According to Will: “Success is what you celebrate when you have decided your ready to give up hard work. If you want to be successful then first find out what success is to you. For some its a dinner with friends and family. For musicians.. Well who knows. Each to their own. For me, It’s seeing the influence in the world that music has created and feeling that my contribution of music has been a positive factor in that influence.
I’m not ready to give up the hard work yet so I don’t feel successful. It’s not about money or having a home or a family. It’s not about being loved or loving through your music, or about creating thought provoking art work or spreading a powerful message of hope through music. It’s not about how many album’s you have made, or how many T-Shirts exist with your band name on. It’s not about a long lasting influence on social cultures, such as the likes of Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, have had.
It’s about you. How music makes you feel. When you feel that you may have achieved something that can make you smile if your ever reminded of it. All those moments you have ever had. Add them all together on the day you decided to stop working hard towards your goals. Look at your goals. Did they grow as you grew? Have you been loyal to them. When the answer is yes. Thats when.
According to Leonore: “For most musicians, I’d say that you are a success if you can make a decent living out of playing music. I am assuming you are referring to performers. I agree with others that the most famous and successful musicians are often not the best, and the amount of albums and tours might rely heavily on marketing, management and public image. To me, when a musician is well-respected amongst fellow musicians, and his/her skills are in demand, that is a sure sign that you’ve made it as a musician. For orchestra players, it might mean getting a permanent position in a good orchestra (and becoming the principle player of their section would be the top position), for smaller ensembles, soloists, jazz and other bands, it might mean being invited to perform at sought-after events, or being asked to perform with a famous musician or group of musicians. If your music touches the heart and inspires other musicians, I’d say you’ve really made it. Unfortunately, I think the view of most people would be that success in music is measured by how famous, sometimes how prolific, and how rich a musician is.”
According to Paul Griffith: “The ability to express one’s inner soul and communicate on a completely different level through the power of music is unparalleled in any other form of human communication and having the ability and determination to achieve this is immensely rewarding.”
According to Francesco Tristiono: “To be in line with what you do artistically. (Whether this works out commercially speaking is another question).”
According to Reiko Fujisawa: “Of course we all need endurance and dedication to succeed. But sometimes, success can be measured on a more everyday level – like dealing with a less than perfect piano, or resisting the urge to run away just before the start of the concert!”