Every day that I wake up, there’s a song already stuck in my head.
And why not? Music colors my life, and there’s no better time to be a part of it. We live in the first era in which music is accessible from almost anywhere and any time. Don’t get me wrong—silence definitely has its merits for meditative purposes, but music colors our time here on Earth and attaches to our memories in really profound ways. I can compose my day to be and feel as fun as I want it to be (even if what I have to do is mundane). If I’m sad, nothing reminds me I’m not alone as quickly and readily as some well placed tunes. Music can be a sophisticated tool for regulating emotions if used sensitively. It can make or break friendships and relationships. It can synchronize entire groups of people that know nothing about each other. It can cause spontaneous and expressive movement in people all over the world.
Can you make a living as a musician?
Firstly: That’s not the point. Making a living as a musician for me has been a direct result of training and learning for years without worrying about whether the money would come or not. Here’s my current situation that’s propelling me forward—I play in three bands of differing styles in the Tulsa, OK area (I’m not trying to promote them here, but ask if you’d like). I’ve played disaster shows and sold out riots. I’ve played in dingy smoke-holes and state of the art floating museum platforms. I’ve played weddings and themed music festivals. It’s all over the place and extremely exciting, but no way to make a living. Sometimes money comes and sometimes it doesn’t. Entertainment is a fickle friend to have as part of my life. I know some musicians do this exclusively, and to them I tip my hat.
My main squeeze is education. I’ve been teaching for 8 years and hold an average of 50 students per week. This is what people really spend money on; the same people that are likely to pirate an album or avoid a performance because it costs $10 are also willing to drop $60 for an hour of learning how to make music a part of their life. If you follow the money, it shows how much people are willing to sacrifice in order to make music a more important fixture in their lives. It’s important to realize that all ages are involved here. Parents want lessons for their kids, but I also get lots of 20-somethings and older adults as well. Some of my favorite people to teach are retirees—people that say “I’ve always wanted to do this, but never found the time to.” Beautiful. It’s never too late to begin.
The musical world is a dynamic world. I love the recording process as well and get to work with a lot of people that feel more comfortable on the technological side of music production. This requires a different set of skills and qualities, and I don’t know where I’d be without my friends in the audio/recording/live sound community. It’s easy to not consider them musicians, but it takes a specific musical sensitivity to do a good job. You may be one of these people without realizing it!
The real question…
Can music make your life better? I’ve never heard any different. As far as I can tell from the number of people at shows, sharing music online, blasting tunes from their cars, and the hundreds of students I’ve taught over the years, learning about music is as effective at improving quality of life as learning how to cook, exercising, and traveling (which get’s a lot more fun when you get to really dig into a foreign culture’s musical culture).
How to start
There are lots of ways to start, and you’ll want to go for the one that you tend to gravitate toward naturally. The absolute simplest way is to:
- Begin to listen, rather than just hearing. You can learn a ton about the sound waves pouring through you just by paying attention a bit closer. There’s more going on than you may have noticed in your favorite songs over the years!
- Find resources online to learn from. There are so many options it’s overwhelming. Your favorite bands may have some cool interviews or studio footage on YouTube. Personal context changes how you hear your favorite songs. I’ve been pre-releasing my easy music theory book here on Steemit if you want to dive into the patterns of music.
- Find a local teacher. This can seriously change your life.
It’s not as difficult as you think. In fact, because you’ve heard music almost every day of your life since you were born (whether intentional or not), you’re already intuitively aware of musical tendencies. You already know what music you like and dislike as vividly as you know what food you like and dislike. Music education for most people is just a matter of putting names to things they already understand and connecting them logically. One of my favorite human emotions is the Ah-Ha! moment, and I hope I can produce some of that here on Steemit. Thanks for reading!
