Jack Walrath: Five Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Musician
Back in July our [NYEC’s] Michael Feinberg published an article titled 5 Things I Wish I Was Told in Music School. That turned out to be – by far – the most viewed post of our blog, which made us realized that musicians out there are particularly interested in learning from others’ experiences.
Coming from that perspective we decided to make a Jazz Masters series where we ask notorious jazz musicians to share their “Five Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Musician.”
Five ethical principles for the working musician
Working in a competitive field like music presents many challenges, especially in a place like New York City where there are so many musicians already. In my experience, I found that one’s musical skills are not the only deciding factors in this competition; music is a social business, and one’s professional attitude and behavior can make a big difference.