If you’re a musician, you’ve no doubt discovered several verities about the musical life. Some you had to learn the hard way. Some are just obvious. Some you can laugh about … now. Here’s the first on my list.

Most people will not “get it.”

The life of a musician is a strange one. You work at night, on weekends, and on holidays. You spend untold amounts of time driving all over town, seemingly for fun. You spend hours practicing—and practice is work for which you will never get paid. You are generally underpaid if you are offered a paycheck at all. Then there’s all those concerts you willfully do for no pay just because you want to create art and make music.
​You are driven by intangible goals—and most people will simply not understand. My best word of advice is don’t try too hard to explain why you love your life. It is often an exercise in futility and just leaves you a little depressed about the effort. After all, if we wanted everyone to understand our jobs we would be bankers.
​I’ll see you in the practice room.