4. Nodame Cantabile
One day in college, I decided I was going to study music. Composition, to be exact. I had been deeply involved in music since grade school and had been writing music since junior high, so it’s not like it was a snap decision. Prior to even starting college, I had considered studying music, but chose to pursue a different path in life. Fate is a funny thing, however; I still ended up enrolling at the very university I had planned on attending had I chosen to study music. It was home to one of the more highly respected music schools in the nation, too, so I took advantage of the opportunity and auditioned to join some of the performing ensembles. I wasn’t studying music formally, but there I was, performing alongside some incredibly talented people under the tutelage of some of the best teachers in the business.
Eventually, I realized I was passing much of my free time lounging around the College of Music. I was spending more time in rehearsals than in class. My circle of friends consisted entirely of music students. And, of course, I was still writing music when I had the time. In search of direction and purpose in life, I decided that I belonged in music.
And then I changed my mind.
I still don’t know why I changed my mind. Perhaps I chickened out. Perhaps common sense got the best of me. Perhaps I fell for the old, “don’t make a career out of a hobby,” line. Or perhaps I just got lazy.
It was probably a combination of all of these things. It was a difficult period, either way, and I recall in vivid detail all the poor decisions I made back then, some of which continued to haunt me for years. Perhaps passing up the opportunity to study something I truly loved was one of those poor decisions. It wasn’t too long before I stopped writing music all together. I stopped performing. I started spending my free time in my dorm room. I practically gave up on music.
My friends didn’t give up on me, though.
Eventually, I got my act together, found something I actually wanted to go to class for, and got on with life. My friends continued studying music, of course. Some of them work in the industry today and some don’t. They still encourage me at every opportunity to start writing again, and I relent; “too busy with work and life,” I say. I figure I’ll give in eventually. I haven’t lost the desire.
Nodame Cantabile was a wonderful show, you know. But damn if it didn’t remind me of how much of an idiot I am.
Well, that certainly helps to explain why your AMVs are some of the best around. :) For me… I realised too late that I didn’t want to make a career out of my hobby (coding), and that meant 5 years wasted.
Then again… life is about realising your mistakes and moving on. Everybody makes mistakes. What makes the difference is how they deal with them. Given what scant glimpses of your life you have shown us, I dare say you have been living a good life. Maybe not a perfect life, but a good one nevertheless.
Cheers.
I plan to get a stable job soon, and then start a choir of my own. Give me 10 years, and I will start making some news in classical music circles.
This show reminded me a lot of college too. I’m nowhere near a musician, but my wife is an Opera Singer still trying to get somewhere in the business. So watching this took us back to a time when things were happier and lovely and full of more dreams than we could have imagined. Now, life is life and the reality of the music business is more harsh than our dreams could have imagined. But thankfully this show was made to give us just a little nostalgia of what it used to be like back in those wonderful days.
It’s never too late to start your pursuit in music
gyabo!
It explains why he has pro sound equipment at least.
I admit I enjoyed Nodame a whole lot. But the story really cuts out from underneath after a while, and it just lost the spark. After a while it feels like I’m watching the…live action drama. It’s not a bad sign per se, but ugh.
And you have good friends. Making a living has nothing to do with hobbies or what you major in college. It’s just making ends and your responsibilities meet. Sometimes it also means going down one career path instead of another, but that’s that.
If you want a living example of all of this, look at Kawasumi Ayako!
Don’t get me wrong… I’m happy with how things turned out. But when I think about how I got here, I often think I screwed up somewhere along the way. I’ve stopped trying to make sense of it. Not like there’s any sense in it in the first place.
Anyway, I’ll be seeing said friends in about a week, and I’m sure we’ll be spending some time in the studio. Should be fun.
And, yeah, Nodame Cantabile was more extended character study than anything else. It was good stuff, but it was also pretty forgettable due to the lack of underlying story. Or, rather, the flakiness of the underlying story. Sometimes it was there, sometimes it wasn’t. Every time I watched an episode, I’d have to remind myself how much I liked the show. Nothing wrong with that, of course… some shows are just that way.
I made it halfway through Nodame marathoning and absolutely loving it and I still have NO IDEA why I stopped watching. Simply never got back to it. Excellent show, though.
and Merry Xmas!
Ayako Kawasumi as Nodame was probably my favorite role of the year, even when comparing it to just some of the other stuff she’s done this year (e.g. Shion, Nono Ichinose), if not a lot of what she’s done beforehand. So awesome.
Nodame definitely rekindled the interest in playing and making music that I had back in middle and high school. Though just listening to music isn’t that bad, right? :/
I’m no music student, but I enjoy classical, so that part of Nodame was very nice. Actually, using the music+music university as a delivery to tell this story worked really well. Good to see on the tops, and interesting to see you have very much to identify with the series. :)
Sometimes I wish I pursued music more, but it seems every time I grab the acoustic, my random blues/jazz improvisations emit darker melodies than what I would expect… cheery on the outside, dying on the inside?? I hope not, but I’m can put down the instruments whenever I need, and that’s probably why I don’t pursue it.