Music Major Failure, Major Music Success
In 1999, as a senior in high school, I faced my most disappointing musical failure: I auditioned for U of M and WMU’s music programs (specifically a focus on jazz guitar).
I didn’t get accepted into either school of music. Both rejection letters arrived on the same day, and I decided against auditioning at other schools, like CMU and Wayne State.
After the initial disappointment, my drive to study, perform, write, and enjoy music didn’t change. In fact, facing this disappointment early in my initial interests with music was really important for me. (There were–and are more–to come!)
I’m firm believer in the saying, “One door closes, another one opens.”
During college, I decided to open a different door. I attended WMU and study English/literature to get an education degree. This served two major successes for me:
1. It helped me get over being shy.
2. Studying literature, history and English helped me grow as a person, which helped me grow as a writer.
If I studied only jazz guitar in college, I would have sat in a practice room for hours a day, and graduated with no social skills, no interest in the world outside of a fretboard.* Becoming a teacher gave me the opportunity to do something that was not natural for me, public speaking. It also taught me to think about the needs of others. And reading literature and studying the written word helped me take joy in writing, and in sharing writing with others.
If you are seeking a life as an artist, you are going to hear the word “no” more than “yes.” It’s important to face failure as an opportunity, maybe even a success.
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*Dear jazz majors and those with music degrees, do note this is an analysis of myself, not other people who have studied music in college.
I was a really shy kid. Guitar helped me open up a bit in high school, but forcing myself to face my fears of public speaking, becoming a teacher, and studying literature passionately with great instructors, in a discussion-based classroom, helped me beat my anxiety.
Illustration by Cal Green
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