The Gigging Musician Podcast

Persistence Will Get You Far

March 14, 2021 Jared Judge
The Gigging Musician Podcast
Persistence Will Get You Far
Show Notes Transcript

In this episode, Jared shares his story about how he failed several auditions (including the one that represented the main reason he chose his college), persisted, and saw real success happen.

Hey guys, Jared Judge here from the gigging musician podcast. Today I wanted to chat a little bit about persistence. So here's a quote by Calvin Coolidge. I'm going to pull it up here because it's really awesome quote, nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. And that was by Calvin Coolidge. And I bring that up because that was posted on the door to my percussion Professor Dan Armstrong's his, his studio space in my undergrad at Penn State University. And that quote, is how I live my life. You know, when I came to Penn State, I was a violinist who wanted to be a drummer. I had no drumming talent, let's be clear on that. But I really wanted it I was so inspired and motivated just by the different drummers I've seen in my past, I actually really wanted to be in the Blue Man Group. I took an audition for that that's a story for another episode. But this quote, persistence was actually how I got into the percussion studio at Penn State, and how I've made music my living now. So of course, I said, I wasn't if I wasn't a percussionist, I was a violinist grew up taking violin lessons, and I really wanted to be in the drumline. At Penn State it is called the Blue Band, it's a very competitive drumline. Most of the members were actually drum corps. You know, students who would go on tour every summer and work up their drumming chops to the very highest level. Auditions were cutthroat and intense, multiple days worth of auditions. And I took a couple percussion lessons while I was still in high school, but not many audition. When I got to Penn State, it was literally the reason why I chose Penn State got cut from auditions very early on, did not make it. It was a struggle I I was very disappointed. I was like, Well, what am I doing with my life, I was undecided as a major. I knew I love music, it had to be a part of my life. So I again took some more auditions to be in the percussion ensemble and the wind ensemble. And just like clockwork, I got rejected from those auditions, too. It's very frustrating, very disappointing. I was like, well, should I skip all the music and just take some more French classes or film classes or become an electrical engineer. I had no idea what to do. But I came across that quote, and I took that quote to heart and I said to Dan Armstrong, he was my percussion professor, who I still hadn't made into a studio yet. I said, What do I do? And he said, You have to work hard. Be persistent in that quote on my door, and come back to me at the end of the year, and we'll audition for the studio, took that to heart, took his advice. And I showed up I did the work. I persistent I went to the practice room every day, I learned the Etudes and rudiments, very basics, the foundations of percussion. I took my classes seriously. I took some music classes. Some of my favorite classes were like music technology. And that's again another story for another time. I persisted. I really did well academically because I persisted so hard. And then little by little that persistence started to pay off. So the very next marching band season, I auditioned again, and the thing that changed this time was because I persisted, I secured my spot in the marching band. It was incredible feeling, getting to march in front of you know, over 100,000 fans in that stadium because I persisted through it. I got accepted to the professional studio as a major. I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up. But I knew I had to be in that studio and persistence got me there. I made it into some of the middle level ensembles, the band's in Penn State, and eventually persisted to the highest level band at Penn State. I actually also auditioned on violin for their orchestra, despite the fact that I was now a percussion major persisted through that and actually got a spot in the first violin section. And then I kept persisting even after I graduated college, got myself a career as a music teacher. And now my persistence is what I teach other musicians how to do and persist with the knowledge that they gained, either in music school or not just in their lives as musicians. Persistence is really going to get you far in life has gotten me very far. I love what I do. And I would not be here without persistence. And I especially appreciate and want to give thanks to my percussion Professor Dan Armstrong, for teaching me that valuable lesson of persistence. So if you liked this episode, please leave me a comment. Make sure to hit that like button and share if this resonated with you. I look forward to connecting you and helping other musicians with persistence.