I really need to choose, im a portuguese immigrant, i live in switzerland, i speak french,english and portuguese and i'm 15 years old, im in 8th grade here. And i dont know what i should follow im just so confused.

A really big dream i have is becoming a musician, and my 2 biggest problems are that i didnt have enough money to buy a guitar and tomorrow im finally gonna buy one and i know that if i want to follow this it may be really really hard.

I need someone experienced to helpme, i dont care how long it takes to learn how to play guitar and even singing. I am really willing to train myself the best i can. I know that the world outhere is not full of rainbows and things arent easy but thats the reason im asking this. I have chances to go to college but i didnt find any job that interests me only musician. Please someone answer me, i dont wanna waste my life in a job i hate by neither in a job where i dont succeed.

I have a friend who taught himself to play the guitar. He listened and copied.

Do it, enjoy it because at this point in your life, it can do no harm. You might want to keep studying while you learn but then you have two avenues.

Don't forget your languages are a blessing too

Its ALL about inspiration. If you have a dream, go follow it. If you don't, you'll be sorry.

Being a musician is not a job it's a passion a part of you that must be expressed or you die, music has to be as important to you as the air you breathe. A musician is not something you do it's who you are.

This will motivate you to spend as much time as you can learning, practising perfecting. it's not about learning the chords or about reading music or being able to play nice songs, your chosen instrument is more then something you play it's part of you, an extension, playing that instrument is the same as opening your mouth to speak, the intrument is your mouth and the language is music, it's part of you.

You never stop learning it's something that will increase for the whole of your life, something you will never stop perfecting.

I myself started learning to play the keyboard at 12, 18 years on there is still so much I have to learn. If this really is your dream follow it, learn the guitar and continue no matter what, let it become part of you.

If you want to make a career out of being a musician you are a brave young man. The likelihood of finding financial success playing guitar is very, very, slim.

My brother is a drummer, and while he's never been in a major act, he has played with a number of internationally recognized bands (I see him more than my other family members as he is on a European tour quite often). It's a fun life but requires supplementing the income, and if you are on the road several months out of the year that means your other avenues are limited i.e. restaurant work.

On the other end, you could go the music school route. One of my oldest friends made it to Princeton on a scholarship and has a PhD in music composition. His primary instrument is guitar, and he is successful and recognized but still he only scrapes by thanks to an inheritance that allowed him to buy a small apartment in NYC.

As was said before, it has to be a passion. Jimi Hendrix had a guitar in his hands every waking hour- even in the bathroom (he said the acoustics were great in there ).

Music helps you to stop asking for permission. It is a path that will make you as proud as the effort you put into it.
For me, it never was a choice. Play music, don't work it.
It can and is, done every day. Don't listen to the naysayers who say it is next to impossible to earn a living at it. Either they have not done their best and failed, or they never tried. Do it, you are responsible to yourself only.

You have to be honest with yourself and really ask - do I have the talent or stamina for this kind of work. If you do, go for it. If you have troubles with rhythm, can't decently hear the correct pitch or get extremely nervous - go for it as well but create a back up plan, just to keep your worries down.

Some people cannot take the pressure of living solely off their skills, for them it is good to secure their career and beeing independent some other way. The competition is fierce, there is only a limited amount of clubs and radios, one might enounter all sorts of weird situations life throws you, so I'd say - go for music as your main passion but in terms of your work, pick something that will always pay your bills. So you don't have to stress and focus on being creative. Creativity can easily be killed in financial troubles. When you are young and have a ton of energy, it usually works well, but you might regret laters if you do not back up with a plan B. You can later on combine the two things - career and music, work in music industry as something else plus be an independent musician at night who does not need to ask for favors or cash...You could work in music biz being a manager, in sales of records, in music promotion, PR, you could be a music teacher, a DJ, a journalist, you can easily combine inet and music, since you can do a lot of pc related stuff while travelling..there are so many ways. You can make it far in some career and have your gigs/band practices/all the other music work synchronized. The fact you will devote a lot of time to music does really mean anything, in terms of quality of the music you want to do. One can practice after work, easily.

Besides, I love having two parts of me - one in a tie, cerebral demands and good working ethics, one on a stage, in interesting clothes, having a ball playing a gig. Just keeps the people on their toes and makes life fun for me and some others, haha...

Dear Kio

Good luck to you! I am a singer-guitarist and have been earning money from my trade on and off for 20 years. Some of my best times ever have been working as a professional entertainer in the Swiss ski resorts as well as in different cities/towns etc. If I can give you some advice, here goes:

. MusicChick is right; Learn a Plan B trade or degree or skill or whatever! You will always have a fallback option, whether it's Plan Music or Plan B!!
. Practice a little bit every day rather than for a long time once a week (leave your guitar on your bed, out of its case and not tucked away in the basement
. Practice so slowly that you do not make mistakes (or make less of them). This piece of advice comes from Robert Fripp, one of the most talented guitarists EVER!
. If you planning on entertaining people by playing cover/popular songs then go and listen to other musicians perform and make a note of what songs make people happy/clap/party/dance and then learn these songs.
. Sing as much as possible and try and copy how other famous people sing. The best way to learn is to copy. We do this from the day we are born.
. You can teach yourself mostly but if you can afford it, have a few basic lessons.
. I taught myself from a book (there was no Internet when I was learning). Now with the Internet it's much much easier and you can find lyrics, chords and tab sheets, and audio and especially video lessons, all for free, on websites such as YouTube
. If you ever buy PA equipment buy the best you can afford. Good equipment will pay for itself in the long run by sounding good (you will sound better through a good system) and by lasting a long time
. Have fun and know that by getting up to a certain standard you will be able to travel the world with your music. I am just really a bar singer and I have played in Switzerland, South Africa, Botswana, Austria, Norway, USA, France, United Kingdom and Ireland. and that is a small number compared to other people I know.

Hope this helps!

thanks everyone to your answers, so from what ive read, i should stay in school while im still learning, dont i need to learn like Music theory in some school?

im here in geneva only since january 2009, im in a class A wich allows me to go to college and then university if i want, my parents want me to have a good life ofc but theres nothing that interests me ._.
i still have many questions, i dont know wich school should i go. Im really worried with that... please someone answer

Lots of good advice in this thread.

How you should proceed (how much musical theory to learn, schools, teachers, what kind of guitar and equipment you will need and more) imo strongly depends on your musical interests, the style you want to start off with. If you want to be a classical, flamenco/rumba, rock/punk/metal, jazz, singer/songwriter, whatever player will lead you on different paths to your first paid gig.

I think, you should get yourself the best teacher, that you can afford. He or she can constantly assess your progress, talents and weaknesses and will imho be your fastest track to any success, if you are serious about wanting to be a professional.

Wishing you lots of luck