You're probably right- I do have a tendency to exaggerate! Gurdy isn't my only instrument (though it is an integral part of our sound) so while I can't claim it's JUST the gurdy making my living I wouldn't be doing nearly so well without it.
Has anyone done any kind of a census of gurdy players around the world to see how many actually make their living with their instruments? I'd be very interested in the results of such a poll. Felicia. On Apr 30, 2009, at 5:22 PM, Arle Lommel wrote: > >> …how thousands of players are supporting themselves and their >> families with their music… > > Let's not get too optimistic here. How many players actually support > themselves and the families with their music? There may be a lot of > players, but for most of us it's a hobby that occasionally pays some > dividends. But I would guess that the number of ones who actually > support themselves and their families exclusively from playing HG can > be counted on your fingers (or maybe your fingers and your toes). The > number of semi-professionals who make decent supplementary income > probably doesn't break 100. Most of the rest of us won't ever make > enough to pay back our investment in the instrument, but that's not > why we do it in the first place. > > I'd like to be proven wrong, but I'd lay money on it that there are > not "thousands of players" making a career out of it. > > So, while I'll agree about close-minded professors, etc., even as a > pretty serious enthusiast* I'd be hard pressed to recommend > "professional hurdy-gurdy player" as a career option to a young > musician unless said young musician fully realized that there are > vanishingly few regular jobs for HG and that the only reason to do it > is for love -- because the money is certainly not a reason to choose > it as a career. > > *I'm working on a doctoral degree about the revival of HGs in Hungary > at the IU Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology, so I think I can > safely call myself serious. > > -Arle > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hurdygurdy" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy The rules of posting, courtesy, and other list information may be found at http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm. To reduce spam, posts from new subscribers are held pending approval by the webmaster. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
