If music be the food of love… (Part 1)

One of my brightest students, a very promising singer/songwriter, told me that he has decided to quit his day job to pursue a career in music.

“Why?” I asked.

He was surprised. He expected me to be the ever-supporting teacher that I normally am. He expected me to pat his back and tell him that he had made the right decision; that, with his level of talent, he was sure to become a success, and I’d be there to support him every step of the way. But I didn’t.

“Why do you want to become a musician?”

Surprised as he was, he was not the kind of person to avoid a challenge. He knew this was one of my tests, sort of like an oral exam; an interview that would determine if he was ready to move on to the next level. So he charged forward with what seemed to be at the core of his decision:

“Because I love music, and that’s what I want to do.”

Wrong answer for this test. Well, at least, not the right answer for this test. I decided to grill him a bit more to see if he’d tell me what I expected to hear:

“You know, I love cooking, but I’ve never thought about becoming a chef. I love fishing (I hate it, actually, but I was just trying to make a point), but I’ve never thought about becoming a fisherman. I love sex, but I’ve never thought about-”

“I get it” he said, apparently the grilling worked; his face was turning red. “I get it. But don’t you understand that I’m talking about something really big here? This is much bigger for me than cooking can ever be for you. I’m talking about taking the plunge. For music. I’m talking about making that big leap, like you made, like, ten years ago. You, of all people, should understand how I feel about this.”

Image credit: Street Art

“How do you feel?” I asked. He shook his head and looked away for a couple of seconds.

“I feel thrilled… nervous… happy… like I’m being born again.”

“Are you scared?”

“No. Even if things don’t go as I expected, I can always go back to my old career.”

This last answer really killed my last hope and nailed the coffin.

“I don’t think you’re ready.” I said, surprised at how calm my voice was.

“What are you talking about? Don’t you always tell me how good I am? How good I’ve become? Don’t you always encourage me and tell me that my songs are major league stuff? I am ready!”

“I am not questioning your talent.”

“So what are you questioning? My ability to survive in the music business? My star power? My business savvy? What?”

“I am not questioning these either. You’ve been working as a freelance web designer, and a succesful one. This proves to me you know a thing or two about making it in any business.”

“Then what is it?”

“I just don’t think you’ll be happy if you choose to become a musician.”

“Why?”

The circle was completed. My own weapon, this hardest question to answer, was now directed at me. What I could not tell him was that, when I asked him why he wanted to become a musician, I expected him to say “because there’s no other way”. Or something to that effect. I simply could not tell this to him, because that was my own answer ten years ago. And it is nasty to expect people to act like me.

What I did tell him was along these lines:

If music be the food of love… (Part 2)

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