Taking Care of Business

Hello again!  My deepest apologies for my unintentional absence over the last few months.  School has been keeping me busy and it's hard to make time for blogging when most of the day is absorbed with practicing and writing papers for my classes.  This particular topic has been floating around in my head for a while and I finally decided to make time for it.

Taking Care of Business.  I mean exactly what you think I mean.  All too often in the field of music, people think that their talent is all that matters.  People skills aren't important and it doesn't really matter if you show up late and don't turn in paperwork on time.

LIES

I am sorry, my friends, but this simply does not work in the real world. It is unfortunate, but the field of classical music no longer operates in a manner that allows you to depend solely on your musical abilities.  Your musicianship may win you a job, but it is your people skills that will keep you in that position.  No one wants to work with someone who is unreliable.  There are far more musicians in the world now than there are positions for them to fill.  Every time you show up late to a lesson, rehearsal, or performance, you show your fellow musicians that you simply do not value their time.  Why would they ever hire you again when they can find someone who is equally qualified who will be respectful of their fellow musicians' time? 

This is equally true if you have to miss a rehearsal or performance for any reason (emergency or otherwise).  Do not EVER expect to get another call from an employer if you simply do not show up for something for which you have been hired to play.  Communicate with your personnel manager ASAP about the issue so they can find someone to take your place either temporarily or for the remainder of the gig.  If you are still in school, arrange for a fellow student to cover your part for you and communicate this with your conductor(s).  You hurt everyone in the ensemble when you fail to take responsibility for your music, whether you are playing it yourself or not.
 
I feel like this is a silly thing to point out, but for goodness' sake, learn your music!  Not spending time on your music outside of rehearsal is the number one way to show that you don't care.  Listen to recordings so you know how your part fits with the ensemble.  You should not be surprised when a major solo shows up in your music, especially if you are not in the principal role.  Spend time playing through your part so that when it comes to rehearsal time, you are not the cause of wasted rehearsal time.  Rehearsals are where everyone comes together to work on performing the work as a whole.  They do NOT exist to be your personal practice time. 

Be organized and responsible.  This is particularly relevant for the realm of academia.  Teaching requires us to do much more than simply teach.  Even if you only teach private lessons from your home, the level of your organization can greatly impact the impression that your students have of you.  Keep good records of your students' weekly assignments as well as the associated financial information.  As a student, it would always frustrate me when a teacher did not remember what music on which I was working.  It made it obvious to me that they did not care enough about my education to be bothered with keeping records.  If you know you have a terrible memory, make a spreadsheet for each student that allows you to keep track of their weekly assignments as well as long term goals and projects.  Technology can be extremely useful in this regard, as long as we remember to utilize it to its fullest capacity.  When working in academia, completing paperwork before deadlines is particularly important because you are typically not the only person that is affected by potential tardiness.  Your failure to complete paperwork on time could possibly effect your students' abilities to graduate on time.

You may not like a rule, process, or person, but we still have to learn to work with them instead of fighting against the system.  You certainly do not have to behave like an automaton and behave like a lemming, but you also have to be able to follow established procedures regardless of whether you agree with them or not.  You may not like your supervisor, section leader, professors, private instructor, or conductors, but if you don't want to establish a reputation as a troublemaker, it is best to just go with the established flow.  Recognize that you are not in charge of things and deal with it.  We do not always get what we want in life.  A reputation is something that is very easy to establish and extremely difficult to change.  Once you earn the reputation of being someone who will not follow the rules and does not respect authority, you might as well just change your profession completely.  I know many people who refused to work with the system and now cannot get a job as either a teacher or performer.  There are simply too many of us out there that are just as talented musically but are far easier to work with.  Why would someone hire a troublemaker when they can hire someone who is equally talented but with a much more pleasant personality?

Basically, all of this information comes down to one thing:  every decision you make can impact your career.  You are free to make any decision that you like.  Just remember that you are also free to deal with the consequences of those decisions.  There is always someone else who is more talented than you, practicing harder than you, with whom people want to work.  It is your choice whether to be the person that just gets the job, or the person who gets the job and can keep it.