Not the best player but love music?

I will be honest:  There are some people who are just naturally more gifted in playing the violin than others.  It's not fair but that's just the way it goes.

Let's look at two true scenarios of two highschoolers (that I have witnessed, but I will change the names to respect their privacy.)

The first violinist, Sandy, is simply one of those girls who are amazing at the violin.  She is the concertmaster of her high school orchestra and she is naturally gifted.  While she does enjoy her violin playing, she is also a straight-A student and an excellent softball player.  When she goes to college she still continues to play violin but only as a hobby.  She pursues an education to become an environmental scientist instead.

The second violinist, Amanda, does not possess natural playing talent, but boy does she love music.  She practices consistently and works very hard, but she just doesn't have the same gift as Sandy.  Amanda dreams of becoming a music major.  However, Amanda sees how wonderful Sandy is (after all, they are in the same orchestra), and feels discouraged.  She feels if Sandy is that talented and she's not even majoring in music...how in the world would she have a chance?  Amanda wishes she could do something with her violin as a career but starts to consider other (less appealing) options after losing confidence.  

Is Amanda right?  Should she find a plan B to aspire towards since Sandy blows her away at playing?  

The answer for Amanda is NO.  Here's what people like Amanda need to remember:  there are MANY fields of music you can go into, and if you love it and music is what you want to pursue, YOU WILL BE SUCCESSFUL!  In fact, Amanda could very likely be cut out better than Sandy for many of these musical professions.  

This reminds me of my undergrad law course I took.  We had a professor who was a very successful lawyer, but he was the worst professor I've ever had.  He did not know how to teach and his class was dull.  Just because someone is a great player does not mean they can succeed in every other music career opportunity. 

Many people are under the misconception that unless you are a performance genius you are not good enough to major in music.  Now, it might be true you may never be cut out for violin performance.  Most people are not...at least in a professional level.  The one's who succeed in violin performance are the best of the best, especially in the symphony.  It's very competitive.  Now, there are other district orchestras and of course you could try to do your own gigs (or network with other musicians for gigs), but you still must be very talented to be successful as far as making that a profession.  

But, there are soooo many other cool professions that pay well and will still allow you to pick up your instrument every single day!  

Let's go through some.  

Music education:  You would not be the one performing, so as long as you have a solid musical education you don't have to be a superstar performer.  And in this field you are often required to learn every instrument for a short period of time!  Music would be part of your every day life and all of your hard work would pay off.  

Music therapy:  This job is in demand!  Not only would you be able to play your instrument every day...it would actually contribute to improving someone's health.  What a difference you (and your violin) would make!

Conductor:  Conducting is something I always 
wanted to do!  I bet it would be fun.  There are many youth orchestras who need conductors, and just think: you'd be the most important person in the performance. 

Composer/Arranger:  I wouldn't recommend anyone relying on this for a full-time career until they become steady with it.  However, once it takes off, you could easily make a lot of money selling your music all over the world.  Many people who aren't necessarily the best at playing still have a magnificent ear and talent for composition. This is not something I've ever personally been interested in, but if you have the passion for it-go for it.  Just think.  Your name could become famous in the music world.  You could be the next Beethoven! 

Retail Sales/Management:  I personally love going to the music store and looking through all the different music and seeing all the instruments.  Any music store would love to hire you if you're able to demonstrate some instruments to the customers, are familiar with written music, etc.   You'd be able to talk music all day with people who have the same interest as you.  Imagine the friends you could make, and the people you could meet who come into the store.  I bet if you worked at a music store there are also perks for concerts and events and such. You probably could also get a good discount on the store items.  Music accessories and music can get expensive so I'm sure you'd enjoy that!

Personal Manager/Agent: Imagine how much you could learn from a professional just by managing them and listening to their playing all the time.  And instead of you paying them, they'd be paying you! Plus you could see all the concerts for free.  

There are countless other music careers we could talk about...but these are the main ones.  If you'd like to hear about more please feel free to contact me in the comments section and I'll address them.  

So...Amanda's dedication, practicing, and love for her music was anything but a waste!  She would not be able to succeed in any of the above mentioned professions if she had not worked so hard at learning an instrument. 

~Regina