… or why you started, for that matter!

Often when choosing to pursue a career in the arts, you are making the decision to turn what previously was a hobby into your profession (and thus your livelihood). And for many starting a degree course is the first step! This is often a daunting step to make and can result in a looming pressure to fit in and make a good impression so you can be sure that it all works out.

I would notice as I went through the years of my degree that new students often felt the need to immediately like the music esteemed by the course and eschew anything deemed too simple, too popular or perhaps anything they liked before. Entering the music course was seen as a time to turn over a new leaf and learn to love what the industry promotes or expects, such as… [insert wacky contemporary music composer name here]...

(And I do not erase myself in this! I too felt this pressure to fit in, like everything, know everything and so on in my first year.)

Ultimately, something I really had to remember was why I had started music in the first place, why I had chosen to make this my career and what my influences had been before which had got me to this position. It was then that I realised that we should value all of these influences we have had in our lives no matter how ‘embarrassing’ they might seem when placed against the ruthless but expert world of Classical Music. A pop song, TV theme tune or 50’s film score, whatever it may be, has taught us something and probably has inspired much of our creations to this day! Not only this, but also these pieces of music take us back to a time before we were ‘trained’ to compose or listen to music in a certain way. They take us back to a time when we were reacting to music in a much more spontaneous way and liking things, well, just because we liked them.

Of course our tastes do change and we should always embrace the new! But there is no need to paint ourselves into a tiny box. Forming our own musical voice is very much based on being true to what we like and creating a catalogue of artists and works that we are inspired by. If we all have the same influences, don’t you think our music could end up sounding the same? It certainly is a possibility... Therefore I believe it is about striking a balance between opening ourselves up to all genres of music without judgement while remaining discerning about what we actually like! (Not what we have been told to like or what we have been told is good- what we actually like).

We should be honest with ourselves and enjoy what we want to enjoy without slating ourselves or each other for it! Life is too short anyway!