S has been presented an opportunity for a pit gig in Europe Feb-June. It is an easy book, electric bass only, so won’t offer much opportunity for musical growth, but a lot for personal growth. (He has never traveled abroad before.) He’d love to take it, but also freaking out a bit about losing jazz and upright chops, being forgotten/losing his place as the guy to call, and losing momentum. I’m sure everything can be worked out logistically with the school for taking a semester leave, but have some questions and concerns as well, especially regarding taking courses out of sequence etc. (When would he do his Sophomore jury? Jr. recital?) Has anyone/anyone’s kiddos done something like this? Pros and cons? This is completely out of the blue and he has 2 weeks to decide. Any advice or insight would be much appreciated!
Everyone will probably have a different take on this. I would probably counsel my kid to have patience and still focus on being a student and on development and growth. I am assuming this gig is paid and it is seductive in its professional feel, but long term I would think the real benefit in terms of career would be in not doing it. Because the gig may interrupt growth and also, as you say, get his trajectory off the path a bit in terms of courses, momentum, and relationships where he is.
But I don’t have an instrumentalist kid, that is just a personal philosophy for music and art studies at the undergrad level. Depth before breadth I guess 
Can he do a summer program in Europe instead, for find a gig?
The few people I know that did this never went back to school; however, they did not regret their decision because they turned into full-time musicians.The job gave them immediate contact and developed professional connections with the right people. Still, if it were my kid, I’d probably try to sway them to turn the gig down. I like the idea that regardless of what happens, my kid would at least have a college degree.
What a neat choice. I can’t offer an opinion, but want to offer support in whatever is chosen. It is great to be able to choose between two attractive options. It might cause y’all to re-parse what the basic objectives are - to make a living at music, to get a basic college degree, etc.
Do you suppose the bass professor would have any words of wisdom about how to make this decision? It must come up from time to time. Maybe they have a story or two that will help frame the decision.
It is a “pit gig”. Would that have a different appeal to it than a “combo gig”? If this same option came up just at the moment of graduating from college, would he take it, or would he be holding off and hoping for something different?
EDIT/ADD:
Would it be possible that having a “detour” such as this so early in his college progression that it could re-frame for him the substantial remainder of college when he returns? Would the exposure give a fresh perspective of the working world and make him more picky or driven in how he learns when he returns? In respect for Melodyminor’s examples, IF he returns - it sounds like the first choice is whether to go, then if going, second decision is whether to return.
I certainly wouldn’t be in any position to offer advice, but I second @GoForth 's comment that it’s a “neat decision to have”! It sounds as if great things are happening for him all around! But he seems like a very focused and responsible person, and I’m sure that whatever happens things will go very well for him!
When asked if S will be able to find a job, I say I hope he can find several. I am guessing that there will be a number of appealing opportunities.
Side Note:
I told S before he went off to college that if the bassist spot in Metallica became open and he auditioned into it, I would be totally happy if he dropped out of college.
My knowledge is all classical - I believe I know what the answer would be for a sophomore violinist, but that isn’t helpful!
I wanted to second GoForth’s suggestions of asking his teacher and any other profs who he feels would be appropriate to approach. Your S will know if the personality of the teacher is such that he shouldn’t ask, but with most instructors the asking should be fine. Perhaps some upper classmen have stories as well?
@indeestudios - I want to add that it is so nice to hear back from you. I followed your stories when our S was preparing for college. It is nice to hear back how things are going and that there is life after college acceptance.
@Momofadult - it would be neat to have a list of what is OK in jazz that is not OK in classical. We have not visited the classical side, but in jazz, I think it is OK to talk about anything. Especially in jazz bass.
Time away from the upright could be bad, but I wonder if he could pick up another side gig and rent an upright, or rent and upright and keep the chops up when off work. Or see if he can expand the deal to include an upright side gig coordinated with the people in the know with this electric pit gig. Maybe tell them what it would take to get him to go over there, and they may know of enough spots to work out something.
For a jazz performance student? No question, take it. School will always be there to go back to, the gig won’t. IMO, this is what a jazz performance career looks like – performing, making connections, understanding what it means to tour. They’re really students for life and the college curriculum is somewhat artificial. JMO.
I’m not a jazz person…but if I were in your shoes, I would defer to the teacher. They know a lot more than me.
@GoForth, I don’t know that there is an acceptable vs not acceptable list for jazz vs classical. With an undergrad at a conservatory, I believe most upper string studio instructors would be concerned that a long pit gig would fail to provide the same development opportunities that are available at the school. I have known grad student violinists who have been invited to sub with various professional orchestras on their European or Asian tours. Instructors have been supportive, but these tours are not months long. And, these students are already auditioning for professional orchestras and already have one foot out the door. I don’t know of any undergrads offered this type of opportunity, although maybe it happens.
As far as asking an instructor about a gig possibility, I would hope that most are helpful and open to any questions, but at least in the Classical world, there are definitely some teachers that want to run the show. Dictatorship may be dying out, but I have seen verbiage in recent years in conservatory handbooks along the lines of “the private instructor may prohibit a student from attending summer festivals, competitions, etc if it is not deemed in the best interest of the student.” So, a student choosing to work with the type of teacher who takes that literally learns to keep their mouth shut and not ask questions.
Not knowing anything about the jazz world, my first reaction was more along the lines of ScreenName’s, but I would have a lot of questions. Pay, conditions, who else playing, etc. If my kid had answers to those questions, I think we could determine whether this was a good gig, or one more along the lines of “find a body”. The more professional and highly compensated, the more likely a good experience. At least, this has been my experience watching my adult musician kids negotiating the classical gigging world. And, whenever possible, my kids would be asking anyone with any knowledge at all about an opportunity they are uncertain of.
@Momofadult - I can see that. I am extremely interested in this thread. I got to thinking what if S and his buddies decide to do a summer cruise ship jazz thing - it is less of a school-or-gig decision on the surface, but it carries some of the same aspects - say being without an upright possibly.
It would be good to get a reading on how “special” the gig is, if there is such a metric.
Whenever I get a job request in my line of work, software eng., I enjoy trying very hard to make the job fit into my schedule. I might be booked during the weekdays, so I’ll ask if it can be done on the weekends. What about part-time on weeknights? What if I take a one-week vacation from my main job and get it done in one week? So, that instinct came up and you see the thrashing around I did at the end of post 7 trying to figure out if the gig could be the seed of making something desirable - it’s the depression-era mentality I picked up in the dot-com bust. Such as could it be framed in a foreign exchange semester where the gig would occur along with a class or two at a reciprocating college, etc.
Thanks for the input everyone. Despite it being a rather stressful and unexpected decision to make, I’m thrilled for him to even have to have the offer. S will be speaking with his bass teacher and other faculty today. It’s his loaded day, (going from 10:00am until 11:00 pm or more), so I probably won’t hear about the feedback until tomorrow, but I’m inclined to think it will be mixed. There seems to be quite the disparity between the attitudes of the older faculty and the younger regarding taking out-of-genre gigs. Purity v. pragmatism. We’ll see…
S is leaning toward taking it once he has all the information and I have checked everything out thoroughly. Aside from the experience and travel, money is decent, about $3K/month with travel and lodging paid…waiting to hear about per diem. He truly enjoys pit work, though of course he hasn’t done it for a long stint before.
His goal has always been to simply make his living as a bassist. He’s much more passionate about double bass than electric, though loves both. Jazz>Classical>Rock/pop, in general, but its all good. I know it would genuinely pain him to not play upright jazz and leave the community he’s become a part of…that would be the true sacrifice. (He sounded a bit teared up talking about not touching HIS bass for months…for a minute I thought he’d turn it down cold on that basis alone.) Setting aside that emotion, he thinks the experience and pay could be worth it. The offer comes from Broadway pit musician connections, and those would certainly be excellent relationships to nurture. @GoForth If it were a combo or big band gig, there would be no question…he’d be saying his goodbyes and putting in the paperwork tomorrow!
I doubt very much that he would NOT return to school as soon as he could. He loves it and is thriving, and as @AsMother said, he’s a super focused and responsible guy. I know to never say never, though. But as long as he’s productive and happy, I’m happy. I’ll try to roll with it!
Update text: Bass teacher, who S trusts and admires greatly, is strongly against him taking the gig, saying his progress has been tremendous and freezing that trajectory at this point would be a mistake.
I missed a couple of the responses above…the gig is for Grease the Musical. Not at all challenging musically, and it sounds like a fairly low budget tour. He’s still waiting for all the info. To be honest, him making that money would be nice, but it isn’t necessary for him to continue at school. I have to believe that if his bass teacher wants him to turn it down, he doesn’t doubt that S will have better opportunities in the future, but I could be reading too much into that. Hopefully I’ll know a lot more after speaking to S tomorrow.
Good to know. Sounds very specific and clear.
@indeestudios - 2 thoughts based on experience.
1.) If he gets this offer, he’ll get others. It is by no means a one time opportunity.
2.) And the best laid plans can change when the opportunity is right…if not, don’t be enticed and remember number 1.
My D got offered a prinicpal role at the YAP program she will attend soon…great! exciting!..until she talked to her teacher and coach who said “no, no, no it will not allow you to be your best and get hired again” which in the end my D agreed with…so she declined…but she still got an offer from them that was more suited to her as an artist. We’ve ridden the ups and downs enough times to know the two rules above. Let him decide with his teacher…and know you will face more of these choices and when it’s right he’ll go and it will be worth it.
Whenever I have too many jobs and I can’t find a way to fulfill the proposed job, I always try to pass it on to another person. Maybe if your S knows anyone who could be up to the task, he can pass it on for them to consider. That way, S can still be known as a useful person to contact when there is a need.
This kind of decision comes up in a lot of fields. My son was offered a high pay CS job after sophomore year but decided to finish school. It comes up in dance too, for students in school who get offered a professional position. In that case, because some areas of dance only last a certain number of years, it does make sense at times to leave or delay school. So the right answer varies.
In the old days, it was said that it was a mark of talent and success to leave a school like Berklee, and those who graduated had lesser prospects. But the world has changed and degrees have become more important for the long term. Also years of development under the umbrella of school has become more valued, and in some areas of music, the level of skill has risen as a result.
I think the hardest thing is to balance a short term opportunity that seems like an entry to professional performance, with the much less exciting long term option of continuing as a true student. I personally am glad to hear of the teacher’s opinion but can understand wanting more points of view.
One of my kids studied ballet with a teacher who did excellent training but no recitals, no glitzy costumes, no trophies, no short term gratification at all except for continued growth as a trained dancer. As a result his studio was small but nearly legendary. Most of his students are dancing professionally. I think this philosophy affected me, but jazz is not the same game as classical ballet.
I’d listen to the teacher. There will be many, many opportunities in the future.
S has decided to turn the gig down. There was consensus among the faculty that the cons far outweighed the pros. Each one also reassured him that he would have many more and much better opportunities to travel/tour in the future. I think he was relieved, and seems very happy to return his attention to matters at hand.
His bass teacher told him there were only a couple scenarios where he might encourage something like this. 1)This is the kind of music and gig you ultimately want to pursue for your living, 2) You feel you have gotten everything you want out of school, are burned out and want to move on, or 3) You are flat broke, don’t have money for tuition or housing next semester, and would have to take time off to build up funds anyway.