Becoming a professional musician takes talent, skill, hard work, and a lucky break. Most don’t make it in the music industry, but the ones who do have often picked up some good advice from those who came before them—and were once starving artists themselves. These five musicians are some of the most famous and successful people alive—here’s their advice for the next generation.
Videos by American Songwriter
1. John Legend
John Legend is best-known for his smooth piano ballads, but he’s done it all—and won all the awards. Between his work in music, film, stage, and television, Legend is one of the few musicians to earn all four major American entertainment awards: the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (making him one of the few fabled “EGOTs”).
Legend’s advice for aspiring musicians boils down to two things: passion and persistence. Speaking at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, he urged up-and-coming musicians to pursue music because they love it, not because they want to be famous.
“Part of it is … just doing it—continuing to write, continuing to work on your craft, and care about every concert, every tour, making sure it’s the best one you’ve had yet,” he said, as quoted by Insider. “If you love songwriting, keep going back and writing more. You’re not thinking about, ‘Well, is this going to be on top of [the] Hot 100 or whatever.’ You’re just thinking, ‘I just want it to be great. I want to enjoy this process of writing and recording.’”
[RELATED: 7 Iconic Albums You Didn’t Know Feature John Legend]
2. Jason Mraz
Jason Mraz—a pop rock singer with a penchant for wordplay—was already a rising artist with a Grammy nomination under his belt when he released “I’m Yours” in 2008. The single ruled the charts for a whopping 76 weeks, a record for the time. Mraz has enjoyed a successful career in the years since, including an unexpected stint on Dancing with the Stars. But his advice to aspiring musicians is to remember that your goal is just to share your craft.
“I’d say, put your artistry first and embrace it. And leave open the possibility of any stage [that] can make itself available to you,” Mraz told Page Six. “For me, I could have ended up on a cruise ship, or on a sidewalk, or in the park, or at a coffee shop, in a bar. There’s so many places to share your art. I never had an expectation of where I would end up, but I knew I just wanted to claim that I was an artist. I identified as an artist and I let that be my sail, that all this art wind has been carrying me through.”
[AS OF THIS WRITING: Mraz Tickets Are Available! – Get ‘Em Right Here]
3. Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift went from a Nashville country darling to probably the biggest pop superstar in the world. With 12 Grammys and more than 100 Guinness World Records under her belt, Swift has had an impressive journey. But she’s also been subject to intense media scrutiny and criticism since she was in her teens. The thing that helped her keep going is what she thinks up-and-coming musicians need: enthusiasm and an authentic love of music.
“As soon as you fail, enthusiasm tells you that the next great idea is around the corner,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “And your love of music will always center you—if you’re doing this for that, and that alone—because that is hard to take away.”
[Tay-Tay Tix Available as Well – Get ‘Em Right Here]
4. Dave Grohl
Dave Grohl can truly be called a great musician. He’s been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice—once as the drummer for Nirvana and once as the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter for Foo Fighters. Grohl has accolades aplenty, yet he remains just as down-to-earth as he was on the alternative music scene of the early 1990s. Grohl says that the best thing a musician can do is focus on playing as well as they possibly can—whether they’re in a dinky club in front of a tiny audience or at the Grammys onstage with Bruce Springsteen.
“Go play live,” he said in an interview with The Off Camera Show. “If…playing those great songs in your great live band is enough reward for you, then you’re f—ing set. But you’ve gotta be badass. I just knew that if you put me onstage…that I would beat the f—ing shit out of my drums so much that people would go, ‘Goddamn, did you see that f—ing drummer? Whoa!’ At the end of the show, I was a successful musician because I had achieved what I wanted to achieve.”
[AS OF THIS WRITING: The Foos Are Out There, Too – Get Tix Right Here]
5. Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton is probably the most beloved figure in country music (well, her and Willie Nelson). But really, she’s done it all: she has chart-topping pop hits in addition to her country classics becoming staples; she’s enjoyed a successful acting career; she’s an author and a humanitarian; and she owns a whole dang amusement park!
Parton’s sweet soprano voice, killer songwriting talents, and larger-than-life image have made her one of the biggest country stars of all time. But she says she doesn’t like to offer people advice since everyone’s journey is just that different. So, she adds, that’s her advice: don’t do things the way other people tell you that you have to do them.
“Everybody’s different,” said Parton, speaking to People magazine. “You’ve got your own journey. And some people are going to help you along the way and they can kick a few rocks out of the road for you, but you got to walk it.”
Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
