Home » Jazz Articles » Opinion » Reinventing Myself: My Journey Back to Music

480

Reinventing Myself: My Journey Back to Music

By

Sign in to view read count
As a child I imagined myself playing guitar. I didn't actually have a guitar, but a tennis racket sort of looked like one and that was enough.

When I did finally get my hands on a guitar for the first time, I figured out that, using only the open strings (luckily it was tuned), I could play most of "Taps." So, with a slight tuning adjustment from someone older and wiser, I gave my first concert to a group of my six- to eight-year-old peers. It wasn't until I was fifteen years old that I actually bought my first guitar and started lessons.

A Reevaluation Of Priorities

I realized fairly quickly that I had a passion for the instrument. Practicing became my favorite activity as I marched through the lesson materials in record time. One thing led to another, as it usually does. Bands, music school, gigs, the best private instruction South Jersey had to offer, girlfriend, marriage, day jobs, more bands, more gigs...

Did I mention children? They have a way of introducing a whole new set of thoughts and emotions into your life. I got to a point at around thirty years of age where I wasn't willing to risk the livelihood of my family for my dreams, so I just stopped. I went back to school, got an education in a field that offered plenty of opportunities for success, and went after that success for close to two decades. It worked out too, just like we planned (work, money, house, college for the kids, etc.). I guess you could say I reinvented myself back then.

The Life Change

But then something unexpected happened. The kids went away to college, and, when they graduated, they didn't move back home to share all their newfound knowledge with their parents. Instead they struck out on their own to face the world as responsible adults. I guess this is ideally what's supposed to happen, but I hadn't done it and my wife hadn't done it, so it was a bit of a shock. It was so shocking, in fact, that when we realized the kids weren't coming home we went out and replaced them with two Old English sheepdogs. We said to ourselves, "Now these are our new children, and they'll never grow up and leave us."

The Crisis

As time passed, I started to feel more and more dissatisfied with my chosen career path. I didn't love the work, and even though I was making very good money I didn't really feel successful. I knew I wanted to do something I loved with the rest of my life.

I heard a man being interviewed on a popular daytime talk show about being successful in life, and he summed it up in five words: "Embrace your area of excellence." I knew what he was saying. It doesn't have anything to do with how much money you can make or how many jobs are available, or with your age, gender, or any other practical considerations. It has to do with actively pursuing what you're best at doing. I knew in my heart that, if I really applied myself, I could be a very good jazz guitarist. So I asked myself, "What do I need to do to get back into music as a career?" I could study again, find a good teacher locally, and take private lessons. The problem with this was that I'd already gone that route. What I needed to do was get a masters degree.

Making A Plan

I started looking at jazz studies masters programs in guitar around the country. There are several very good ones, including the University of Northern Texas, the University of California (UCSD), the New England Conservatory, and New York University. But the one that really caught my attention was the University of the Arts (UArts) in Philadelphia.

There were several interesting points about UArts that attracted me. Pat Martino and Jimmy Bruno are listed on the guitar faculty, and the masters program can be completed in one year. For someone in my situation, where time would be an important factor in my campaign to reestablish myself as a musician, this was an important point. So I decided to give UArts a try.

Making It Happen

The next step was to apply and audition. I had approximately five months to prepare, so I found the audition requirements for the masters of music in jazz studies program and I started working. I reviewed all scale, arpeggio, and chord requirements, prepared an original chord/melody, learned a Joe Pass etude, transcribed a guitar solo and learned to play it, and worked up some tunes to play and solo over. I practiced all these things so hard that I developed a case of carpal tunnel syndrome in my left wrist. It was serious enough to require surgery. Fortunately, that surgery was successful.

I drove to Philadelphia the day before the audition and stayed in a hotel just a couple blocks from the school on South Broad Street. I practiced late into the evening in my hotel room, and, when I finally went to bed, I didn't get a minute of sleep. At the audition the next day the written test took about three hours to complete. Then I was escorted into a studio where most of the guitar faculty was waiting. I was told to hurry because it was a rare event to have so many of the faculty in one room at once. It's a good thing I was prepared. They asked me to play every one of the audition requirements. The whole process took about forty-five of the most stressful minutes of my life.

Reality Puts On The Brakes

A few weeks later I received my acceptance letter from UArts into the MM in Jazz Studies graduate program. Now it was time to formulate a plan to fund the whole adventure. I needed to pay the $23,500 tuition bill. I also needed to live without a full-time job and corresponding income for the time I was in school.

This is where my house comes into the picture. There was a housing boom at the time and prices were high, giving us a substantial amount of equity in our house. So we put it on the market and started to plan a move to Philly. Unfortunately, it's never that easy. Right when we went on the market, housing prices started dropping. At the same time, we discovered that we weren't the only ones in the neighborhood trying to cash out.

We hung in there for months as the deadline for the start of the fall semester at UArts approached. We remained positive, acting as though everything could work out right up to the last minute. My financial aid package was in order, and I was registered for all my classes. The day I had to call the director of the program and tell him I wasn't going to make it that fall was a sad day.

A Good Plan Never Dies

Two years later I gave it another try. We put the house on the market again, knowing that we didn't have nearly as much equity as before since prices had dropped so drastically. But I wasn't going to let money play such a driving force in my decision to establish myself in a new career as a musician. I also was not going to contact UArts and make any arrangements until I was certain that I'd be able to make it this time.

Fortunately, everything went differently this time. In one week we had an offer, and three weeks later we closed. This all happened in the month of August, with literally just a few days until the start of the fall semester. We had to move quickly to find a place to live and make arrangements to get there in time. That last week of August was a whirlwind of activity, but we got to our destination.

The Light At The End Of The Tunnel

I've just completed my first semester, and I'm pleased to say that I did very well. This helps confirm that my decision was a good one. But it's not over yet. I just started the spring semester, and I'm looking at extending the program through next fall, mostly in an attempt to get to where my advisor and I think I should be before leaving the school to pursue new opportunities. So far the experience has been incredible. I've never seen so much talent-faculty and students-in one place. I'm extremely optimistic for the future as I continue to reinvent myself once again.

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.