Reflections of a 17 year old going into senior year

[FreaqyFrequency]

I would've put this in off-topic were it not for the references to music.

I will present the disclaimer now: if you don't particularly care to hear the whinings of a mere 17 year old teen, please depart the page now.


Just kidding, haha. No whining here, just some thoughts and a welcome for feedback.



My name is Sean, a humble teen musician from Virginia Beach, VA. Over the past couple years since I picked up bass, I have learned a few valuable lessons regarding both music and life, and have assessed certain things that I would like to happen in my future, and perhaps career-wise.


I have been able to discern three passions over the past few years that I have: music, water (as in swimming, sailing, and just the physical properties in general), and teaching. 2 of these I can see becoming a career, and all 3 a hobby.


I was originally thinking, as most "teen musicians" who fall under my category do, that I would like to "hit it big" as some sort of bass playing virtuoso, or something along those lines. Thankfully, I have had a few wise words not necessarily steering me away from this end, but asking me to reconsider, and that I have done to great extent.


Sure, I wouldn't mind too terribly having something like that happen in my future, honestly, who wouldn't? But looking at the world of music business out there made me think, "Geez, it's such a nasty and unpredictable place, where you 'make it' not necessarily by how good you are, but if you get in the right place at the right time. Do I really want to get wrapped up in that?"


The answer is no. If it fell in my lap? Sure. But I see trying to make that my only career option very much alike to buying lottery tickets every week as a career.


I've been thinking, then, about my biggest areas of interest and how I can use them to settle myself into perhaps a tad more concrete a career.


A couple things came to mind: scoring, composing, and being a teacher. All of them are honorable career paths, and I can get a jumpstart on any of them by doing one thing:


Attending music school. To keep this thread from becoming a mile long, I'll abridge this part as much as possible: I don't want something too deeply "classically" rooted (Julliard), although I do want something that has a certain amount of prestige to its name (MI?). I want to focus on a composition course rather than a performance course.




Any thoughts about anything said above are most certainly welcome.

Thanks for reading and listening. Keep the groove alive.

-Sean

[Philbiker]

I played bass in high school. My advice: get in a band (learn to sing backing vox or lead vox if you can), play at all the high school parties that you can. Schmooze with girls. Have FUN! This may be the most fun time you will ever have in your life. Don't take it for granted.

Forget music as a career, it's a lot more fun as a hobby.

[FreaqyFrequency]

Originally Posted by Philbiker

I played bass in high school. My advice: get in a band (learn to sing backing vox or lead vox if you can), play at all the high school parties that you can. Schmooze with girls. Have FUN! This may be the most fun time you will ever have in your life. Don't take it for granted.

Forget music as a career, it's a lot more fun as a hobby.

You see, though, I see that it can be both.

Music is my main passion, so it would be great if I could have it as a paying job. I'm not sure what else I would do, to be honest. Maybe something will fall in my lap, but I'm not the type of person who wants to wait for something to fall out of the sky.

You're right though, I shouldn't waste the time I have as a kid to have fun. But I also see not concentrating on my dream end now would be like forgetting to put the rudders on my Hobie Cat; I'll just drift along and hope I end up well off wherever I go.

Thanks for your feedback.

[KBarker]

+1 to this advice. You're young, and hip (obviously since you're a bass player) and this is the best time of your life. Enjoy it!

Careers in music are Fickle at best...and when they go bad (and they all do eventually) if you are not careful it can rob you of your passion for the music. I got that advice some time ago...keeping music as something I do because I want to, rather than have to, has sustained me for 15+ years....I know a bunch of guys who dropped music completely when their band hit the skids or split up. Too bad for them.

[Visirale]

I was in your shoes two years ago. I ended up going to a school for music, not clicking with the students or teachers in the program, and now I've changed majors to international business/economics. My advice to you is to try and get involved with as many aspects of music as possible. There are a lot of different things to do besides playing, and the odds are against you to make a big break as a player (nothing personal, the odds are against EVERYONE). I started dabbling in production and recording and now I'm moving in more of a management direction. I found that when I was having to play bass for my grades and having to learn pieces of music I didn't really care for, I started to not like music nearly as much. Now that I'm just doing what I like, I am getting a lot more enjoyment from my playing.

Pursue it how you want, but don't get discouraged if your first attempt at it doesn't work out. I think I've determined that making a living out of playing wasn't my cup of tea, but I now know that there are a billion other ways to be involved in the industry, and most all of them pay better and offer more steady work .

And as far as schools, make sure they are accredited. I see a lot of ads for schools that are "music trade schools" but they lack accreditation so your degree is worth about as much as a used piece of toilet paper. Berklee offers courses in all realms of music... so look there, even though it is expensive. I know a lot of schools have music business programs now... It's worth it to take the time and effort to find a school that is a good fit to you!