Fanatics!!

We had a long discussion today with our teacher (the same free jazz sax player I told you about) and he told us a bit about his life story. It all began when one of the students posed one question that many of us have faced at some point - how do you discipline yourself to practice? Ah. He said many valuable things but one thing is very clear - if that's what you really wanna do, there is no doubt you WILL discipline yourself. You have to ask yourself what you want out it, what your priorities are and then see what you need to do to achieve your goals. Set your goals, challenge yourself and it's always good to have competition because it makes you work harder and be better. It makes you more motivated, although the motivation should come from within. Big cats like Parker or Coltrane practiced around 12-16 hours a day! So, it's no surprise they kicked ass! This is what happens when you work hard. You might have talent but if you don't work it won't do you any good. You know that saying - practice makes perfect? Well, it's true. :) 

So why is the title - fanatics? Many great musicians had to make a commitment to their music to become the masters that they were. If you practice 12-16 hours a day you don't have much time for anything else! There's no time to hang around with your friends, watch TV, have a life! Your life is your music. Or your music becomes your life. Same thing. If you have certain ambitions you have to dedicate yourself to it. This guy, the teacher, said to himself one day he will try to live from music no matter what it takes. And he lived on the streets, had ups and downs and it was hard. It cost him to lose his family. It was a big sacrifice. But he made it. After all the hardships he got a record deal and today he does it for a living and has achieved his goals. In the end, it was worth it. He said - I am a fanatic. Maybe you are just born this way, I don't know. But it's about dedicating your life to something and doing everything to make it happen, no matter what the sacrifice is. It might make you miserable at some point and you may lose plenty, but if you know WHY you are doing it, it makes perfect sense. Once you reach that point when you succeed, you know why you had to go through all that you did. He said, I didn't have roof over my had, I was freezing to death, almost died! But I had my horn. And that was all that mattered. 

Well, this is an extreme example. There are many people who had similar stories, maybe less drastic. But many great musicians lost plenty along the way, but they knew why they did it and it was worth it. So it's important to set your priorities and see what you are willing to do to get what you want. Then you can be sure you will be disciplined and motivated, and nothing else will matter. I think this is a good way, but I would personally prefer to have a good balance. Make time for everything. Well, everything that matters to you. I think it's possible to be dedicated to one thing and still have the time to stop and smell the roses. So to speak. It might be hard, maybe even too idealistic, but I have done it. And I know that many have done it too. It's just the matter of good organization, tolerance and compromise. There is always a way. Well, I guess each one of us can choose their own way and try to make it work. Improvise as you go along, cause you never know what life may bring you. Things change, you change with time, the world changes...it all influences your decisions. Nothing is really certain. But you have to know one thing - there is always a choice! And you have to make it. At some point anyway...and that will define you, as well as your path.