Let me start by defining the word amateur. It commonly understood as someone who does something for free, instead of professionally. While this connotation is true, that’s not what amateur means.

Amateur comes from the Latin word "Amator", which literally means "lover of". While the word today might have the connotation of worse quality, it really is means less formalized. In that, I mean an amateur will be free to explore creative ways of doing things, especially in music recording. This is important, because experimentation is what develops recording methods and songwriting.

So we understand an amateur as someone who does something for free, because an amateur does whatever he does because he enjoys doing it. This is important because of the effect of different motivators and how they affect performance. While extrinsic motivators (rewards that originate from a source other then yourself) such as money are proven to be easier to implement and work better in the business world, intrinsic motivators (rewards that come from within yourself) such as personal satisfaction are known to lead to an overall better result. This makes sense because one who is motivated by his own desire to satisfy himself will have to work hard and strive for the best performance to receive the reward (personal satisfaction). In the professional work world, salary is a motivator, and you get that whether you put your very best effort in or just a mediocre, average effort.

Einstein was an amateur mathematician.

Anyways, my point is that I am an amateur musician, and even though I don’t make money writing and recording music, I do get rewards in the form of personal satisfaction (and feedback from friends is always nice :)

back to the guide

free hit counter