Music is a Pastime for Hobbyists; True or False?

“The music stuff is just a hobby” (Tom Felton); true or false?

One of the strongest singers in the young small band that I work with today got a bit discouraged while rehearsing her song. She started doubting in her skill as a singer though she has one of the dopest voices you will hear from a young person.

It made me a little bit sad to see it and so, as we approached the topic of not using the disabling word “can’t” in my presence as far as her singing is concerned, I asked her if she wanted to pursue music in the future as a professional vocalist and she told me that  her dad said that music is just a hobby.

Ever since she told me that, it has been on my mind. Some people do music as a hobby.

They embrace music at home and every now and then, you may see them at an open mic jam or karaoke event or something but they do it as a form of pure satisfaction. It makes them happy and they are not tied to it as a thing they can't live without doing.  

Then there are some who take music a bit more seriously, practice every day and invest money and time in some type of education to better their skill. They also take their art, share it and are compensated for music as a service that is being provided. 

This post is dedicated to all the artists who invest in and gain almost as much knowledge as people pursuing vocations in any other professional atmosphere besides musical ones, work their asses off to do what they do as musicians, are always on time and present where they are committed to be and share their uniqueness as more than just a hobbyist but on a professional level, but who are seen as just having fun and not taken seriously.

“Professionalism is a frame of mind not a paycheck” (Cecil Castle)

  Contemporary Music Theory for The Serious Contemporary Musician

Hobbyist	Professional
What is a hobbyist?	What is a professional?
A hobbyist is a person who regularly or occasionally engages in an activity as a hobby or pastime rather than as a profession and free from the demands of work or duty	A professional is someone with specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation in the theories on a specific focus, who is seriously engaged or qualified to do what they do vocationally and with a businesslike manner in order to fulfill specific demands or duties as a service and for compensation
Music as a Pastime?	Music with a business-like ethic?

“A professional is someone who can do his best work when he doesn’t feel like it”

(Alistair Cooke).

  Songwriter's Market 40th Edition

Pastime	Demands
What is a pastime?	What are demands?
A pastime is something that amuses and serves to make time pass more agreeably; like a hobby with no time constraints, commitments or obligation. A pastime is done on one’s free time.	Demands are the requirements of work or of the expenditure of a resource to fulfill obligatory tasks, conduct services or functions that arise from one’s positions, even on days when life has a way with you and you are committed to fulfilling a need for the service being offered; such as a performance engagement. Requires dedication and lots of prayer.
In other words a hobby is done for fun?	So you mean music as a profession requires devotion?

“A hobby keeps the doldrums away” (Phyllis McGinley).

  Pastime Paradise

“Vocations are born in prayer and from prayer;

and only in prayer can they preserve and bear fruit” (Pope Francis).

Fun	Devoted
What is fun?	What is being devoted?
Something that provides amusement and personal pleasure without turning it into work or something that they cannot live without.	Seriously considering one’s art or music as a profession, making a big commitment to focus on the work and its demands by giving as much time and energy to it as is required with love for what is being done while continually pursuing professional development, promoting the work, pursuing profit, and confidently building on experience and integrity.
Oh, so a hobby is a creative passion?	Oh, so music as a profession is a combination of creativity, responsibility and professionalism?

Now there is nothing wrong with someone having an opinion because if we all thought exactly the same way, life would be a bit bland, but there is something you should know about those who do pursue music on a serious and professional level.  

We are musicians and yes, we bleed, breathe and live like music is the heartbeat inside of our bodies. We pursue music with love both as a love and as a professional thing and it is something quite like oxygen that makes our lives complete. 


We take our music seriously and it is not just a thing of fun for us. It is something we value as a serious life work, many of us and, without music, as they say, life would be like a room without a window. 

What are your thoughts on this?