Project 2: Research Proposal
My second project will be a research essay explaining the process of becoming a professional musician. The project will outline the challenges faced by both famous musicians and local musicians as they rise to their careers. It will discuss the different ways people were discovered, and how they created connections and a web to make it in the competitive music field. I will be interviewing my music professor, Katherine Weintraub, and I will be attempting to interview Sonny Rollins, a famous jazz saxophonist. It will be a challenge to find a time that works best for Rollins, however his insight would be invaluable towards myself and towards my paper. He made it as one of the most successful jazz players and composers of all time. The essay will be structured in three primary segments. The first segment is focused on the musicians I have grown up around, with teachers and local performers being my primary source of research. I will then progress into the field of professors, with my main source being my interview with Professor Weintraub. I will discuss with her the challenges she faced, the process of interviewing for the position, and the struggles she faces while in the position today. I will then discuss the professional music scene, with the focus on non-popular musicians. This will consist of interviews done with composers such as John Williams, and/or it will consist of the works of saxophonists on the radio. I will attempt to connect all of it to what I want to do in the end if there is room/purpose for it.