{"id":47104,"date":"2024-09-06T13:20:29","date_gmt":"2024-09-06T11:20:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4010f13a-3b4f-46b7-ac62-2242ea99b61a"},"modified":"2024-09-06T14:07:14","modified_gmt":"2024-09-06T12:07:14","slug":"stamina-determination-and-luck-why-deciding-on-a-career-in-music-is-both-a-risk-and-a-reward","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/stamina-determination-and-luck-why-deciding-on-a-career-in-music-is-both-a-risk-and-a-reward\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Stamina, determination and luck’: why deciding on a career in music is both a risk and a reward"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By <\/p>

Published: Friday, 06 September 2024 at 11:20 AM<\/p>

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Our columnist Richard Morrison’s advice for youngsters thinking about a career in music…<\/strong><\/p>

For many young people it\u2019s that time of year when big decisions must be made. You\u2019ve just graduated. Congratulations. Now what,\u00a0apart from paying off all that debt? Or maybe you\u2019ve got your GCSE or\u00a0A-level results. What\u2019s the next step?<\/p>

Medicine, engineering, accountancy… or a career in music?<\/h2>
Even in your mid-teens the options get closed off quickly, don\u2019t they? Like the narrator in Robert Frost\u2019s famous poem \u2018The Road Not Taken\u2019, you feel you are being forced to choose between paths that will take you in entirely\u00a0different\u00a0directions.\u00a0<\/p>
You\u2019re bright. You could do sciences and become a medic or an engineer. But you also love to sing or play the violin<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 and you\u2019re good at it. You are already Grade VIII. Maybe you\u2019ve made it into a top youth orchestra<\/a><\/strong> or choir. You\u2019ve experienced the thrill of making music at a high level and want more of it. So obviously you want to follow your dream\u00a0as far as\u00a0you\u00a0can go.<\/p>
<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain performs Stravinsky’s <em>The Firebird<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A career in music is a risk…<\/h2><p>But is that wise? In Frost\u2019s poem, the\u00a0narrator tells us he took the road \u2018less\u00a0travelled by, and that has made all the difference\u2019. Sounds enticing. The trouble is that everyone who cares deeply about your future \u2013 parents, teachers, friends \u2013 are advising the opposite: that you should take the road that most people choose and keep music as a \u2018fun hobby\u2019. Trying to forge a career in music looks so perilous compared with studying, say,\u00a0accountancy\u00a0or\u00a0dentistry.<\/p><p>Well, they are sensible to point out this\u00a0hard, unromantic truth. There are many things we don\u2019t know about life in 20 or 30 years\u2019 time. But it\u2019s hard to imagine that there won\u2019t still be a need for doctors or engineers. Whereas\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/20-greatest-violinists-ever\">violinists<\/a><\/strong> or <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/20-greatest-sopranos-all-time\">sopranos<\/a><\/strong>? Hmm.<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/richard-morrison-in-this-financial-crisis-we-must-all-support-the-arts\">Richard Morrison: ‘In this financial crisis, we must all do our part to support the arts’<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Because I constantly meet musical teenagers who are pondering their next step, I am trying to turn that \u2018hmm\u2019 into sensible advice. Reflecting on my own experience isn\u2019t terribly helpful. Decades have passed since I made my own big decision to choose the \u2018road less travelled by\u2019 \u2013 opting to study music against the advice of family and teachers. Since then, the world has changed out of all recognition. So, if I bumped into my 16-year-old self now, would I still advise\u00a0him to \u2018follow his dream\u2019 and train as\u00a0a\u00a0musician?<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tough cuts to the music sector <\/h2><p>It\u2019s hard not to exude caution, verging\u00a0on pessimism. Two of our national opera companies are currently shedding dozens of orchestral and singing jobs. Cathedrals are cutting their paid choirs. Brexit has made it far harder for UK musicians to work in the EU. Major orchestras are giving far fewer concerts than 20 years ago. There\u2019s less public money being channelled towards classical music. And of course, we face the prospect of Artificial Intelligence replacing human labour in all sorts\u00a0of\u00a0areas, including the\u00a0music\u00a0business.<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/english-national-opera-to-move-to-manchester\">English National Opera to move to Manchester<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/canterbury-cathedral-choir-announces-equality-and-inclusion-plan-for-boys-and-girls-choirs\">Canterbury Cathedral boys’ choir to welcome non-boarders<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>True, the prospects for musical life could improve. Hope always springs eternal when a new government arrives. Cuts could be reversed. A curriculum that pushes music to the margins in schools could be overhauled. And the synthetic blandness of AI-created music could paradoxically spur a new appreciation of live performance by living, breathing human beings.<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/bbc-singers-closure-decision-to-be-suspended\">BBC singers: closure decision to be suspended<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Accept less pay and be prepared for intense competition<\/h2><p>Even so, I would feel obliged to issue some pretty stark advice to teenagers contemplating doing music as a career. First, have a second string to your bow. Some of the best professional musicians I know did medicine or business studies or law as their first degree \u2013 and they seem stronger, psychologically, for having that \u2018fallback\u2019 option available. Second, when you reach 30 be prepared to find yourself earning less than half of what some of your old school friends are earning \u2013 the ones that went into jobs in the City, for instance. If you think that pay gap would make you horribly resentful, you would be better\u00a0off\u00a0joining\u00a0them.<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/new-research-shows-surge-in-mental-health-concerns-among-musicians-and-performing-artists-since-covid-19\">New research shows surge in mental health concerns among musicians and performing artists since Covid-19<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>And third, accept that competition within the music world is intense and unremitting. Each year, conservatoires turn out hundreds of new hopefuls. There will always be far more qualified candidates than available jobs. This is the gladiatorial arena you are entering. You\u2019ll require bags of stamina, determination, adept social skills and good luck as well as a rock-solid technique and unwavering\u00a0concentration.<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/how-to-avoid-burnout\">How to avoid burnout: advice for musicians and those in any stressful job<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A career in music? The risks are immense, but the rewards are huge<\/h2><p>But the reward? Being paid to make music is one of the greatest privileges and joys known to human beings. Yes, the risks are immense. But do you want to spend the rest of your life thinking \u2018what if\u2019 or \u2018if only\u2019? Despite my\u00a0reservations I would still say: you owe it\u00a0to yourself to give it a go.\u00a0<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Published: Friday, 06 September 2024 at 11:20 AM Our columnist Richard Morrison’s advice for youngsters thinking about a career in music… For many young people it\u2019s that time of year when big decisions must be made. You\u2019ve just graduated. Congratulations. Now what,\u00a0apart from paying off all that debt? 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You\u2019ve just graduated. Congratulations. Now what,\u00a0apart from paying off all that debt? 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