Traveling around the world as a musician often has quite a bit of glamour associated with the title. One might think of screaming fans and road trips. This is, of course, referring to the typical fun-filled band life we all see in movies.
    
Being a classical musician can be quite different, and can take you all sorts of places. Often, classical musicians simply are on their own, and hop between groups and programs. Playing an instrument, like the trumpet or string bass, can bring you jazz gigs, orchestral performances, or even into a modern rock group. The problem with choosing random gigs is that money can be very tight, and every opportunity is usually a must. Even though some gigs may only earn a small amount, each performance is viewed as an investment. People will hear about your talent and recommend you to others. This, according to my father (a trumpet player), is what eventually gets you to places like Japan! He also spent, with my mother, about six weeks busking (playing in public for change) for a living in Europe in 1988, making friends all the way. Connecting with people all over the globe becomes much easier when you realize that music is truly a universal language. Music is a part of every culture, and that makes every country a possible place to visit as a musician!

    
I personally am interested in possibly playing the saxophone professionally, and that would probably involve jazz, as saxophones in orchestras do not appear very often. One way that I might get to travel abroad if I chose to be a jazz musician is by small group, like the Dallas Brass or the Copper Street Brass Quintet from St. Paul, Minnesota. International music concerts and festivals make being a musician an ideal career for me as a guy who loves to travel.

Christoph Hodel is a member of the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program

Photo courtesy and copyright Christoph Hodel