Want to know some facts about being a musician? What does it feel like to be a musician?
It is often said that music is a universal language. It is a form of art that manipulates sound vibrations. In doing so, it creates unique sounds that are sometimes soothing to the human ear, and other times they are dissonant.
If music is an art, the musician is the artist painting a magnificent picture using his instrument as the paintbrush. He or she is the only person capable of creating something so intricately beautiful that makes their audiences stand up in appreciation and euphoria. Such is the power a musician holds.
However on a second thought, it is not easy being a musician. Just like any other artist of any other form of art, a musician’s life doesn’t come exclusive of struggle and pain. He puts in extreme amounts of hard-work, dedication and hours of practice through the years to achieve that level of mastery over his instrument.
Even then, a musician is far from ever “mastering” his or her instrument. Years and years of practice only brings forth proficiency to a certain level although this is far from perfect. A musician just like every other artist is never fully satisfied with his or her progress. They strive to achieve more and more everyday till they can grasp some of that “perfection”. It is a boon and a curse at the same time.
By now, you must be thinking, “Being a musician does seem like quite a depressing job. But that is not all there is to being a musician. I’ll say that being a musician is also quite fun and full of excitement.
Performing in front of a bunch of people, performing in gigs, concerts and music festivals, practicing and jamming with their bands or orchestras (and sometimes even by themselves), writing new music, coming up with melodies, brings forth a whole new sort of excitement and adrenaline rush. It’s like being a part of a mystical mellifluous world almost.
Chalking out the top 20 facts about being a musician is quite difficult as the very identity itself is quite multi-dimensional. There are no such clear cut “facts about being a musician”. But for your sake, I’ll try my best to jot down a comprehensive list.
The Top 20 Facts About Being A Musician
A musician’s job is to create music. However, a lot of people who are not inclined towards music in general might perceive this as a chore. But, the musician does not. He or she creates music because it is the love of their life.
Music provides them with a sort of catharsis no other form of joy in this world can ever bring. Music is almost therapeutic to a musician and he will never let go of the tune that rings within himself.
In this article, I’ll be talking about the top 20 facts about being a musician. And if you are a musician yourself, see if you can relate to some of these.
1. Musicians make grounded decisions
First of all, when a person decides to be a musician, it has to be a grounded decision. Because once they step out on that journey, there is no going back. They have to keep their mind directed at that goal only as there is no other choice. This is a decision that is permanent and a truly dedicated musician makes it a point to stick to it till the very end.
2. Hard work and perseverance is the key to being a musician
Musicians work really really hard. If you’ve ever known one personally you’d know how much truth this statement holds. All they know and think about is practicing very hard and getting better at their instrument everyday. They spend hours everyday trying to perfect their playing and honing their skills. This comes from raw passion, dedication and love for the art.
3. Patience and persistence are the core attributes of a musician
One of the qualities that a good musician must possess is patience. Sometimes, mastering your instrument might seem quite time-consuming and difficult in the beginning. But rigorous practice and focus is required to achieve that goal. This requires a lot of patience and persistence. A musician possesses these important two traits which is a major driving factor to them achieving their goals and living their dreams.
4. Musicians are bubbling with creativity
Musicians are creative souls. Composing a melody line or a riff requires technical knowledge on one and and also a sufficient amount of personal creativity on the other. Musicians leave no stones unturned while creating a piece of music. They’ll spend days and sometimes months trying to come up with that perfect note or that exact riff that will express what they want to convey.
5. They possess natural zeal and enthusiasm for their art
They have a natural knack for work and practice on their art. Every sort of art requires a good amount of practice to get better at it. And it is true that keep up the work is difficult when there is no enthusiasm about the craft. Musicians are no exceptions. They are ardent and zealous about their passion naturally, and it shows in their work.
6. They don’t mind living modestly
They live a quiet and modest lifestyle. It is true that this line of profession is not stable and a 100% success rate is never fulfilled. However, musicians don’t mind living a moderate lifestyle. It is not the money that drives a musician to take up this career, but the sheer passion and love for the art. They don’t mind not being extravagant all the time and mostly spend a major share of their income in buying new gear.
7. Musicians tend to be flexible with their time and place of work
They generally don’t have a specific time and place for writing music. No matter where they are or what time of day it is, if an idea strikes them, they either record it or write it down. They tend to seek inspiration from everywhere and every aspect of life. This is what makes them versatile and flexible. If there is an idea, there is always a way to get it down. Plus points if they have their instrument with them.
8. Musicians tend to correlate and coordinate quite easily with other people.
This is partly due to the fact that in a band or an orchestra, they have to be super in sync with the other musicians while jamming or performing live. This is a habit that becomes a trait. This also reflects in their life outside the performance sphere.
9. They possess intense concentration
Out of all the facts about being a musician, possessing an intense concentration probably takes the cake. Harmonising with the band and always staying in time and sync requires a considerable amount of concentration, which after a while comes naturally to them. So much so, that no matter what work they take up, besides music, they tend to display copious amounts of concentration and patience.
Musicians are natural born perfectionists
They are perfectionists. Musicians tend to seek perfection in every note they play and every beat they make. This is what makes a performance complete. Even while sharpening their skills they are always seeking that same level of perfection. But that doesn’t mean they are stuck-up. Perfection with a hint of frivolity can make the crowd go wild!
11. They are really good listeners
Another of the very evident facts about being a musician is that they are crazy good listeners. During a performance, they have to keep in track with their own instrument and playing while matching up with the other members of the band or orchestra. This requires very good listening skills and they make it a goal to achieve that. Also they need to be good listeners in order to quickly grasp various concepts and techniques without much ado.
12. They are fun people to hang out with
Musicians are almost always fun to be around. They can lighten up the mood with their music anywhere. All they need for having fun is their instrument to play or tune to hum. They can even lighten up a tense atmosphere with their light-hearted musical shenanigans.
13. More often than not musicians inspire other people
Musicians tend to inspire and have an impact over people’s lives. That is one of the most important facts about being a musician. They inspire others to pick up an instrument and choose the path that they have chosen in life. Nothing satisfies a musician more than having had created a deep impact in someone’s life.
14. They possess an almost perfect sense of time
Musicians have an almost near-perfect sense of time. This is mostly due to the reason that they have to keep up with the timing in a song and also the rest of the band members or the orchestra.
15. They are good money managers
This is probably one of the lesser know facts about being a musician.
They are great money managers and also are quite creative in the ways to earn money. This is generally because, in their career path, their is no fixed source of income. Musicians earn mostly through performing live gigs, concerts and festivals. Other than this they sell their album CDs, stream their music via online streaming sites like Spotify, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Youtube etc. which provides the opportunity of monetizing one’s music. Besides these, they sometimes also provide private lessons and workshops to beginners and rookies.
16. Their life belongs on the road most of the year
A successful musician’s life is on the road majority of the year. They travel all over the country to perform in various gigs, concerts, festivals, tours etc. While it can get really hectic sometime, generally it’s a lot of fun. Musicians live for that life on the road and more often than not it becomes almost their second home.
17. They talk about music anywhere and everywhere they go among their peers and other musicians
If we are talking about the facts of being a musician, I have to include that they talk about music everywhere they go among their fellow musicians. Be it about the solo section of a new song, brushing up on music theory or discussing possible ideas for a new album, music tends to be the central topic in most of their conversations.
18. Their mode of expression is music
They tend to express their emotions via music. No matter what it is, be it sadness, joy, grief, love, anger, frustration, the best way they can express that cornucopia of sentiments is through the language of music. They have a lot of emotions they cannot express emotionally and turn towards music to do the job.
19. They learn the lessons of life via music
Being a musician is a dynamic job. Music itself teaches you a number of important life lessons. Picking it up as a career adds the cherry on top. Musicians tend to naturally grow quite proficient at a lot of life skills that other people have to go out of their way to learn.
20. Musicians are versatile and open minded people
Last but not the least, they are quite versatile and open-minded individuals. They tend to gel well with almost anyone while keeping their classy personality alive. This is a very crucial trait that comes with due experience in every musician.
Above I have listen only 20 out of several facts about being a musician. As you can see, it is a life full of a lot of pomp and fun one one hand, and also, struggle and hardships on the other. No one can become a musician just in a day. It takes months ad years to get to a level where people will finally start paying attention to you.
The road to being a musician is full of a lot of obstacles. There are tears and laughter, failure and success. Sometimes there are months that go without a single gig or performance and they have to survive on a bare minimum to get by. Sometimes their work doesn’t sell and honestly it feels spirit-crushing.
They are under constant criticism for their work and there is enormous pressure for being up to the mark and appealing to their fans. There are art blocks and creative nulls which can be quite depressing.
But does this stop a musician from pursuing their art or dreams? No matter the struggle, a musician strives and fights for his or her goals and makes it a point to achieve them despite all the criticism and pressure. Nothings brings a musician more joy than seeing their fans singing along with them in the crowd, or appreciating their craft. Because deep in their hearts as long as the music is still playing, life goes on no matter what.
The life on the road, playing with your friends, the stage, the fans, the sheer passion and joy for music is what a musician lives for. And as long as the spark is alive, the flames of music will surely hit the strings of people’s hearts.
Comment your thoughts on “Facts about being a musician” in the comment section below. Let us know what you are thinking! If you know any more facts about being a musician, then share them with us!
Last Updated on by kalidaspandian