[NABS-L] Other options besides college

Mon Oct 21 00:40:32 UTC 2019

John, there is a book on the Bard Site.  The title is "But what if I don't
want to go to college."  
I suggest you read that.

Thanks,

Justin

-----Original Message-----
From: NABS-L [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ben Fulton via
NABS-L
Sent: Saturday, October 19, 2019 1:08 PM
To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Cc: Ben Fulton <bluezinfandel at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NABS-L] Other options besides college

Hi John,

I think there's a lot you can do without colledge. Getting a degree might be
handy, if you wanted to go in for music, but you can get your name out there
without it for sure.

Making that video is a good step in the right direction. Getting more videos
out there will help with promotion. Also check out your local pubs bars
restaurants and any artsy venues. You never know when you'll get a gig, and
don't be afraid to play for the hat, many great musicians do. That said, you
can even get a street performer's license, and with the right set up I've
seen artists selling cd's on the sidewalk. Get a portable amp and the set up
looks very professional. There are even busking festivals that you could get
involved with.

In Toronto the subway musicians are regulated through a audition process and
they can make $20 an hour and last year the 1st place winner was given a
recording contract to produce a single with Columbia, or one of the bigger
studios. You could look into local options for playing as a street performer
or subway musician, there may be subtle differences, and check on the
by-laws regarding times and amplification devices. Your city hall should be
fairly friendly, and the subway or public transit commission should be able
to help you out with playing at transit terminals. In front of grocery
stores and malls are also a great place.

Also, speaking of festivals, in addition to busking festivals there are a
lot of music festivals. Literally hundreds to choose from. During festival
season if you can do a bit of travel you could be at a different festival
every weekend. Based on what I heard you could do well at folk festivals, or
country music festivals, but cast a wide net and see where it takes you.
Also, if you can manage tours it really helps to boost your music career,
people love a travelling musician.

There are also a lot of side projects that could fit well. Like doing part
time acting, if you get involved with some talent agencies and start looking
for work in that area you could find yourself as an extra on some big
project, and it could lead to bigger things. Also, having a career in music
will help with auditions and getting gigs as an actor.

 Doing other part time things like the accessibility testing could also help
out, but if you keep an open mind then you could make a good career in
music. Remember that most musicians will not make the "big time" like having
a single on the top 40 or anything like that, but get to know the local
music scene and go to some festivals. Get to know some professional
musicians playing the small time and get a real sense of what it's like.
There are opportunities, but it's not always financially rewarding. Yet if
this is what you want to do and you can figure out how to make your ends
meet I would say to go for it and not let anyone tell you you can't or
shouldn't.

All the best,

Ben

From: Julie McGinnity <kaybaycar at gmail.com>
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
	<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [NABS-L] Other options besides college
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Hi John and all,

I studied as a musician, and although I always loved college and academics,
I can speak to the music as a career discussion here.

Most musicians do need to supplement their income with some other skills.  I
tutored German, taught voice lessons, worked at our school's adaptive tech
office, and eventually worked for a tech company from home.  Somehow,
accessibility testing became my bread-earning job, and although it wasn't my
joy in life, I was grateful it could pay the bills.  I would recommend being
more intentional about this though than I was.  Think about what you like to
do and have some skill doing.  Do you like to work with people?  Do you like
mechanical things?  Do you like computers?  Do you like teaching or working
with children?  Once you've made a list of things you can consider, begin
doing some research into what it will take to do those kinds of jobs.  If
music is your career, then what other hobbies do you have that you can turn
into bread-earners?

And here's the thing, from one musician to any other fellow musicians out
there.  Seek to be a well-rounded musician.  It will give you more life
experience, allow you to see the world in different ways, thus inspiring
your creativity, and you will be able to make more money to feed yourself.
Also, if you supplement your life with other assions in addition to music,
you will be less likely to burn out.

If you think about the types of side careers you are interested in, you will
be able to find out if they require college, trade school, or anything else.
I will add here that if you are ever interested in teaching music, this is
much easier to do with a college degree.  You can probably teach music
without one, but the degree gives you a lot of weight to throw around in
that world as a teacher.

Julie

On 10/16/19, Gmail via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Good morning, I highly suggest you seriously consider college. There 
> are many different programs out there to fit people of different 
> styles. I am currently working on my masters now. You could go to 
> technical or trade school as well. You should definitely do something 
> and get a degree or certification in something. It is really hard to 
> get respected even with a degree so you could imagine how it is as a 
> blind person without. Many people want to do music and unless if you 
> are extraordinary Lee talented you won?t make it as a musician. This is
the hard but sad truth.
>
> Keri  Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Oct 16, 2019, at 8:32 AM, Emily Schlenker via NABS-L 
>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>
>> Hi there. This is most likely not a good idea, and those of us who 
>> have struggled for years to get through college in order to be more 
>> employable can attest to this fact. On the other hand, there?s 
>> nothing to say that you cannot go to some type of trade program or 
>> technical program in order to get a skill that will help you to 
>> supplement your income while you work to make it in music. It may be 
>> that since music comes easily to you, going to college or technical 
>> school might appear to be difficult, but this is something that 
>> everyone goes through. The brain must be challenged if you are to 
>> learn to do new things. Also, the vast majority of musicians who now 
>> make a living with music worked a lot of interesting jobs when they 
>> were trying to make it, and as someone who is blind, you need more
advantages like education and training in order to get one of these jobs.
>> You probably cannot just walk in to a pizza joint and start making 
>> pizza, unfortunately. It is sad that things are this way, but it is a
reality.
>> Good luck, and do not give up on either your music or education or 
>> technical training.
>> Emily
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>> On Oct 15, 2019, at 11:40 PM, Garrett Kearns via NABS-L 
>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> ?As a fellow musician I wouldn't rely on it as your sole mode of 
>>> income. Is college not for you because you think this is a better 
>>> option? I would at least get your associate's.
>>>
>>>> On 10/15/19, John Dowling, jr. via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>> Hey Yall,
>>>> So, I?m still a junior in High School, and I just don?t think 
>>>> college is right for me.
>>>> I want to persue my career   in music, and I?m still gonna do that, I?m
>>>> just
>>>> trying to think about any other jobs on the side.
>>>> Anyone have an advice for a struggling musician?
>>>> thanks,
>>>> John.
>>>>
>>>> Check out my first ever single: Do Dogs Go to Heaven.
>>>>

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