Dear Young and Miserable Musician,
Whether it is piano lessons in first grade, enrolling in an elementary school choir, or picking up the trumpet or violin in sixth grade, music becomes a part of many children’s lives. If this sounds like your childhood, I bet that you liked it at first. It’s immensely cool to be able to do something that not everyone can, but the novelty wore off, right? You realized that the adults who taught you took this thing a lot more seriously than you did. The kids who sat first chair or performed last in your recitals were annoyingly good and you came to the conclusion that you’d never be that good or that you didn’t care enough to try to be that good.
Soon, your motivation waned. You stopped practicing and only sang or touched your instrument when your parents made you, when you were in class, or when you were at a lesson. Passion was replaced by indifference or plain hatred and cynicism. This is a frighteningly omnipresent trend. You’re most certainly not alone. You have begged to quit and your parents might have given in or are about to give in. If you can find it in your heart to rethink this, if you're anything like me, it might be the best decision that you've ever made.
I know that it gets hard. I know that you’re sick of practicing and that you’re sick of playing the same two-measure section of a song that you despise with all your soul over and over. I’ve been there. You hate wearing the unflattering concert attire and you loathe chair tests and auditions. I’ve been there, too.
Most of all, you despise being lectured day in and day out by your private lesson instructors and band, choir, and orchestra directors about your terrible work ethic, absence of motivation, clear lack of preparation, and inability to stop talking or making weird faces at your friends across the room. I’ve definitely been there (I was called out for the latter quite a few times).
If you played in middle school, then you'll probably laugh in your guidance counselor’s face when he or she suggests high school band, orchestra, or choir as an elective. I can sympathize, as electives are supposed to be fun and, at times, your music class is more work than most of your academic classes. That being said, I got more out of it than I did out of most of my academic classes.
Discipline, dedication, passion, care for others, loyalty, perseverance, leadership, the ability to form and maintain positive interpersonal relationships--these are the skills that I promise are waiting for you on the other side if you stick with it. My pursuit of music led me to my role models. It led me to my roommates. Without it, I wouldn't have even met the best friends that I've ever had. It has molded me into the person who I am today.
Playing the piano has become more than just my party trick and what my parents make me do whenever we have company. Playing the clarinet has become more than just a creative way to miss school for performances every once in a while. They have both become an integral part of who I am. Not every day is fun. Not every day is filled with curtain calls, applause, praise, awards, and standing ovations, but every day is filled with an enriching and beautiful pursuit that will teach you how to be a better human being. That, my friend, is worth working for.
Yours truly,
The College Musician Who Took the Leap and Never Looked Back
P.S. If you're no longer a kid and think that it's too late, it's not. It will always be waiting for you.
