The worst advice I got in High School - Becoming a musician, classical musicians, music school

Sorry for the small editing error!! When I was in high school I was given this piece of advice on becoming a classical musician.

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Emily Davidson, baroque cello

[aedegroot]

I was told as a teenager not to go into music. I was succesfully talked out of it. Now I'm a bitter 24 year old with a lot of regrets, lmao. Last year I decided to suck it up, take care of my demons, and give it one more shot. I auditioned at my local conservatory and I got accepted! Starting in 2 weeks. I have insecurities about my age but I will give it my best shot. I will practice hard and show them that there's also good sides about being a few years older than my peers. That way at least I can't regret that I didn't try.

[scottseaver]

I am a music major, and I graduated in 2013. Let me give some advice: If you want to go into the music field, go into it. Just do it. However, what I don't recommend is getting into debt getting a performance degree in music. You will find yourself not going into it full time or becoming a full time music teacher, so I would recommend getting a music education degree. I think that is the warning the older musicians need to be giving.

[sporeguy]

I'm a music composition major and honestly I would give the same advice that visiting professional gave to anyone else. I knew what I was getting into and I couldn't see myself doing anything else. I relish in the struggle but I also understand that most people do not hold the same passion for music as I do. The advice I would give is to do what puts food on your table and keep playing music for fun. Going into other fields doesn't exclude you from doing music. In fact you don't need a performance degree to play in community ensembles or even professional ensembles, it all depends on the the work you put into your instrument and how well you do in the audition. Only the top of the top ever get positions that can support them fully and most people will never get there because not only does it require dedication and skill, but also luck.


Musicians and music educators are underappreciated and undervalued and unless you have the immense drive to continue in the face of adversity you will get burnt. The unfortunate reality is that you need to be able to pay the bills and if you're okay with working extra jobs, eating cheap meals, and living in a shitty apartment (I'm pretty much talking about myself at this point) then by all means pursue you passion. But if you really can't see yourself sacrificing everything to attain your music dream then PLEASE do something else that will support you AND support your hobbies!

[liammcconlogue]

I feel like the advice should have been the opposite; if you only pursue music because you aren't good at anything else, you probably don't have the drive it takes. However, if you pursue music because you are passionate about it and talented, even if you have other talents, you could make it.

[oussemaajal]

maybe him giving that advice was his way to filter students so only the passionate will ignore his "advice" and go on to excel in music

[devinheffelfinger]

I really don’t think the goal is to “make it as a musician” as much as it to learn the art form that you’re drawn to and give it to people who want to hear it. Reality is you have to pay bills so you have to work and carry your weight regardless of the what the work is. And then when the working day is over you create something for other people and maybe you’ll wake up in the morning one day realizing you’re a full time working musician who could be doing something else but is doing what he likes most.

[dylantharp]

I received very similar advice from my chemistry teacher not too long ago. Except he did it in front of the entire class during a lecture that had nothing pertaining to being a musician at all. He said that I wouldn't make it as a professional anything and should just give up now. He's literally the worst teacher that I have ever had, and he is now the driving force for me to get a principal position in a full time orchestra like Berlin, Houston, or New York. I can't wait to send him front row tickets when my orchestra plays the rite of spring with that opening bassoon solo. He disgusts me.

[aastranova]

The worst advice I had been given and still stumbles me to this day is that “if you didn’t start music when you were young, it’s too late for you”. Now, I am 20 and would love to start learning music, but I still struggle with that idea. I hope I can get over it sometime, I would love to learn music.

[leevancleef]

There are some overlooked artistic advantages in choosing the stability of an easier, higher-paying career outside of music while still maintaining one’s musical pursuits. I choose to do this because it allows me to pursue only the musical projects I want. I’ve played volunteer and paid situations in both the rock and classical realms, and some of the least artistic musicians I’ve ever seen were “pros” trying to piece together a desperate career in music, playing one degrading velvet-suited gig after another with a myriad of sucky bands just to keep their utilities from being shut off when the bill is due. They play all the time and make a living out of music but can’t risk trying anything new or god forbid they should lose their gig to a Jimmy Buffet tribute band, they’ll be divorced. How much of a professional’s musical activity is spent doing what they originally went into music to do, and how much is just treading water upstream? If you’re artistically satisfied with what you do, then great. If not, there are a lot more lucrative ways to be miserable. I have the luxury of turning down humiliating gigs and playing only repertoire I love with ensembles I enjoy because I earn a living in another career, which frees me up to do only what I want musically. I no longer have to take a gig that makes me question my integrity- not everyone has that choice.

Musicians, especially classical musicians, are extremely intelligent and resourceful. If you can play a concerto, you can probably do the vast majority of jobs other people dedicate their entire lives to mastering with little more than a quickie slam bam crash course. I taught music for a couple years, but that’s not really what I got into music for- I wanted to play, not pass the torch to a classroom of future teachers who will also pass the torch. For a much higher salary and less toil, I saw exceptional teachers leave education in droves to become mediocre at the field I'm in now. For all my years in college, I reckon I deserve an expensive house, car, nice material objects, exotic vacations, and so does every other musician who has worked as hard as me. I’m not about to watch all the good things in life go to someone else who didn't work as hard. I spend a lot less time working a utilitarian career than if I were playing crappy gig after crappy gig to make ends meet- so I effectively have more time to play what I want.

I must agree I also tend to dissuade most young people from going into music. Not because it is a hard road or that I’m bitter, but because most people who aspire to be musicians don’t go into it with the genuine intent of furthering music as an art. I regard most as wannabes, whose end goals are more often to solicit superficial attention for themselves. Music should be the end goal, not a means to it. If someone is the real deal and exhibits real talent and discipline- I will support them all the way, but I don’t regard it as ethical to promote those who are just going to water down our stagnant art further and take opportunities away from the deserved. Not everyone is entitled to be a superstar.

[KatyAdelson]

I received similar advice, and was told I wasn't nearly "good enough, " so I went into engineering and quit music for several years.. :/ Now I play folk music for fun, but I'm super interested in audio engineering and learning how to compose music. I kind of wish I hadn't quit and that I kept going down the music path... Oh well! I can still do it in my free time. :)

[lemncakesss]

My worst advice?
In 7th grade. A 8th grader told me. "Dont become a musican. It dosnt pay well"
My grandpa said it aswell.
Yet my band teacher is always helping me.
So. Im going to major in band. I can already play 3 and am learning piano. My band teacher is kinder than family. I really love music. It can rid me of stress, you can make some true freinds. Music is gonna be major while science will be my minor. Adults shouldnt try to sway our minds. It can hurt us.
I mean, them saying that hurt me. I stopped playing at home. But.. I have other freinds that are supportive...

[tnuoccaeht]

Beginning to take music seriously in your teens (instead of being born with talent and supportive parents), racking up debt in music school, then paying it off slowly with a less-than-glamorous teaching job instead of in a high-paying orchestra doesn’t sound that heartbreaking to me. It just sounds par for the course.

[kayliemancino]

I’m fifteen and I play viola! Last year, I was chosen to participate in a program where students performed pieces with accomplished musicians. It was quite fun and I was so honored to get picked. We broke into groups during the first rehearsal & a professor from Juilliard helped us prepare. As soon as we started playing she started talking about how lucky we were and how we were never going to get an opportunity like this again. I asked her why, because we were in high school and surely there will be more things like this in the future, and she flat out told us we weren’t good enough to get anywhere in life with music. It was obvious she was bitter because there were SO many talented teen musicians there who will definitely go on to have promising careers in music. So I totally agree with what you said about the older generation of musicians. Often, instead of inspiring young musicians they’re bitter and try to pin us down. But I’m practicing and I really hope I can go somewhere with it!

[KnowArt]

On one hand I see musician friends hate on relatives that say that music is a 'hobby study' and then without blinking say that it's basically impossible to make money without teaching and that it's basically an expensive hobby.

[terryjones]

I love your tone in this video. The topic at hand is definitely a touchy one, which brings out emotion in both sides. The whole video, you stayed mostly objective and fair, but at the end, especially that last bit, (“If you feel so inclined . . . to advise others to give up, maybe you’re the one who should be giving up.“), you show how fed up you are with those people who will discourage young musicians. It’s unfathomable to me that someone would blatantly advise to give up and do something else.

[TheCoolrick]

My Grade 6 music teacher told me I was too small and I would never be able to play Bassoon, that is was too hard of an instrument. to play. I seen a picture of it in the classroom and was instantly fascinated with it after listening to some Vivaldi concertos. Boy was she wrong, I am now a graduate with my Masters of music performance and enjoy every minute of playing this beautiful instrument.

[martinriha]

I've also met a lot of these "bitter senior musicians". E.g. I was 19 and playing piano just 2 years I got accepted to conservatory which was a huge thing for me since I learned all by myself in such short period of time. I was practicing in concert hall of some music school, during my practice some teacher came to the hall, sat down and listened. When I was done she was like "who is your teacher? I haven't seen you in school's concert" I said I don't have one, I just came to practice and we started to talk. She seemed to like my playing, after a while she asked if I wanted to take lessons at that elementary music school, I said I don't need any, I'm going to conservatory next year. Then she turned really bitter... She was like "why would you do that? that's so stupid, do something else, you're going to practice 8 hours a day and still you won't be good enough to make a living by playing piano, even if you graduate the school, you are going to end up like me teaching talentless little children, make no money etc.." I was so schocked... It made me really discouraged, I felt like I didn't achieve anything, I even didn't want to start the school anymore... After a lot of thinking I came to conclusion that she was clearly unhappy how her life turned out and was transfering her experience to others. after 5 years I can say I am really happy I started, but she really turned my overall mood from "I'm so excited to start learning" to "didn't I do a mistake? I don't want to end up, unhappy, bitter like her" These discouraging senior teachers are the reason many talented people stop making music and rather do what seems more racional but gives them no joy. I hope I never become "bitter senior", I try my best to motivate my students.

[JaredBishop]

The best advice I've ever been given has been in the form of encouragement. I got a degree in illustration despite strong objections from my Mother and being color blind. The discouragement of other has always help feed my motivation. Learning the cello on the other hand, I need encouragement. It's hard enough I don't have time for people's negativity.

[jeffreyhooper]

Thank You Emily! You make some very important points in your rebuttal to the advice given by that visitor to your high school. I don't consider your comments a rant because your points are too well developed and presented. I remember telling my high school students "no one owes you a job, a future, or happiness. Whoever or whatever you become is totally your singular responsibility. Finding ourselves is a lifelong endeavor and we're bound to make mistakes along the way. Constantly ask yourself 'What activity will make me happy?' This appears to be an extremely difficult decision and responsibility. However as young adults in progress this "discovery and becoming is one of the most liberating things we can do, an adventure like no other. Don't worry, you won't be alone. On the path to your becoming someone will magically appear to help. No rant from you because you are finding your way and you are by no means done. Thank You!

[nicolaslofgren]

Thank you for making this video. My school just had a well known composer come and talk to the band last week and she gave the exact same advice. Hearing what you have to say, coming from someone making a living off music, is encouraging for me! Being told that music is such a difficult career choice that should only be considered as a last resort was a little discouraging. As you described, there seemed to be a bitterness coming from this person. She had had a fabulous career in music, but she wanted to discourage anyone who had options other than music.