What would you be if you are not doing music for your career?

[wankimx3]

Hey guys!!  Just plain curious, what would you guys want to do if you're not in a music profession? For me, I would like to be an animator/illustrator. I didn't consider to be an animator/illustrator even though I liked drawing. That's because I feel that the animation industry in my country is very small and I don't have a knack in drawing (I only draw simple stuff like human's eyes or something 😂) and painting.

Instead, my strength is in music and I excel well in my piano and music studies~ I choose music as my profession because it is considered as my second favourite behind Art. I'm finding ways to be more passionate about what I play and enjoy my practice more.

Tbh, some people say that even if something is your hobby, it won't be your profession, cos it might not be suitable to become a career. You still have to do something that is not your top fav 🤷🏻‍♀️

[fred7863]

I’m pretty sure a lot of people on this board actually aren’t playing piano as a profession. In my 20's I left a moderately promising early career as a trumpet player to go into software engineering. No regrets, I liked playing but I didn't like the process and lifestyle of being a professional. Software was a very satisfying direction for me and I’m pretty sure it worked out better financially. I only took up piano years later as a hobby.

[lostinidlewonder]

I have been a concert pianist (still dabble with performances now and then but it's not my living as it was before) and now I am a piano teacher. Electrical Engineering/Computer Science is what I studied at university. If I had to change I'd probably go back to study and get more into AI or something in VR. I'd like to get into teaching music with VR, doesn't look too far away!

[keypeg]

I have talked to several people in or approaching their 50's or older, who became highly specialized in music from an early age.  They had times where they felt trap by this over-specialization, where they could not earn money in anything else if they wanted to, unless they underwent some massive overtraining.

[quantum]

My university studies were in music, and many of my mentors trained me on the path of a concert pianist.  Nowadays, a large portion of my professional work is as an organist.  I didn't plan it that way, things just seem to lead there.  It can be a lot of work at times, but I find the frequent flow of repertoire very refreshing - every week one is working on different music because every week one is presenting a new set of repertoire.  It contrasts to the concert pianist workflow where one works on the same rep every day for six months preparing for a single concert.  Being an organist also allows me many opportunities to improvise, an aspect of music I am very passionate about.  The traditional concert/recital stage for classical music can at times look down on improvisation as a lesser art, and I did not want to become part of a culture that espouses such ideas, contradictory as they are, as a good portion of the repertoire was written by master improvisers or had its beginnings as an improvisation.

If not in music I probably would have gone into engineering or tech.  I took a lot of science courses before university, thinking that is where I might want to go.  Teaching is also something I like doing, my interest in helping others learn is not just isolated to musical topics. 

[quantum]

I have talked to several people in or approaching their 50's or older, who became highly specialized in music from an early age.  They had times where they felt trap by this over-specialization, where they could not earn money in anything else if they wanted to, unless they underwent some massive overtraining.

I was somewhat aware of this issue when beginning my university music studies, though probably would not have been able to articulate it as such at the time.  Being naturally curious about a wide range of things, I made efforts to remain balanced in how I structured my learning.  There were some university personalities that had the opinion: a music student is supposed to spend a majority of their time in the practice room. To them, the thought of an aspiring musician spending time thinking about anything other than music was profane.  I did not subscribe to such ideas, and continued to pursue learning about a variety of interests. 

[ranjit]

I was somewhat aware of this issue when beginning my university music studies, though probably would not have been able to articulate it as such at the time.  Being naturally curious about a wide range of things, I made efforts to remain balanced in how I structured my learning.  There were some university personalities that had the opinion: a music student is supposed to spend a majority of their time in the practice room. To them, the thought of an aspiring musician spending time thinking about anything other than music was profane.  I did not subscribe to such ideas, and continued to pursue learning about a variety of interests. 

I think even if you're an aspiring concert pianist, somewhere in the ballpark of 4-6 hours of practice everyday is about the limit. Beyond that, improving efficiency is much more important than increasing time.

An hour or two of additional studies won't really hurt, I think. I would guess however that for a lot of music majors, those additional hours are taken up by music history and other miscellaneous courses.

Anyway, all that is relevant only if you want to be top of the line at that very narrow career path. And even then, it's far from a guarantee.

[ranjit]

I'm not a musician, and I expect that a lot of people here aren't as well, at least as their primary source of income. I work as a software engineer for now, which seems to be a common theme.

If I could choose a completely different path regardless of practicality, it would probably be a writer, doing some other creative venture, or maybe some kind of scientist working on interesting topics.

[bwl_13]

I'm merely a student at the moment. Although I am pursuing music, if I don't end up having that career I hope to be a photographer for national geographic or a similar magazine/organization. I adore wildlife photography, and I'd say I have a knack for it.

[wankimx3]

To them, the thought of an aspiring musician spending time thinking about anything other than music was profane.  I did not subscribe to such ideas, and continued to pursue learning about a variety of interests.

Yeah I like what you said too. I often feel uncomfortable and doubt myself when I'm interested in something that is not related to music. Like drawing, architecture and design. Yes it's cross-disciplinary in a way and it's somehow related to music as well, but I often doubt whether I should have other interests other than music since many people expects a music college student to be fully devoted into music. I don't really like the idea of confining myself into just music when I also have other interests and hobbies. But I'll grow my interest and explore different types of music until I find my most favorite style or genre. It's important to play music that you love

[Bob]

Making more money I would think.  Accounting looked interesting.  Although poorer health too possibly.

[quantum]

Yeah I like what you said too. I often feel uncomfortable and doubt myself when I'm interested in something that is not related to music. Like drawing, architecture and design. Yes it's cross-disciplinary in a way and it's somehow related to music as well, but I often doubt whether I should have other interests other than music since many people expects a music college student to be fully devoted into music. I don't really like the idea of confining myself into just music when I also have other interests and hobbies. But I'll grow my interest and explore different types of music until I find my most favorite style or genre. It's important to play music that you love

IMO music is a reflection of humanity, and one's lived experiences and studies outside music inform, educate and provide context towards one's abilities as a musician.  If one's concept of a lived experience as a human being is almost exclusively related to time in a practice room, there won't be much there to relate when listening or performing music.  In such case, music would be reduced to a physical exercise in technical perfection and an intellectual exercise in academic flex. 

I think a student life where the cultural ideal is to spend as much time in a practice room as possible is unhealthy - physically, mentally, and artistically. 

[lousyplayer]

I dont know, I am not doing music for my career!

[wankimx3]

IMO music is a reflection of humanity, and one's lived experiences and studies outside music inform, educate and provide context towards one's abilities as a musician.  If one's concept of a lived experience as a human being is almost exclusively related to time in a practice room, there won't be much there to relate when listening or performing music.  In such case, music would be reduced to a physical exercise in technical perfection and an intellectual exercise in academic flex. 

I think a student life where the cultural ideal is to spend as much time in a practice room as possible is unhealthy - physically, mentally, and artistically.

Yeah I totally agree with you and sadly, I've been taught to lock myself up in a practice room and practice for hours on end. My mom often encouraged me to increase the hours that I practice because she thought it isn't enough. I also thought that I didn't practice enough too so I increased the hours. But that doesn't help.

Being a huge procrastinator and an easily distracted person, more hours of practice doesn't mean my piano skills will be better. In contrary, I felt mentally drained out after the session and the longer I practice, the worse my piano pieces get. That results in more dissatisfaction with my own practice and sometimes I would just want to do my other assignments instead of practicing, because it didn't give me the results I wanted and I did not enjoy the pieces that I play (despite that I liked those pieces) because it's being practiced repetitively until it gets annoying. I had yet to trust the process of my practice and practice in the moment :') I'm too focused on the end results, like playing the piece super well. But my expectations are way too far from reality.

Honestly, sometimes I feel like quitting piano during the course of my college study but my gut instinct told me not to. Luckily I have a principal study teacher who is helping me to overcome the bad habits of my practicing and trying to let me realize that the music pieces are meant to be told as a story instead of just playing it note by note. I'm year 2 already, but I am still learning. Hopefully one day I'll be able to enjoy my pieces better and stop being frustrated with my practice sessions 😅😓

[sorayairwin]

Accounting at a bank. It’s pretty ehhh but it keeps food on the table. I’d much prefer a work from home job so that’s my next goal. I used to do royalty accounting for s few years which was interesting and a more fun work environment. Music/band stuff for me has always been a side thing, albeit one I have invested a lot of time in.

[ego0720]

Music is part of the big 9 that makes a person complete. But it goes very well with software engineering or mathematics.

My real job is medicine. Music helped develop my brain although my brain is pretty bad or untrained otherwise. But it would be much worse than if I hadn’t studied it. I also did martial arts (really love judo). Everyone should study music and some type of athletic hobby. Then go about “normal” life. Most hobbies that turn serious about 6-10 hour’s practice (includes studies). But they all end up love-hate relationships which is why I swung to many different hobbies. Anyways nice to know lots of ppl use music as a hobby here. Everyone so knowledgeable like a pro.