Re: On wanting to quit the tuba...


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TubeNet BBS ] [ FAQ ]

Posted by lesson learned on May 03, 2001 at 10:17:11:

In Reply to: On wanting to quit the tuba... posted by Benjamin Schardt on May 02, 2001 at 22:50:50:

I would say one of the hardest lessons to learn in playing an instrument is when to not give up. When I was in college, I had only played about half the years that others in my major had played, and of course I was not as good as a lot of them. In addition, I did not have a supportive teacher; he was foreign, did not speak the language well, and did not understand the problems that American teenagers often had.
To make a long story short, I spent the 2nd semester of my sophomore year working graveyard shift in a restuarant to make ends meet, taking about 13 credits, and trying to practice 3 hours a day. After that, I dropped out....
IF I had had someone, anyone, who was supportive of my playing, and who would encourage me to just keep at it for a few more years, I might be somewhere different today than where I am. I stopped playing that instrument and now, later in life, took up another. When I get frustrated now, I know that it's only a temporary condition and that in a day or a few days things will get better again, and my love of music will overcome the frustration I'm going through. For me, just being allowed to play in an orchestra is an incredible treat, and even if I'm playing badly, I come home happy.
So try to keep the big picture in mind when things look bleak. If you really love playing music, hang in there. If you really don't....you'll find out soon enough.


Follow Ups: