantee of appreciation or recognition? Yes, there are folks who make six figures doing what they love, whether in business, law, medicine, or (gasp!) even in the arts, but again, there was never a guarantee of success in any of these fields. The fact is, IMO, that no one is entitled to success, regardless of one's talent and hard work. (This is hard to remember while underemployed, of course. I chafed for seven years as an adjunct, and I won't forget that.)

But. Taking a "day job" is hardly prostituting oneself. I spent years in "day jobs" doing work I didn't particularly love. But you know what? Most of the other folks in those entry-level jobs weren't thrilled with the work, either, and they didn't have music as an outlet like I did. Just because they didn't have a musical side doesn't mean that they were satisfied fetching the boss's coffee every day.

Let's face it, working in an office or as a barista may be hard work, but it's hardly 12 hours of picking cotton in the summer heat. There is nothing shameful about doing honest work, even if it isn't in the field of one's "calling."

That said, I do think it's wise to warn student musicians that there was never a promise of success. I didn't reach the place where I was making a living as full-time musician until I was in my 30s. (And some musicians never do reach that goal.) I won't easily forget the days of rummaging through the office fridge on weekends looking for other folks' leftovers, or of having a monthly grocery budget of $50. I'll never forget the frustration of seeing my wealthier friends buy homes while I was struggling to find affordable health insurance.

I think what musicians often forget is that there are few fields in which there are guarantees or recognition. My dad was an elementary school teacher for over three decades. Yes, there was a guarantee of steady work, but it wasn't a prestigious job (a lot of males in particular looked down on my dad for taking a "female" job of teaching kids, which they equated with babysitting), and there were days when he didn't exactly love dealing with smelly kids who were misbehaving. But there were also days of great satisfaction, adoring students, and grateful parents. And my mom, a salesperson, struggled for years before becoming successful in her field. Musicians, with all of our struggles and frustrated, are hardly the only ones who are faced with regular failure and criticism. There is a gamble in any field.

And yet, I certainly understand Bennett's frustrations. I've had them too. But my hunch is that the CEOs of major companies have gone through similar angst at some point in their careers...but without the artistic and emotional outlets that we musicians have.

So what is our job as music educators? I think we need to do what Bennett and Copeland have done: remind students that there is never, ever a guarantee. In fact, we need to warn them that there will be years of great struggle. But what is the next step? I think we need to make sure our students have a "backup plan." Frankly, that's just good business sense in any field. Someone who can type, do computer programming, teach, or keep books will at least be able to keep the electricity turned on. I've had students double-major in music and education, accounting, nursing, dietetics, computer science, and more. For those students who choose to focus only on music, I urge them to think like entrepreneurs, and I provide them with books and other resources on being self-employed. I think that's my obligation and responsibility to my students. While most of them hope to "make it" in music, at least they won't have to worry about paying the rent along the way.

So I'd love to hear from the musicians out there. What "day jobs" have you taken along the way? What advice would you give to young musicians starting their career? Let's face it, no matter how good they are as performers, they'd better not be performing without a safety net.

Updated: This post has prompted some great follow-up posts by Michelle (who started it all with her honest writing) at A Singer's Life, Bardiac, and Jonathan at Dial M for Musicology.

Updated again, months later: Michelle has decided not to blog any longer, so the post that started all of this on 6/13/07 may disappear. Here are her words of wisdom that prompted my post:

Do you want to be a singer? Consider this first:

1. Absolutely no guarantee of appreciation, recognition or work. Guarantee of criticism and numerous failures which are sometimes very public.

2. Filling out endless applications for money, schools, competitions, auditions and jobs with little or no success. Rejection.

3. Perpetual lack of money. Having to scrounge to pay for coachings, lessons, travel, sheet music, language training, body work, etc. Sometimes having your telephone turned off, health insurance cut, with no way to pay the rent. Or else making the decision to prostitute your soul and life time in a day job in order to pay for the things which fulfill you on the side.

4. The need for a constant willingness to test and go beyond your limits, to grow. To partake in the kind of self-exploration which can be simultaneously very painful and very joyful. The willingness to face yourself completely, shadows included. Never ending education.

5. Stark aloneness and deep loneliness, sometimes even among other artists. Or connections which are intense and fleeting. Difficulty maintaining a steady and stable personal life.

Labels: life in general, music, thinking out loud