Step 5-Support your Colleagues

If someone is playing their recital, go and listen. Someday you’ll need an audience for your recital. Besides, you might enjoy it. It’s always possible you may learn something

I am often amazed at the poor attendance at recitals. I don’t mean that flute players don’t come to a tuba recital, I mean TUBISTS don’t come. You might want to check out other instruments besides your own as well. Audition committees are often composed of folks from other sections. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to know something about how they go about their business, what’s important in their world.

And remember, nothing replaces a live performance. With all the options today for hearing/seeing a performance, it still doesn’t compare to sitting in the hall, a few feet from the actual, non-reproduced sound. 

Another not so small point I’d like to make, don’t steal music. If you want to help yourself, help the industry, or have any hope of getting paid for your craft, you can’t think that this doesn’t matter, it surely does. If you don’t pay to get into a concert because you sneak in the back door, isn’t that the same as stealing?

You might not think it matters, but it does. If you want a certain product, live performance, recording, and you don’t pay for it, how do the performers get paid? 

Years of studying a craft, lessons, instruments, etc. that’s quite an investment, not even counting time. Now you want work? Who is paying you, and where are they getting the money? Do the right thing, buy a ticket, buy the recording. You’ll support the artist, but you might just insure that you have a chance someday to make a buck.

Even if you are a starving artist or student yourself, when you can, support the field that you profess you’re going into. Even if you teach, why would anyone keep taking lessons if not in the hope of performing. Just so they can teach someone else? It is a performance art, after all.

Our industry is not an easy one, but we don’t make it any better by not supporting each other, however we can. Go listen to your friends and colleagues, and when you can, put your money into the system.

Ok lecture over, we have a better Step coming next, I hope….