Advice for Graduating Seniors

You May Want to Take Notes

Caps and gowns, diplomas, and a formal farewell to school is almost here for our graduating seniors. For more than 30 years, we have been bidding our graduates “Congrats & Best Wishes” at this time of year.

By the time they leave us, our seniors have averaged eight years of lessons with us at A Kopp Music. That’s why before they take off for their next adventure in life, we like to pass along some words of wisdom, caution, and encouragement. (Better get used to it! Parents, family, teachers … they’re all going to offer you some sage thoughts and nuggets of knowledge.)

Chords of Clarity from Alicia Kopp

For those who might be thinking of going into music … I always advise to proceed with caution. If you can look at my husband and me and think, “That looks cool! I’d be totally satisfied as a professional musician if I could do what they do.” To that, I say, “Go for it. Knock yourself out.”

But if your burning ambition is Taylor-Swift-level fame, a massive fanbase, and bags of money, be forewarned — the life of a professional musician is one of sacrifice and constant change. (Also, very little money and lots of side gigs to pay the rent.)

Life does not prepare you for what happens when you don’t reach the pinnacle of this mountain — the “Summit of Success” if you will. The very few who do make it experienced one or more strikes of good fortune … being at the right place at the right time, in the presence of the right person, on what happened to be not just one of their good days but their very best day, and the wind just happened to blow the right direction with just enough force to propel things forward in just the right way.

If superstardom is all you can fathom, I’m not saying don’t go for it, but maybe also strongly consider that with the same amount of good fortune and luck you might only ever find yourself in the shadow of that behemoth of a mountain.

I never had that illusion for my life. As much as I’ve enjoyed playing music, I’ve loved passing on what I know to the next generations even more. I knew performance was not my path because I had no thirst for it. I don’t envy those who are enticed by the dream of fame and glory. I’ve seen many friends and acquaintances over the years shoot for the moon, only to encounter a lifetime of struggles and disappointments that brings them crashing back to earth.

I propose that if you can think of something else that you would like to do, also do that. Not instead. Because there are many ways music can be a part of your life. Maybe it is a part-time-fun-job, hobby, or your social outlet. This was actually what happened to me.

Despite how much I loved it, I purposely avoided majoring in music because I saw friends leave their music programs for Psychology or to become an Accountant. That’s actually how I ended up spending so many years working in Ophthalmology. I loved my time as an ophthalmic tech and being part of the medical field. And I very much consider myself lucky to have taken this part-time-fun-job and grown to become the music instructor I am today all while building A Kopp Music alongside my friend and husband, Andy.

In the end, I cannot stress this enough — no matter what your path, you are just as worthy and able to carve out success as the next person.

As someone who took a non-traditional path post high school, I can affirm that even if you cannot afford college (or frankly, college isn’t a right fit for you) it doesn’t mean you won’t have a nice life if you don’t go. Remember, college isn’t the only place to discover opportunities that allow you to flourish and find success. Your unique path is valid. That means no embarrassment. No imposter syndrome. ( I struggled with those feelings the majority of my life post high school.) Just remember, Lifelong Learning does not need to be “formal.”

One of my dear friends had a unique approach to this journey. They attended college part-time while working, but never majored in anything. Eventually they got a job working for a college which gave them the opportunity to continue to take random classes at a discounted tuition rate. Occasionally they would look over all their classes and certificate criteria to “cash out” their credits for a certificate or degree. By the time they were in their early 40s they had earned and achieved over 100 certificates of learning in different areas of knowledge.

Another remarkable nerd friend of mine just kept studying and retaking the SAT to get a perfect score. Why? Why not? Life is more interesting pursuing whatever arbitrary goal you might dream up.

So go on out there and just be you! Remind yourself daily that you are awesome. Aim for the top, and be open to all the ways you can define your success.

Backstage Secrets from Andy Kopp

First and foremost, don’t go into music professionally. To quote our mentor, the late Jim Harms, owner of My Music Store in Golden Valley, MN, “Buy low, sell high, and stay out of the music business!”

But few who hear that advice rarely heed it.

Sigh.

If you just cannot help yourself, here’s what I’d like to share:

If you think you are going to go into music, especially as a performing musician, take business classes. The music industry is brutal and business classes provide you with protection before you sign any portion of your life and art away. (Consider some pretty famous cautionary tales: Prince, Taylor Swift, the Beatles, Tina Turner, and more. Google it! These artists and many more spent years fighting for the rights to their own music!) Additionally, business classes provide backup in your education that you can leverage if you decide to pivot to another field.

For everyone, regardless of potentially poor “I’m going to be a professional musician” career decisions, if you are going to college the best thing I discovered in college I learned about after my college experience.

From 1998 to 2002, I toured nationally with Fade2Shade, an award-winning rock band. This was the result of becoming a part of the National Association of Campus Activities (NACA). Our group applied for and were accepted to perform at multiple NACA showcases and conventions.

These opportunities put us in front of the representatives of Student Activity Boards, which are largely student-operated organizations within colleges and universities. The students who volunteer for these boards are responsible for spending a portion of the collected Student Activities Fees to put on events throughout the school year.

This might be Fall Festivals, Spring Flings, and everything in between that might require hiring entertainment of all varieties. The entertainment could be musicians like myself, but also might include hypnotists, comedians, motivational speakers, face painters, clowns, and more.

While a small delegate of the committee might be fortunate enough to attend one of these conventions to take in a wide number of potential acts to book, they and the rest of the team on campus, also gained experience in other ways.

These students were responsible for:

• Hiring entertainment
• Communicating with the performers or their management teams
• Satisfying contracts including the minutiae on their riders (e.g., a case of lemon-flavored water in dressing room, a whole bag of peanut M&Ms minus the green ones, etc)
• Potentially other details like transportation (e.g., rides to and from the airport)
• Hotel or other lodging accommodations
• Meals
• Promoting the event (e.g., posters, announcements)
• Ordering and distributing swag they might be offering to their student body (e.g., Spring Fling T-Shirts, keychains, etc.)

The best perk was that quite often, they got to hang out with the artists when they were in town.

Another skill these students picked up during their tenure on Student Activity Boards was learning to Network. This skill — and it is a skill — is very valuable for anyone going into music.

The opportunity to communicate with the management teams, booking teams, and artists is almost a little bit of a foot in the door. Our group made some amazing connections with students from all over the country through this organization. In fact, our lead singer and manager kept in touch with a fair number of these connections which was beneficial in their businesses in the years that followed the band break up. Remember, you never know who you might meet and what doors might be cracked open as a result of these relationships.

I recall one such convention when a pre-SNL, long-before-the-Tonight-Show Jimmy Fallon performed right before we took the stage. When I tell people Jimmy Fallon once opened for Fade2Shade in the year 2000, it never fails to impress!

Congratulations, Graduates, from us both!

We both hope that you keep music as a part of your life and pass it on whenever you can. To those who are reaching for the brass ring as a professional musician, we also wish that good fortune will find you in quick order and that you don’t have to wait too long for it. Make the best of your time on this blue rock in the midst of a universe of wonder. And never stop being creative and curious!

Andy and I love hearing from our past students. Please drop us a line in the years to come and let us know where you’ve landed! Congrats again, Class of 2025!