Meet Noah Rosner

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Noah Rosner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Noah, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

Oddly enough, I’ve never felt like an imposter when it comes to performing and writing my own music. My music, at least whenever it’s good, comes from the most personal and genuine place I can generate. When you make something that comes from that place, and I think all art comes from that place, or at least strives to come from such a place, the art you’ve made, like language that describes something so specific and essential to you, takes up so much space in your head while you’re making it, and your soul while you’re performing it, that the idea of being an imposter in your art form loses space to exist next to this thing you’ve made. When I am an observer of someone else’s work, I try to remember that they also have created their own language to describe something personal and genuine to them, and I try to appreciate the work like an outsider-peering-in rather than in insider-peering-out. That is to say, I’d rather approach them work like a linguist discovering a new language, appreciating how it comes together and operates on its own terms, rather than like an expert applying their expertise on something else.
I don’t think I always felt this way about my art and art in general. It took time both looking within myself and appreciating a lot of different pieces of art, both musical and not, to find that personal and genuine place to make art from, and before that I think I struggled with imposter syndrome heavily within my own music. Within the larger realm of “professional musicianship”, I struggle with imposter syndrome constantly, or at least whenever I’m learning something new, doing something outside my comfort zone, or doing something for the first time. And I try to remember those three things whenever I’m feeling like an imposter and usually it is in one of those situations, and I think that’s because imposter syndrome is a necessary set of feelings involved in growth. It’s normal to feel like you’re faking it the first time you’re making it, but also, the only way to learn so many things is by doing so this makes imposter syndrome something you’re constantly dealing with as a musician; it is essential to push your comfort zones in order to be able to apply your skills in real world settings. So I try to remember these two things whenever I feel like an imposter: that all art comes from an extremely personal and genuine place and that it’s a normal part of developing musicianship and that usually gets the feelings of being an imposter to pass, would love to know if it works for you

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

Hi! My Name is Noah Rosner, and I am a Singer/Songwriter and Jazz Vocalist based out of New York City. I blend my passions for jazz, improvisation, and contemporary pop music, drawing inspiration from artists such as Wayne Shorter, Bobby Mcferrin, John Mayer, and Mac DeMarco. I have two live records that have come out in the past two years, “24, Highside ’23” – a compilation of all original music – and “Recitation” which is a collection of interpretations of Jazz standards. If that sounds interesting to you, feel free to listen on whatever service you use to listen to music! apart from my own original music that I perform live in New York, I am also the Bass Player of two groups that frequently play in NYC, which are Piper Page and Brea Fournier and the Dream Ballet.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Resilience, openness to others, and as much discipline as you can muster are the three skills that I think if you can take on early on, will set you up for success later on in your career. Resilience is important because there will inevitably be doors that you try for early on that will be locked or closed to you and you must continue with the process of trying doors constantly as a working musician despite some of the feedback you may get, which is part of where openness to others becomes so equally important. You need resilience but you also need to be willing to accept criticism in all forms and adapt with some of it in mind. I also think that true openness to others makes you a better collaborator and musician. If you take the time to really accept and learn what another artist is doing, you are better equipped to accompany them, but if you are stuck in your own head about how things should sound, you will likely miss the mark. The last skill I think is important is that in order to be a successful musician, you really must create as much discipline for yourself as you can muster. you really need to full-send on the practice as much as you can realistically. I’m no savant-genius who practices 8+ hours a day but I’d be lying if I told anyone I accomplished what I do on talent rather than careful hard work on my craft.

We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?

I think both perspectives, going all in on strengths and trying to be more well rounded, offer advantages and can be used like tools to improve your musical career depending on how you apply them. I find that going “all in” on your strengths is most useful when describing yourself or presenting yourself to other people, whether that is through live performance or social media. When you cater to your strengths when building a persona, your persona seems more genuine and you show off what you specialize in, making you easier to hire for work since it has been made clear what you excel at. I think catering to your strengths is important to show externally but its equally important to not internalize your strengths to the point where you do not acknowledge your weaknesses. In fact, if there’s anything you should internalize and be cognizant of, it should be your weaknesses rather than your strengths. Firstly, because knowledge of your weaknesses is how you inform your practice as a musician, and secondly in a professional setting knowledge of your weaknesses advises you on what to take on and what to look for assistance with. So I think relying on your strengths is a great way to carry yourself in the world, but as far as your internal world of musicianship goes, its important to invest effort on improving weaknesses and focusing on being a well rounded musician.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://noahrosner.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noahrosnermusic/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@noahrosnermusic