Is playing trumpet as a profession a good career choice?

i dont want a boring deskjob and i love music and my trumpet so i dont know if i should continue with it for college

Is playing trumpet as a profession a good career choice?
It all depends on how talented you are, and how hard you are willing to work. Being a performance major can be really fun, but if you go to a reputable school, they will expect up to 6 hours of private practice a day on top of daily rehearsals and concerts. You need to work VERY hard. There are a lot of good trumpet players, even great ones, but only the upper crust ever get really well-paying jobs.





I was in your boat too- I was a flute performance major as an undergrad at a conservatory. Basically, at the point where I realized I was practice six hours a day, and got about four hours of sleep a night (I sounded great though!) I decided it wasn't for me. I simply don't have it in me to work that hard. Is that lazy? Maybe, but at least I figured it out! In my experience, I've also noticed that it is not necessarilly the most talented folks that are the ones who 'make it', but the ones who work the hardest.





Good luck. If you love the trumpet, are truly talented, and are willing to work EXTREMELY hard, you can do it.
Reply:There's nothing wrong with majoring or minoring in music in college.





I just want to point out that a backup plan is necessary though! Music is very very tough to make an actual living in. If you want a suburban house and 3 kids and a mini van, either marry someone who has a day job or give up that dream. Most professional musicians work very hard to earn very little money.





There are very few classical openings a year. I'm not as sure about the jazz or pop worlds, but I know it takes just as much work there too. In fact it may take even more of the "business" side of music to succeed outside of a symphony orchestra! You have to self-promote and be very flexible musically as far as what you can play and how well you can sight read it!
Reply:absolutely, go for what you love to do while you are young, Not only can you play in symphonies/orchestras if you are good enough, there are opportunities as background musicians on recordings or you can hook up with bands and play live. You might not make tons of money, but believe me doing something you love to do is much more important. Also if you are part of the Marching band, you'll have a great time in college..(lots of work though)
Reply:answer your calling..there are many professional trumpet musicians.Talk to your college advisor and get an opion based on their knowledge or get on the net and look for some professionals and maybe you can get in touch with someone from that point...never know until you try.
Reply:hellz yeah i hav lots of friends that r goin to college for instruments. its better than to waste talent