How can I become a professional singer, guitar player, musician, etc.?
A. There are no guarantees in life, but following these suggestions should improve your chances greatly. • If Pavarotti [Horowitz, Segovia] thought he could benefit from voice [piano, guitar] lessons, unless you’re already better than Pavarotti [Horowitz, Segovia], chances are you will benefit from voice [piano, guitar] lessons, too. • Cultivate a cheerful and cooperative attitude. Learn to get along with the people who don’t like you, and the people you don’t like. Be nice to everyone: the stage manager, the prop manager, the janitor. You want people on staff to be delighted to see you the next time, not rolling their eyes about you behind your back. This is your “professional personality,” and you will use it every day of your career. • Learn to sight-read, to block, to take as little of everyone’s time as possible. In any production, time is money, and the less someone pays attention to you, the more profitable you are to them. It’s not the talented people who get hired the most, it
