Having reflected on the performances and presentations I observed and conversations I had at NFA in Portland, I keep returning to the theme of resilience.
Being successful in the music business is the result of intelligent, deliberate, focused work over many years. There are always bumps along the way. Auditions we didn’t win. Auditions where we played well and didn’t advance. Performances that were disasters. Memory slips in performance. Conference proposals not accepted. Funding requests denied. Contracts not renewed. Not even getting an interview for the job. Being fired unexpectedly and without discussion by a student. Showing up for your weekly lesson and still not being able to do 100% of what your teacher is asking. Working for faster technique or clearer articulation and having progress be frustratingly slow.
These bumps present us with two choices: learn from the experience or quit. People who are successful don’t quit. They take the feedback they receive and process it as information, not as criticism or judgement. We need this feedback to continue to grow and improve. They revise the old plan or make a new plan, and then get to work.
Unfortunately, these bumps can be painful. It hurts when you’ve done your best and some external authority deems it not good enough. It’s easy to take this kind of stuff personally, and we really should not. Just because you didn’t advance in the audition or get the job it doesn’t mean you’re a horrible musician or terrible human. You just didn’t have what they were looking for that day. So, feel bad for a day and then move on to the next adventure.