The Comparison of Amateur Musicians and Professional Musicians

張貼日期：Apr 27, 2017 12:6:4 PM

Albert Lin

From famous stars to average players, musicians create music, bringing the art of sound to our world. However, amateur musicians and professional musicians are not quite the same. According to my observation, amateur musicians and professional are different in their motives, mentalities and the rate in participating stage performances.

Compared with amateur musicians, professional musicians have stronger motivations in the field of music. Professional musicians such as Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, Maroon 5 and Taylor Swift make a living with their creations, meaning that they have the pressure of making ends meet with music. In order to keep the inspiration coming, professional musicians must stay highly motivated. In contrast, amateur musicians such as myself and other average people with some degree of musical capability mostly see music as a hobby. Also, we do not have to bear the stress of making a living with music. Therefore, our motivations are mostly driven by our own interest and passion.

In addition, these two different types of musicians’ mentalities toward their own creations are rather dissimilar. To the professional musicians, their creations are not only the art pieces they sell. The creations can also be seen as one of the climaxes of their potentials, challenging many aspects of their limits. On the contrary, amateur musicians pursue the expression of their own will, giving their creations more alternatives in creativity.

Moreover, professional musicians have much higher rate in participating stage performances. Stage performances can give musicians the opportunity to express themselves to the public in person. Professional musicians often perform on stage, using it as a method to promote their hard work. Possibly due to the lack of stable motivations to perform, most amateur musicians perform on stage when the opportunities allow them to. In other words, they are more likely to make an appearance in music festivals and related public activities.

To sum up, when the musicians' doings become one of the means of survival, they are much more active toward their fields in music. Take jazz guitarist Pat Metheny for example. To maintain his remarkable performance skill, Pat Metheny practices guitar for several hours every day. And I, a music lover and an amateur musician, play music for entertaining myself and mostly in private for a small group of friends. However, regardless of the differences, these two types of musicians bring a unique form of joy and pleasure to the world.