{"id":74,"date":"2016-04-08T09:34:14","date_gmt":"2016-04-08T08:34:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/188.166.168.151\/2016\/04\/08\/the-rearview-mirror-or-what-i-wish-i-had-known-while-in-music-school\/"},"modified":"2020-05-20T19:43:25","modified_gmt":"2020-05-20T18:43:25","slug":"the-rearview-mirror-or-what-i-wish-i-had-known-while-in-music-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/the-rearview-mirror-or-what-i-wish-i-had-known-while-in-music-school\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rearview Mirror: what I wish I&#8217;d known in music school"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Hello! My name is Christine Beamer and I&#8217;m a violist, and also the Director of the <a href=\"http:\/\/music.msu.edu\/information-for-students\/runningstart\">Running Start program<\/a> at Michigan State University\u2019s (MSU) <a href=\"http:\/\/music.msu.edu\/\">College of Music<\/a>. In my daily life, I talk to bachelors, masters, and doctoral students about their career plans.<\/p>\n<p>When I left undergrad at the <a href=\"http:\/\/music.umich.edu\/index.php\">University of Michigan<\/a> with my newly minted degree, I had no idea where I was going in my career. After a series of left turns, I have arrived at a great career that allows me to perform, teach, and work with students &#8211; all passions of mine. But it took me a while, and some hard work to get there. Here\u2019s what I wish I had known when I was about to transition from student to professional.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_57_1 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\" role=\"button\"><label for=\"item-69eff7c8b0020\" ><span class=\"\"><span style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input aria-label=\"Toggle\" aria-label=\"item-69eff7c8b0020\"  type=\"checkbox\" id=\"item-69eff7c8b0020\"><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/the-rearview-mirror-or-what-i-wish-i-had-known-while-in-music-school\/#1-Keep-pursuing-multiple-passions\" title=\"1) Keep pursuing multiple passions.\">1) Keep pursuing multiple passions.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/the-rearview-mirror-or-what-i-wish-i-had-known-while-in-music-school\/#2-Welcome-to-the-age-of-the-portfolio-career\" title=\"2) Welcome to the age of the portfolio career\">2) Welcome to the age of the portfolio career<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/the-rearview-mirror-or-what-i-wish-i-had-known-while-in-music-school\/#3-Dont-be-afraid-to-create-your-own-adventure\" title=\"3) Don\u2019t be afraid to create your own adventure\">3) Don\u2019t be afraid to create your own adventure<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/the-rearview-mirror-or-what-i-wish-i-had-known-while-in-music-school\/#4-You-will-keep-getting-better-at-your-instrument-after-you-stop-studying\" title=\"4) You will keep getting better at your instrument after you stop studying.\">4) You will keep getting better at your instrument after you stop studying.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/the-rearview-mirror-or-what-i-wish-i-had-known-while-in-music-school\/#5-Network-authentically\" title=\"5) Network (authentically)\">5) Network (authentically)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/the-rearview-mirror-or-what-i-wish-i-had-known-while-in-music-school\/#6-You-are-responsible-for-creating-the-audience-of-the-future\" title=\"6) You are responsible for creating the audience of the future.\">6) You are responsible for creating the audience of the future.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h4 id=\"1keeppursuingmultiplepassions\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1-Keep-pursuing-multiple-passions\"><\/span>1) Keep pursuing multiple passions.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>In the current music market, versatility is the name of the game. The more skills you have \u2014 playing alternative styles, improvising, arranging, composing, fundraising, organising concerts and tours, creating significant social impact \u2014 the more ways you have to create work opportunities for yourself.<\/p>\n<p>During a recent visit to Running Start, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bulletproofmusician.com\/\">Bulletproof Musician<\/a> founder Noa Kageyama talked about creating a career by combining various expertise levels. For instance, I may not be in the top 5% of the world\u2019s viola players, but when you include my skills in public presentations, networking, and mentoring, then I start to stand out. In other words, if you can be in the top 25% of several fields, and then find a way to combine those skills, you will start being a unique commodity.<\/p>\n<p>This will also open up opportunities for what is commonly termed a \u201cportfolio\u201d career, where you put multiple streams of income together instead of relying on just one job. Which leads me to #2\u2026<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"2welcometotheageoftheportfoliocareer\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2-Welcome-to-the-age-of-the-portfolio-career\"><\/span>2) Welcome to the age of the portfolio career<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>In music school, it can be easy to hyperfocus on traditional career paths as the primary \u2014 or even the only \u2014 way to achieve success. I remember feeling that being a legitimate professional depended upon being able to create a national or international performance career, win an orchestra seat in a top tier orchestra, land a young artist spot at an opera company, or get a job as professor of X at Y university. These careers can be satisfying (and really can be obtainable, despite the cutthroat competition) but it\u2019s also important to not just assume that is the ONLY way to be successful at music.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, the world in general is shifting away from traditional employment models, towards what is sometimes called the \u201cgig economy.\u201d Some studies of the U.S. economy predict that by 2020, more than 40% of the US workforce will be <a href=\"http:\/\/http-download.intuit.com\/http.intuit\/CMO\/intuit\/futureofsmallbusiness\/intuit_2020_report.pdf\">&#8220;contingent workers&#8221;<\/a> \u2014 a freelancing workforce.<\/p>\n<p>If you talk to prominent music professionals, you\u2019ll find this is already the case. Administrators who perform (for instance, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.concertsaxophonist.com\/\">General Manager<\/a> of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dso.org\/\">Detroit Symphony Orchestra<\/a> is also a <a href=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/hire\/saxophonists\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Hire Saxophonists\">saxophonist<\/a> and cofounder of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.newmusicdetroit.com\/\">New Music Detroit<\/a>), performers who teach or consult as resident artists with businesses (Encore&#8217;s own <a href=\"https:\/\/joinencore.com\/Paula-Muldoon\">Paula Muldoon<\/a> is an example), teachers who manage bands or chamber groups\u2026.you name it, you can combine it. So why stop at one career?<\/p>\n<p><img data-attachment-id=\"621\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/the-rearview-mirror-or-what-i-wish-i-had-known-while-in-music-school\/rearview_2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/rearview_2.jpg?fit=960%2C960&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"960,960\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"rearview_2\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/rearview_2.jpg?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/rearview_2.jpg?fit=770%2C770&amp;ssl=1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" size-full wp-image-621 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/rearview_2.jpg?resize=770%2C770&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"rearview_2\" width=\"770\" height=\"770\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/rearview_2.jpg?w=960&amp;ssl=1 960w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/rearview_2.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/rearview_2.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/rearview_2.jpg?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/rearview_2.jpg?resize=200%2C200&amp;ssl=1 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 770px) 100vw, 770px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<h4 id=\"3dontbeafraidtocreateyourownadventure\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3-Dont-be-afraid-to-create-your-own-adventure\"><\/span>3) Don\u2019t be afraid to create your own adventure<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Our current zeitgeist privileges change, innovation, and the \u201cnew,\u201d and there are many ways to craft a career around activities for which you are particularly passionate and skilled.<\/p>\n<p>One of the fun aspects of my job is interviewing many of our MSU alums who are arts entrepreneurs. It has become apparent to me that musicians often have the important characteristics of entrepreneurs already \u2014 talent for single-minded focus, grit, an ability to handle failure, and creativity. Take some time to read about some of the innovators in our field on a site like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fracturedatlas.org\/\">Fractured Atlas<\/a>, and brainstorm about problems you would like to solve within music, or using music. Then go do it!<\/p>\n<p>As one of my favorite entrepreneurship thought leaders, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sethgodin.com\/sg\/\">Seth Godin<\/a>, puts it, \u201cOne reason it&#8217;s so difficult to teach entrepreneurship is that we&#8217;re not teaching tactics or skills. We&#8217;re not teaching spreadsheets or finance or even marketing. No, when we encourage entrepreneurship, we&#8217;re actually trying to get people to the place where they care enough and where they are confident enough to stand up and try to make things change. Don&#8217;t tell me what you invented. Tell me about who you changed.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"4youwillkeepgettingbetteratyourinstrumentafteryoustopstudying\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4-You-will-keep-getting-better-at-your-instrument-after-you-stop-studying\"><\/span>4) You will keep getting better at your instrument after you stop studying.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>This piece of advice is to all of you who haven\u2019t won a major audition or position yet, and you\u2019re facing down the prospect of high rent (or student loan debt) without the safety net of school. One of the most surprising things for me was how much my playing improved once I started teaching a studio of 20+ <a href=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/hire\/violinists\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Hire Violinists\">violinists<\/a> and violists.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s nothing like teaching bow grip 10 times a day to make you refocus and examine the fundamentals. Since then, I find that as long as I stay focused on musical goals (and keep practicing regularly and work with mentors occasionally), I continue to develop more as a musician every year. Perhaps in another five years I\u2019ll be able to play all the notes of Ride of the Valkyries at the correct tempo&#8230;<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"5networkauthentically\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5-Network-authentically\"><\/span>5) Network (authentically)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Musicians get to have more fun networking than pretty much anyone I know, because we\u2019re usually performing when we do it! Any time you play a gig with someone new, or meet an audience member in the lobby, or meet a donor at an event, or tell someone at church what you do for a living\u2026.you\u2019re networking.<\/p>\n<p>Once I stopped thinking of networking as a transactional experience and started thinking of it as a relational experience, I started enjoying it a lot more. Essentially, networking for musicians is about finding like-minded folks who are passionate about what you\u2019re passionate about. Over the course of time, if you find ways in which you can collaborate, so much the better.<\/p>\n<p>All the people you went to music school with are now a part of your network \u2014 keep up with what they do, celebrate their successes, and sympathize with their setbacks. The music world is crazy small, and you never know who you might be creating art with next week!<\/p>\n<p>Last, but perhaps most importantly&#8230;<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"6youareresponsibleforcreatingtheaudienceofthefuture\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"6-You-are-responsible-for-creating-the-audience-of-the-future\"><\/span>6) You are responsible for creating the audience of the future.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>I cannot emphasize this enough. If you care about music, and you think it is important, it is your responsibility to be an advocate for the arts. People make decisions about their discretionary income based upon personal recommendations, and it is an increasingly crowded field of choices. In the music world, we are too often guilty of thinking, \u201cWell, I love this and I think it\u2019s really great, why don\u2019t YOU love it too?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While passion is great, sometimes we as \u201cexperts\u201d need to take the time to think from an audience standpoint. What are your audience\u2019s needs? How could you meet those needs through the arts? What parts of the artistic experience might THEY find engaging? Take the time to make friends with people who aren\u2019t musicians, and be an evangelist for classical music and live music.<\/p>\n<p>This year, I have been trying to invite a different non-musician to every concert I play with one of my contract orchestras. It has been a rewarding and eye-opening challenge for me, and one of my guests even became a regular subscriber after her second concert! In the world outside music school, we as professional musicians are a part of creating a future that values the arts. It\u2019s a wild ride \u2014 welcome aboard.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Encore is one of the world&#8217;s largest musicians&#8217; networks and the fastest way to find great musicians. Join now for free at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joinencore.com\">www.joinencore.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/joinencore.com?ref=travelblog\"><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/blogbutton-1.png\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Hello! My name is Christine Beamer and I&#8217;m a violist, and also the Director of the Running Start program at Michigan State University\u2019s (MSU) College of Music. In my daily life, I talk to bachelors, masters, and doctoral students about their career plans. When I left undergrad at the University of Michigan with my [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":620,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[222],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Rearview Mirror: what I wish I&#039;d known in music school | Encore Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/the-rearview-mirror-or-what-i-wish-i-had-known-while-in-music-school\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Rearview Mirror: what I wish I&#039;d known in music school | Encore Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&nbsp; Hello! My name is Christine Beamer and I&#8217;m a violist, and also the Director of the Running Start program at Michigan State University\u2019s (MSU) College of Music. In my daily life, I talk to bachelors, masters, and doctoral students about their career plans. When I left undergrad at the University of Michigan with my [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/the-rearview-mirror-or-what-i-wish-i-had-known-while-in-music-school\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Encore Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/joinencore\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-04-08T08:34:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-05-20T18:43:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/rearview_1.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jonny Venvell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@joinencore\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@joinencore\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jonny Venvell\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Rearview Mirror: what I wish I'd known in music school | Encore Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/the-rearview-mirror-or-what-i-wish-i-had-known-while-in-music-school\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Rearview Mirror: what I wish I'd known in music school | Encore Blog","og_description":"&nbsp; Hello! My name is Christine Beamer and I&#8217;m a violist, and also the Director of the Running Start program at Michigan State University\u2019s (MSU) College of Music. In my daily life, I talk to bachelors, masters, and doctoral students about their career plans. 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