2 Traits You NEED to Become a TOP Musician

Produced by Nahre Sol and Julius Meltzer, edited by Nahre Sol

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[Kougeru]

Everyone ignores that you have to be born into the right situation to begin with. Most people are not able to buy instruments and take lessons or have connections needed to study music at these levels. There's the luck involved - being lucky to be put in a situation where you can even truly dream of becoming a musician. I can't imagine how many actual Mozart's exist who are unable to bring their music into the world because they weren't born into a situation that allowed them to nurture their skills.

[BluegillGreg]

In my 20s I practiced a lot. As an amateur in my 30s I got recruited a lot for unpaid, then low paid gigs. In my late 30s music started paying well, and in my 60s I've been full time for 25 years. For me, persistence has been most important.

[SarumChoirmaster]

1. extreme sense of universal awareness of everyone and everything around you, 2. extreme self control and discipline in maintaining a consistency in daily SLOW practice, 3. TALENT, 4. HUMILITY, 5. the ability to sincerely enjoy music, to be committed, to always desire to learn from everyone, 6. to be flexible and adaptable, 7. to understand its not how long you practice, but how carefully you practice, 8. to be able to enjoy extreme slow and soft practice, 9. to be able to practice and play in your mind, mentally without your instrument. 10. to have a life outside of music!!!

[pianopracticediary]

We‘re all so lucky to have people in this world who work incredibly hard to bring us wonderful music😊

[tomasjosefpiano]

I think it's important to note that this mostly applies to high level classical musicians.

I am a pretty good pianist, but I'm certainly not even remotely close to the skill of concert pianist, yet I make a pretty decent living playing the piano on various parties, events and in restaurants.

You don't need to give up your life to make your passions work. You just need to find the way that works for you

[OpenWoodShop]

After almost 20 yrs of playing music professionally (not classical) I finally realized that 1. I love music so much and 2. Making a living playing music was robbing me of that love. I was happier at working menial jobs and pursuing the love of music, both playing and listening and exploring it.

[highmidsummersun]

I have a background in high level sport. I've noticed many similarities between sports and music, and this video solidified those thoughts. Replace every "musician" and "music" with "athlete" and "sport, " and the video would still flow seamlessly. I am in complete agreement that to achieve a top level, total commitment and adaptablity are vital. Singular focus, almost to obsession, hours of training, being very self-critical and possessing the ability to change course at a moments notice are all necessary to even have a chance to reach the top.

Excellent video!

[michaelbarker]

I am certainly grateful for classical music and the musicians that keep it alive but I also feel like there is something horribly wrong lurking somewhere inside it today. There's so much more to music than being the best, beating the competition, and wanting to win. I grew up in a trailer park and had a dorky Casio keyboard that I loved to play. I heard songs on the radio and on movies and I tried my best to copy them on my keyboard. I didnt have many resources or any teachers. Now a few decades later I play jazz piano at a fairly high level. I have an unrelated career but I make extra by playing paid gigs that I want to play and tbh it's more than I ever thought I could make.

I don't say this as a way to brag or create some sob story I'm saying this because it's not so far off other professional musicians lives that I know. For the sake of the music and the enjoyment we got out of playing it drove us to where we are. Every step of the way has been enjoyable for me. If I hear something I like that I don't know how to play I instantly become obsessed with trying to figure it out. It's fun and it slowly adds to my abilities. Hearing someone play something that I can't or better than I can isn't a threat to me it's an opportunity. I get the chance to build a relationship and learn from it all because of music.

I know this is biased to my area but if I were to look at all the paid gigs available to piano players right now very few are for classical music. The majority are for all kinds of different projects and genres of music. If I show up at a gig and the competition is a classical pianist that has this mindset of "why bother with being second best" and has always won and has been better than everyone else he's gone up against but now wants to make more money and branch out of classical, to put it lightly he's gonna lose. And not just by a little bit he's effectually going to "eat my dust" as they say in the competitive world. Most likely he couldn't improvise over Mary Had a Little Lamb and no there's no sheet music because you're the one tasked with coming up with your own part. I can offer not just one idea for a part but many. If someone asked me to change something I can give 5 different takes on the spot. All while enjoying the heck out of it and depending on the gig is nearly effortless for me.

Again not to brag but to say there's so much more to music than competition. There's other and maybe even better definitions of success. There's many things that can drive people to achieve something, just know that passion, enjoyment, friendliness, kindness and love of music is a very very powerful driver to success if it's felt strongly enough

[jrpipik]

For those of us who want to live without these kinds of sacrifices, there are many ways to make music a career, if not at this stratospheric height.

[dernierepaces]

Beginning at a very young age *in that strict and hardworking environnement* is definitely a predominant factor. Started piano when I was 7 and my teacher never wanted me to put in too much work or add stress, he just wanted me to have fun. 14 years later that's exactly the type of classical pianist that I am. I sure can play hard pieces and got a broad repertoire, but I never bother to perfect those tough bars or candenzas because it requires a ton of work

[phatato]

I don't think this necessarily applies to classical musicians as much since they are usually performing other composers' work, but a musician that plays their own original music, I think another very important factor that propels people to higher levels of success is uniqueness and ability to be vulnerable to fully express themselves. There are lots of artists who aren't the technical best, but they are so perfect at being themselves that it shines through and makes them more compelling.

[tommyron]

"Talent is the entry point." Very nicely summed up there. That was a terrific piece of video journalism. You really captured a clear and authentic take on that world. Many thanks!

[JamieR]

I think these are good points. I do however believe there is room to live as a musician without needing to reach the top or be the best.
That it heavily depends on which type of music, the expected level of audience and travel.

[ErickthesickEmO]

I'm currently studying composition and it's really stressful. Got burnt-out in 2019 and almost got into a depression. Now I'm a lot better and it is still very hard to handle the work at college and the other musical activities I'm into. So yes, it is not only passion, talent and love for music, it is learning how to handle stress, when to stop if it's unhealthy and not productive and try to always improve in your musical area. I'm so thankful for this kind of videos. We need more musicians talking about what is like to be a musician, so people can understand and respect our job

[ChrisFarrell]

One thing that came to mind to me is having the social support system to get you through all of this. I’m older and studied music during the period where the predominant teaching style could fairly be called abusive (thankfully this seems to be far less of the case today), for whatever reason. Without much of a support system it was just impossible to get through. You can be internally motivated, but it just only goes so far. Maybe this is something that is just assumed, like talent and motivation? But as a young person who really wanted to be a musician but washed out, I think it would have been helpful to understand that this is something you just can’t do on your own, if you’re socially isolated. Or at least, it becomes massively more difficult.

[Tonylamchop]

Thank you for sharing Nahre! There is talent in hard work. Many naturally gifted students stop too early just from laziness.

[anatomicallymodernhuman]

My own journey involved the the discovery that I had started too late. I grew up as a big fish in a small pond, and everyone said I was so talented. But my parents were poor, so I never had lessons. When I got to college, I found I was just good enough to get by. If it hadn't been for my good ear and natural grasp of theory, I would have had to change majors.

When I got to Nashville, I simply stopped calling myself a musician. Those cats are off the charts. My favorite studio guitarist there gets up at 5am and practices until 7am. Then he spends all day going from studio to studio.

In Nashville, I had some success as a commercial music writer, but soon focused on audio engineering, and have had a successful career in that field. But I never gave up on my dream to make a living writing music. At 60 I'm still at it, and still learning. Your channel is a big inspiration to keep going.

[CortVermin]

i really, REALLY hate when people say shit like "ohhh sooo talented"

nah. thats work. a lot of work.

[chipcurry]

After a lifetime as a professional musician, I could fill up many pages of response. I play bluegrass, folk, swing guitar, and fiddle. 15 years ago I discovered an amazing niche. I started performing solo for retirement communities i sing popular music from the 20th century, and have done close to 3000 of these shows. No competition, I just play my heart out and bring new life to people through Music. One of my personal favorite quotes is "They don't care as much how good you are as… How good you make them feel." A few of the things that have served me in life are one, do a variety of things in life for money, enjoy a low cost of living, get the best instruments, you can possibly afford, practice plenty, think of yourself as a holy person – we bring great gifts and it is an honor to be doing it.

[forsaken]

Sad reality of having so many talented people is that they end up making the level of competition so high that the barrier for entry is almost complete self sacrifice. Yeah, no thank you. I’ll play for me.