Whereas I've had that feeling of "don't leave your day job" since high school, because I really am not in the professional league. For one thing, I'm not driven to play every day... or even every month...
I know amazing jazz musicians who can't make a living as full-time musicians. I know award-winning authors who can't make a living that way. It's not a matter of skill (which you have by the ton, so stop putting yourself down. It's a matter of connections. Keith Lockhart isn't any better a conductor than someone else I know who conducts a small local orchestra for low pay, he just got lucky. As an example.
And think of all the terrible musicians signed by major record labels!
Mr. MacFarlane may simply love teaching and not want to leave it, or he may not have made the right connections. That doesn't automatically mean that *you* can't succeed.
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Date: 2006-01-30 12:10 pm (UTC)I know amazing jazz musicians who can't make a living as full-time musicians. I know award-winning authors who can't make a living that way. It's not a matter of skill (which you have by the ton, so stop putting yourself down. It's a matter of connections. Keith Lockhart isn't any better a conductor than someone else I know who conducts a small local orchestra for low pay, he just got lucky. As an example.
And think of all the terrible musicians signed by major record labels!
Mr. MacFarlane may simply love teaching and not want to leave it, or he may not have made the right connections. That doesn't automatically mean that *you* can't succeed.