…img]

Seriously, you'll need to be REALLY good with your money to avoid any financial problems. That generally means living WELL below your means - think 20 - 30% below what you make, in order to make sure that those months that you don't make much, it's there in the bank waiting for you.

As for how good do you have to be - well, the best you can be at any point. Right now, it's about hard work - learning your craft, getting better as a musician, and prepping for college. Sabutin is right that you should aim for a school in an area with a busy scene. I recommend the same for a reason he doesn't bring up - often, the cheaper schools there still have great schools of music and top notch faculty, but far less tuition costs. You want to graduate with as little college debt as possible, because the greater amount of debt you carry, the more you have to make just to pay your bills.

You will also want to endeavor to learn what schools have the most musicians making a living in the area you see yourself focusing. It makes things easier if there is a built in support network you can tap into to jump start your career - it's not mandatory, but it can help speed up the process, as long as you have done everything else…

…msg1199157#msg1199157">[url=http://tromboneforum.org/index.php?topic=100602.msg1199157#msg1199157]Quote from: savio on Jun 17, 2017, 06:03PM[/url]I wonder why technical aspects like buzzing, high/low notes, loud, but never soft... [img]http://tromboneforum.org/Smileys/otjf/amazed.gif[/img], fast, never slow..., etc, always are discussed even if we all know its a different answer to each one of us?

Why this big interest for technical aspects? I'm of course not on a level like Sabutin or Svenne and will never be. Still, isn't it more interesting to discuss more about music aspects? How to reach and develop music inside us self, how to make music in different ensembles orchestras , develop our self as a chamber musician or do solo things? How to listen around, how to play in different settings, how to use our internal radar to fit in? What is the role of our trombone in different ensembles?

Of course we need technique but isn't it a different approach for all since we are all different? As solo players we want tips on how to develop our own musical voice. As chamber players we want a personal approach that will fit into different ensembles and players. How to use our internal radar/ears to fit…

…than a little frustration.

When threads come up from years ago, or you do a search that leads you to a thread over 10 years old, the replies were then based on personal experience based on years of experience and a lot of the time decades of practice. People shared decades of experience in a new format.

What do I see now?
Well, if you can quote reams of numbers and decipher tricky codes to either Elliott mouthpieces or Shires stock numbers, you're on a fast track to a position as a volunteer moderator in an internet chat room. Not a bad thing, but not really based on decades of personal experience that a person like Blast, or Sabutin , or a lot of older well seasoned players can offer.

My personal fear? What would a person like Remington have done in an atmosphere where ever d*mned word they uttered was open for debate by the peanut gallery on a global format. Or in a world where you could easily attempt-- in seconds with daddy's credit card-- to buy your way out of practicing.

Take heart, everybody, eventually Doug Yeo will have once again been proven to be far ahead of the curve when he wound down and quit answering the peanut gallery for free. You have to work for what gems he offers, once again.