Posted by Sean Chisham on September 12, 2000 at 23:26:13:
In Reply to: How can people afford everything? posted by JB on September 12, 2000 at 20:09:08:
Most people do not wake up one morning, get out the Custom Music and Bernel Music catalogs and start ordering everything which looks good. These things take many years to acquire for most.
I grew up very poor and always wondered how anyone could afford a new car. It seemed unbelievable that anyone could pay $800/month for a mortgage. How can some kid's parents afford to buy him a $2500 used car? How could it be?
After progressing through several jobs and sorting through priorities it became more clear. Average people do buy new cars. Average people do buy houses. Average people do buy tubas and music and mouthpieces.
I still get a kick out of seeing the looks on people's faces when I tell them how much quality tubas cost. They can't believe that the cost can be $6,000-$17,000. These are the same people who drive around in "modest" automobiles which cost them $15,000-$25,000 which they sell at a tremendous losses after only 5-8 years of use.
A quality instrument can last for 100 years or more. The depreciation and appreciation curves cross at around 5-8 years or so, meaning you can sell a 10 year old quality instrument for more than you paid for it, not accounting for inflation. This same instrument, when played well, can actually make enough money to pay for itself as a tool.
None of these financial factors even account for the fun factor. Music is not only a job or ambition for many of us. It is a passion. The instruments we use are outlets for our own ideas. A painter will invest in many colored paints. A documentary writer will spend money and manhours on research. A philosophy major will spend possibly $100,000 on an undergraduate degree in a field which has little directly applied use except to expand one's mind.
Money is an unfortunate obstacle which must be overcome by many who wish to participate in activities which have potential high costs. Who knows what many of us could have accomplished had everything been free and we could have unlimited access to the body of knowledge this world has to offer?
Overcoming these limitations is part of the life adventure.
happy travels,
sean