AND so there’s a music-related issue being dissected by Filipino netizens who like to talk just about everything deemed intriguing – in their free time or maybe even in their busiest hours because some of them feel (drum roll, please!) entitled to share their thoughts.
This one is about words uttered by Jose Mari Chan, the same gentleman they have turned into a meme to greet the “ber” months every year.
In an interview with Boy Abunda, JMC gave young composers the advice to use their talent “as a hobby on the side.” In saying so, he urged them to “get another career – either in law, or accounting, or medicine.”
Apparently, some Filipino musicians have been hurt by that, because it seems natural for true blue artists to qualify their music as a profession, more than – or not – a pastime.
They expressed their sentiments in various tones. I read one guy sharing (And I can almost hear him sobbing) that his kids finished schooling through his work as a music professor and performer. One lady lamented she has not recorded her compositions yet, but she does not consider music-making as a hobby and she has regular gigs, obviously doing covers. Others sound unnecessarily mean, taking a swipe at people sticking to their niche music, hardly earning from it, and living among “hungry young poets.” Some Johnny really hates jazz.
I am a songwriter myself, beginning to pen tunes when I was in college and recording tracks from time to time since my band Syato got signed by Ivory Music and we released a full-length album – back in 2005. I’ve contributed a large chunk of my time to the music of our band, and another group I co-founded called The Pub Forties. It’s in my nature. Music has to be made whether or not someone would listen.
To be blunt about it, I have earned more from doing stuff technically outside of music, in particular, in writing that involves no sound or any hint of melody. Does that put me in the field being described by JMC, the ones who make music as a hobby? Not really.
I never thought of music as a hobby. For me, it’s a way of life, in the same way, that a ‘marites’ will never stop gossiping, and a corrupt politician convinced he is not a thief will always find a way to steal from the very people he vowed to serve. One thing is sure, making music, whether you earn from it or not, which is something you can never tell, is certainly more noble than spreading fake news or masquerading as a righteous public servant.
I’d rather choose the phrase “a way of life” because “career” is a showbizzy word, and profession sounds too scholarly. Some people without manners will say to your face that you don’t have a career unless you’re earning big or famous because of your craft, or that is not your profession when you can’t read musical notations or can’t dig Pink Floyd.
When I say “a way of life,” it flows with my breathing and frees through my soul. Whether that will make me richer is immaterial. In fact, creating music in its basic form already enriches me spiritually.
The day I found there’s music in me, it’s like being introduced to that imaginary, lifelong friend who is willing to be with you regardless of where you are. I was able to write a song while in a smoking area on a busy Friday afternoon many moons ago. Surrounded by talking strangers, songwriting took me to a quiet world where melody and lyrics come together – calmly and intensely speaking to me. That song ended up as a Pub Forties track.
Is the Philippines’ “Mr. Christmas” wrong in opting for the word “hobby”? No. There are actual people, in love with music and back, who deal with music as a hobby. A distant relative recently told me that the minute he realizes there’s no money for him in music, he went straight to doing other things. He’s living a comfortable life now. On that note, while he can sing, play, and understand music on a deep level, he is a hobbyist because he made that clear to himself.
Years ago when I was on a bar tour, I spoke with a showband player sighing about how little he earns playing three sets each night and covering the latest hit craze from some overrated act. The guy had no choice; he couldn’t go accounting or in the medical field. He is a working musician. There’s nothing wrong with him. It’s the system musicians have to face that’s faulty. That’s another story.
So, it’s for you to decide whether what you do is something just “on the side” or a key part of your totality. By knowing which, you don’t have to feel slighted by either an insensitive non-musician belittling your intellectual property or by someone who has the wisdom and who made it big that he “remember the Child in the manger as He sleeps.”
If you can live a good life by being a musician, good for you. If fate is unkind, it’s a challenge you have to overcome. No toxic drama or useless passage. Hit the hook right on.
JMC ultimately encouraged us to “don’t lose” that “God’s given gift to you.” Rightly so. The hobbyists can lose it because they can survive life without it. You – you who will still make music even if you only have your dog to stream it – cannot because it’s your way of life. It is what makes you go “beyond existing.” Oh, and my musical mind leads me to another OPM gem.