Don’t Make Money the Number One Objective—Learn To Wait

Presumably you’ve chosen music because you love it and can’t imagine yourself doing anything else. But, on the off chance that you are in music for the money, you’ve chosen the wrong profession. Sure, there are certain celebrity artists who make big, big money, but there is no doubt that the rank and file musician makes less money than the rank and file investment banker. Right out of college you probably won’t be buying that BMW.

Money can be a bad motivator for us if it takes precedence over our artistic standards. It has the potential to cause us to shift our focus off of quality and to take gigs just for the money. Good motivators, like developing a more secure technique or gaining a deeper understanding of the music we play, raise our level of musicianship. If you build your house on solid ground and put it up brick by brick, financial rewards will come. You will be noticed and people will be willing to pay you well for what you do. Careers are built over time. Of course certain events can occur that will catapult you forward or raise you to another level. You might get a new, more prestigious job or some of your works published, but by and large, after you have reached a level of excellence on your instrument, success in music is achieved by slow and steady work as you acquire knowledge and experience