Dad, I'm going to be a musician
That phrase is a hot iron that keeps being forged inside you for a long time... perhaps age determines how much truth there is in that “wanting to become something”. How many of us have thought and at some point said out loud that we want to become this or that? As a little kid I dreamed of being a soccer player!
About the world of music there is always that ghost of success or failure in relation to how much money you can earn or how much you can travel or whether it is a job that lets you sustain a lifestyle or plan ahead... but this is where a much deeper question arises... What is success? And I am not only referring to the economic aspect, but by success I mean reaching a goal I have set for myself, whether it is earning money with a composition, teaching what I have learned, being able to play on a particular stage or sharing a concert with this or that musician.
The reality is that music offers such a wide range of opportunities that even I am surprised every day by stories from colleagues and friends. For ex. Those who have studied composition and become songwriters for singers or write the music for a movie or play. Others who have a traveling spirit and want to see different cities around the world and have found a very good alternative in working as musicians on cruise lines.
Music is a great box of surprises, in the broadest sense of the word, and in these times of connections across the planet, no one can predict what a song, a video or simply an idea on one side of the globe can generate on the other.
My personal experience has taken me through a great many cities and wonderful experiences. My curious and inquisitive spirit led me to learn where certain sounds, rhythms or instruments come from and I always found it fascinating to be able to associate music with the culture of the place where it originates.
The training of the musician is biased by years of history and precedents. If Beethoven at a certain age did one thing or if Mozart at a certain age wrote another, then... How do I live up to this history!? And the answer to this question is a conclusion that each person will be able to reach at the end of the path they chose to follow.
Luckily, each one of us is a unique and unrepeatable being and by this I mean that no one, absolutely no one, can make music the way each person does. Our uniqueness and individual ability means that we develop aspects that no other person can develop in the same way, and that is our advantage and greatest challenge.
Each of the stages in a musician's training, whether in academic and formal settings, as well as those that are completely informal and devoid of academic rigor, are fundamental to each person's growth.
In my personal case, from each field I was able (and I still do!) to take elements, experiences and life lessons that help solve those “dead ends” that we usually face. I remember a situation at the music school where there was a section of a composition that I could not play correctly. A classmate, upon seeing that I was “fighting against the music” to solve this section, came up to me and told me that that same day he had been working on the same thing and shared the solution he had found. Magically for me, everything made sense and in a few seconds I was able to “unravel” the problem.
I have also had countless talks and private lessons with teachers, consulting and debating for hours about a very specific and particular aspect.
The great advantage and, I believe, disadvantage, of life as a musician is that you forge your own path. No one can assure me that if I study in such a place, with such a teacher or if I spend so many hours practicing with my instrument, I am going to become this or that.
The challenge is to become the best musician each one can be, having the courage to face fears, recognize our flaws and work to improve them and above all...not to be scared away by the process!
From my perspective, I can affirm that there is no magic or single formula to become a musician, the only common denominator I found in all, but absolutely all the musical fields (and others not so much) that I have known is commitment and honest and dedicated work.
I hope with these words I have encouraged you to move closer to your dreams!
Greetings
Agustin Strizzi
