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SO YOU WANT TO BECOME A PROFESSIONAL BASSOONIST?

Below are some decisions and sacrifices I made to get where I am today. While I am not proud of everything I've done, I believe this kind of single-mindedness is necessary in a field that is high on supply and very low on demand.

Have you:

Stopped listening to popular music in your teen years so you could devote your free time learning the great works of classical music?

Skipped your spring break (your parents offered to take you with them on a Caribbean cruise) so you could stay at school to practice and make a tape for summer music festivals?

Ate dinner at 4:30 so you could get back to school to get the best practice room while everyone else was at dinner?

Tried to associate more with those who were more talented or played better than you?

Asked your teacher for extra lessons and prepared pieces you were not asked to learn in addition to your regular lesson material?

Read through most of the Righini in one long practice session?

Practiced before your 8:00 am class?

Quit an orchestra job to go to a big city, work in a record store and free-lance instead of submitting to the unacceptable pitch level, low pay and low activity of the orchestra?

While working in the record store, learned more orchestral repertoire by playing it on the store sound system?

Taken your bassoon with you on vacation?

Spent your free time reading about composer's lives, lives of other artists, histories of countries, etc.?

Transcribed and played works for other instruments or voice on the bassoon to learn how to make the bassoon adopt their qualities?

Used private teaching as a way to self-knowledge?

Practiced in the building when it was officially closed?

Spent many hours in the music library listening to unfamiliar works by Haydn, Bach, etc.?

Bought orchestral scores from used book stores and studied them?

Limited your time on the computer so your reed making wouldn't suffer?

Maxed out your (and your parents') credit cards on audition plane fares, hotel fares, etc.?

Chosen your part-time work based upon whether or not it allows you sufficient daily time for practice or not?

During that part-time work memorize the opening phrase to every movement of every Beethoven symphony?

Studied the methods of great athletes to learn how to focus and perform at your highest level?

Studied their methods for preparing for games, matches, events so you can apply this to concerts, lessons and auditions?

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