- Look for a minute
at that void that can hit students after they graduate.
I wish I could say again
that the field had something prepared to help you,
but I see many people flailing in this business of,
okay I've got an interim set of years here.
What do I do?
There's a couple of things to keep in mind.
I think obviously you gotta keep life and limb together
which means some kind of income flow,
some of which may come through musical expression,
but maybe not enough.
That's when you begin to put together the pieces
the pieces usually include some kind of temp work,
and the temp work or the part-time work it's challenging
because there's a natural tendency to wanna go
towards something with more security
that looks like a full-time job that has benefits.
That could be an education setting or a business setting.
That's a natural enough tendency.
I'm not wanting to say that's wrong for everybody,
but there is a consequence to making that choice
which is it becomes so difficult
to actually sustain your musical growth
in the light of the demands
both physically and psychologically psychically,
that it is hard to keep your musical life moving forward.
The way people who are indomitable
in their creative musical urge,
tend to do it is they'll have part-time work
that is enough in balance,
so that they can keep the musical curiosities
and learning going.
That may mean you need to take further private lessons.
It may mean that you actually wanna take some musical work
you've got.
Maybe you've got 10 solo concerts
at old age homes,
and use those to keep developing both your musical skills
and your outreach skills.
So that, that musical curiosity is developing
even as you do your part-time job
and that occasional other gig, and the few bucks you get
for doing the old age home performances.
It is in such a balance that a significant proportion
of your energy is going
into the ongoing growth of your musical life.
If in fact, the music just becomes kind of a thing you do
because you wanna keep a hand in,
but mostly your energy is going out here
towards paying the rent,
it may be a way to keep some things going
but it is not gonna move you forward musically.
So the incredibly difficult balance,
is how do you hold the priority of your own musical journey
keeping it going
and letting the other pieces that need to come in place
support you be there, but still keep the energy growing
so that you're getting better as a musician,
and you're getting better
in this additional set of skills
that make for a big life in music
and actually contribute financially
to your bigger life in music.
So I think it's the ultimate art form.
Is putting the pieces together
to keep yourself developing as a musician
even as you take care of the real world issues
of paying the rent and keeping life and limb together
but keeping the priorities such that the artist of you
continues to progress.