Traits of Successful Musicians
Singer and songwriter, Dave Grohl, of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame, once said in an interview with NPR, “A musician should only sound like what they do, and no two musicians sound the same. It’s an individual-feel thing, you know?”
This highlights a basic and fundamental truth, musicians are as varied as humanity itself. There are, however, some common denominators when it comes to the personality traits that seem to be prevalent in some of the world’s most successful musicians.
These traits are fundamental to success because they allow an artist to build and sustain success no matter the time period, type or genre of music they perform.
Talent
Talent is most important, because without the talent, or natural skill, that it takes to create and perform there is no amount of any other trait that will make you a successful musician. While this might seem obvious on the surface, it deserves a little more consideration. Talent must be protected, nurtured and grown.
To be successful as a musician you will have to learn to invest in yourself. This does not mean buying the latest fashion. In fact, it may mean skipping the latest fashion to pay for the latest amplifier or microphone to improve your sound. It might mean investing what would have been spending money, instead on lessons or studio time.
The investment isn’t always a financial one. Often the investment is in terms of time and has more to do with making your music a priority.
Pop icon Madonna told O Magazine, “One thing I’ve learned is that I’m not the owner of my talent; I’m the manager of it.”
When it comes to being a successful musician, talent may be the ultimate trait to possess, but alone without the other traits to manage it, talent alone won’t take you to the top, and it can’t keep you there.
Confidence
Great advice from the legendary Aretha Franklin, was, “Be your own artist, and always be confident in what you’re doing. If you’re not going to be confident, you might as well not be doing it.”
Confidence is a trait that is vital to giving a powerful jaw dropping performance, but it is also necessary for so much more. As both an artist and entertainer, it takes a lot of confidence to put yourself out there over and over again, knowing that facing rejection is an inevitable part of the journey to success.
Confidence is necessary to be the kind of person who can comfortably take risks. Stepping into being a professional musician is risky. It may sound like a dream, but there is a lot of stress and anxiety attached to having your sole source of income being completely dependent on your performances.
Most musicians do not have a plan “B”. They have supreme confidence that they will make it in music one way or another. There are no other options, only pit stops on the journey.
Passion
A successful career in music is not for the faint of heart. It is going to take a lot of perseverance and the perseverance is going to hinge on how passionate you really are about your dreams.
Music will have to be your top priority. You will need your passion to drive you and sustain you through daily practice and rehearsals.
Not everyone achieves super stardom in the music industry. At some point you may have to ask yourself if you are passionate enough about being a musician that you want to make it your life’s work even if that doesn’t come with fame and a multi-million dollar record deal.
There are many good full time jobs throughout the music industry that are rarely considered by those wishing to consider a career as a musician. There are jobs for teachers and DJs, but also jobs in opera or musical theater, background and session singing, and jobs as full time show musicians or accompanists.
Rock legend, Eddie Van Halen once brilliantly stated, “We’re musicians. We make music for a living. It’s that simple. Nothing else matters.”
Creativity
Creativity is part of the musical process, but creativity will be needed for many other endeavors if you are striving to be a successful musician. Being creative in how you market yourself and your music will be a huge asset.
Sometimes it takes stepping off of the beaten path to blaze new trails. A new approach, a new venue, or a new collaboration may be just what you need to get the ball rolling. Creativity will provide you with new ideas and concepts that will expose you to new ventures and partnerships. Creativity is what will make your music special and make audiences want to listen.
To understand the importance of creativity to the life of an artist, consider the words of Frank Zappa, “Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.”
Work Ethic
Work ethic is important in much the same way that talent is. Without this one trait, not much else gets done. Musicians are possibly one of the hardest working groups of professionals. So many young musicians give away their work or completely undervalue it just for the sake of exposure or to get a foot in the door.
During the phase of a musician’s life when they are building their reputation and hoping to be discovered they may work many eighteen hour or more days with little to show for it outside of experience. Once a musician has reached the pentacle of their career, work is not easier, as performances become more demanding and time restraints more prevalent.
Notoriously one of the hardest working women in the industry, Jennifer Lopez remembers, “My mom always told me that if you work hard, you can achieve anything. And it’s true. It’s one of the truest things ever.”
Traits of Success
None of these traits, not talent, not work ethic, none of the others, will carry you to being a successful musician all on it’s own. It is the interweaving of these traits and using all that they bring to the table that will in the end bring you success as a musician.
