Career Choices in Music beyond the Pandemic: Musical and Psychological Perspectives

by Julie Jaffee Nagel

Overview

“A must-read for musicians young and old as well as general readers.” — Joseph W. Polisi, President Emeritus, The Juilliard School

Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions we make in our lifetime. Career choice is more than just working to earn a living but also an important window into how we feel about ourselves. In this groundbreaking and provocative book, musician and psychologist Julie Jaffee Nagel explores how musicians’ work beyond the COVID-19 pandemic casts a light upon the necessity of rethinking, rebuilding, and possibly redesigning our concept of careers and music education in the arts.

The book takes an interdisciplinary approach to a wide range of pressing topics such as career disillusionment, mental health in relation to lack of professional and personal security, the unavailability of jobs that reflect the depth of the musician’s formal training and talent, and the healing role and value of musicians in a post-pandemic world. The pandemic was an unwelcome and sudden shock in the lives and careers of countless musicians, with many experiencing crises. Importantly, Nagel emphasizes that this trauma also has the potential to energize and expand horizons for rewarding, creative work. Musicians’ gifts include resilience and discipline, and their art has important social value. Music has the power to be an aural antidote to some of society’s ills—during trying times, it is vitally important to express and share the musician’s artistic imagination and creativity in teaching studios, on stage, and through off stage interactions with others.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538168400
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	01/30/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	150
File size:	903 KB

About the Author

Julie Jaffee Nagel brings her unique, interdisciplinary background and education in mental health and music to understanding the personality of the musician, performance anxiety, the psychological impact of COVID-19 on music careers, and the value of music in mental life and in promoting social justice. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School, The University of Michigan, and The Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute. Nagel has received grants from the Ernst and Gertrude Ticho Foundation and the American Psychoanalytic Foundation to support her interdisciplinary work and outreach. She is in private practice in Dexter, Michigan. Visit www.julienagel.net.

Table of Contents

Prelude

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 Work

Chapter 2 Musicians and Money in the Wake of the Pandemic

Some Financial Facts: A Wake Up Call

What Do Musicians Contribute?

The Musician as “Product”

Creative Responses to the Pandemic

Why Should You Care About Music?

Your Money or Your Life

Chapter 3 Musical Development and Psychological Development

Erik Erikson: Development Over a Lifetime

“Ratios”: Life as a Balancing Act

Carolyn’s Monkey

Erikson’s Eight Stages for the Musician

Early Stages (ages 1-4)

Middle Stages (ages 5-7)

Late Stage: Stage 8 (ages 65+)

Chapter 4 The Meaning of Money and “Psychic Income”

Early Issues about Giving and Receiving

Attention and Money: Symbolic Nourishment

What Do Money and Stage Fright Share in Common?

How Much are You Worth?

Patrons and Angels

Buying Love

Nourishing Starving Artists

Chapter 5 Four Types of Personality Who Seek Music Careers

The Identity Status Interview

The Four Categories of the ISI

What Does ISI Data Explain?

Ken: Integrating Past and Present

Conclusion: Research and Clinical Work

Chapter 6 Pursuit of Perfection

The Disillusionment of Omnipotence

Growing Pains and Emotional Growth

Pursuit of Perfection: All the Right Notes

Ms. G

Mr. D

Resolution of Disillusionment: Grieving, Mourning, and Moving Forward

Chapter 7 The Golden Allure of Celebrity: Reflections on Boundary Crossings in Psychoanalysis and Music

Planning for the Big Meeting

Temptations

Deeply Disappointed

The #MeToo Movement and Music Education

A “Perfect Storm”: Private Music Lessons

A Rescue through “Love”

A Higher Cost for Education

Institutional Collusions

The Bad Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree

Treatment Issues

Coda

Chapter 8 Rethinking Music Education

Asked and (as Yet) Unanswered Questions

Teaching Talented Musicians: The University and Conservatory

Nurturing Healthy Musicians

How to Destroy Creativity in Music Students: A Paraphrase of Otto Kernberg

Educating Healthy People Who Are Musicians

A Healthy Music Profession

Chapter 9 Music and Mind Outside the Box

The Value of Music: Past and Future

The Impact of Music: Historical Precedents

Musicians and Mental Health Professionals as Non-Traditional First Responders

Music and Therapy in and beyond the Consulting Room

Beyond the Teaching Studio and Concert Hall

Has Anything Good Resulted from the Pandemic?

A Conclusion and a Beginning

About the Author

Editorial Reviews

This timely book is intended for high school and college/university students and their teachers who are trying to find new ways to move forward in the aftermath of the pandemic. It relies on data, personal experiences and suggestions for teachers and musicians post-COVID. As both a musician and psychologist, Julie Jaffee Nagel uses both her musical and psychological training to look deeper into the motivations and experiences of students that can contribute to anxiety, stage fright or choosing music as a career path.

American Music Teacher

This is an essential guide for musicians and music teachers, really for every teacher in every discipline. She helps with the difficult, conflicting career choices we must make throughout our lifetimes, preparing all students and teachers for the dangerous temptations that arise.

Stanley J. Coen

Nagel’s psychological insights make this book a must read. Her chapters on the “Pursuit of Perfection” and “The Golden Allure of Celebrity” should be read by anyone contemplating a rabbinic career.

Rabbi Bruce Warshal

Julie Nagel knows the field as a trained musical performer and a practicing clinician who is an international authority on work inhibition and performance block. There is none better!

Peter Loewenberg

This is a unique and important book. Nagel deftly uses psychology to identify the basis of our career choices and their impact on identity and self-esteem. With vivid case examples, she highlights the musician’s emotional struggle for success. Above all the book reminds us that music and musicians inspire and sustain us in times of misery, pandemic or otherwise.

Stefan A. Pasternack

As a practicing musician and psychoanalyst, Julie Nagel is well-suited and uniquely qualified to help us understand and process the traumatic effects of the global pandemic on career choices faced by musicians. This timely reflection, with its optimistic outlook, weaves a compelling narrative using real-life examples, many of them her own, along with psychological concepts to provide a framework upon which to build or rebuild a successful music career. It should be required reading for everyone who is contemplating or is currently engaged in the music profession.

Gary Ingle

This is a definitive study that is a must-read for musicians young and old as well as general readers interested in the music profession. Dr. Nagel’s carefully researched work combines the perceptions of a musician and psychologist dealing with post-pandemic challenges involving musicians’ contributions to our society.

Joseph W. Polisi

For years, music students (and their parents) have questioned the financial viability of pursuing music as a career. The pandemic only added to concerns. Nagel discusses these issues from psychological development and emotional health to practical issues of making money as a musician in today’s world. This is a must-read for every music student and professors who work with them.

E. L. Lancaster

I do not wish to rob glory from a student's hopefulness, but rather, I want them to know that the very hard work will somehow pay off. Each individual will have their own brave story to tell. This much-needed book by Julie Jaffee Nagel provides important and continual support.

Ruth Slenczynska

A must read for any musician engaged in or considering a career in music. Nagel provides valuable insight into essential but rarely discussed subjects that impact the lives of every professional musician.

John Viscardi

Julie Nagel addresses the issues that face every musician in their careers. She explores them from personal and research-oriented perspectives while challenging students to examine their reasons for pursuing a career in music. With her background in music and psychology, there is no one more qualified than Nagel to examine these issues.

Gayle Kowalchyk

This book is especially appropriate and perfectly timed given the tremendous challenges artists have been handling for the past few years. Nagel promotes a thoughtful and holistic approach to helping the reader make wise and appropriate decisions for the future. Her book will encourage constructive personal introspection.

Gail Berenson

This book offers deep psychological insights and a wealth of information on everything from early childhood experience, stage fright, concert fees, and so much more. It’s a veritable handbook of advice guiding musicians at every level into the new and ever-changing world of music.

Arnold Steinhardt

Julie Jaffee Nagel, uniquely qualified to combine psychoanalysis and music, offers a design for a meaningful life as a musician. Mining the wealth of her personal and professional experience, she addresses both the economic demands and the many rewards of commitment to music.

Sandra G. Hershberg

A must read for any musician engaged in or considering a career in music. Nagel provides valuable insight into essential but rarely discussed subjects that impact the lives of every professional musician.

As a practicing musician and psychoanalyst, Julie Nagel is well-suited and uniquely qualified to help us understand and process the traumatic effects of the global pandemic on career choices faced by musicians. This timely reflection, with its optimistic outlook, weaves a compelling narrative using real-life examples, many of them her own, along with psychological concepts to provide a framework upon which to build or rebuild a successful music career. It should be required reading for everyone who is contemplating or is currently engaged in the music profession.

For years, music students (and their parents) have questioned the financial viability of pursuing music as a career. The pandemic only added to concerns. Nagel discusses these issues from psychological development and emotional health to practical issues of making money as a musician in today's world. This is a must-read for every music student and professors who work with them.

I do not wish to rob glory from a student's hopefulness, but rather, I want them to know that the very hard work will somehow pay off. Each individual will have their own brave story to tell. This much-needed book by Julie Jaffee Nagel provides important and continual support.

Julie Jaffee Nagel, uniquely qualified to combine psychoanalysis and music, offers a design for a meaningful life as a musician. Mining the wealth of her personal and professional experience, she addresses both the economic demands and the many rewards of commitment to music.

Julie Nagel addresses the issues that face every musician in their careers. She explores them from personal and research-oriented perspectives while challenging students to examine their reasons for pursuing a career in music. With her background in music and psychology, there is no one more qualified than Nagel to examine these issues.

Julie Nagel knows the field as a trained musical performer and a practicing clinician who is an international authority on work inhibition and performance block. There is none better!

Nagel's psychological insights make this book a must read. Her chapters on the "Pursuit of Perfection" and "The Golden Allure of Celebrity" should be read by anyone contemplating a rabbinic career.

This book is especially appropriate and perfectly timed given the tremendous challenges artists have been handling for the past few years. Nagel promotes a thoughtful and holistic approach to helping the reader make wise and appropriate decisions for the future. Her book will encourage constructive personal introspection.

This book offers deep psychological insights and a wealth of information on everything from early childhood experience, stage fright, concert fees, and so much more. It's a veritable handbook of advice guiding musicians at every level into the new and ever-changing world of music.

This is a definitive study that is a must-read for musicians young and old as well as general readers interested in the music profession. Dr. Nagel's carefully researched work combines the perceptions of a musician and psychologist dealing with post-pandemic challenges involving musicians' contributions to our society.

This is a unique and important book . Nagel deftly uses psychology to identify the basis of our career choices and their impact on identity and self-esteem. With vivid case examples, she highlights the musician's emotional struggle for success. Above all the book reminds us that music and musicians inspire and sustain us in times of misery, pandemic or otherwise.

This is an essential guide for musicians and music teachers, really for every teacher in every discipline. She helps with the difficult, conflicting career choices we must make throughout our lifetimes, preparing all students and teachers for the dangerous temptations that arise.

From the Publisher