Independent Musicianship and Dilettantism

From www.dictionary.com:

dil·et·tante
-noun

1. a person who takes up an art, activity, or subject merely for amusement, esp. in a desultory or superficial way; dabbler.

The part-time Independent Musician’s true character? Further investigation reveals:

des·ul·to·ry
-adjective

1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful.

I would have to face the fact that, taking all of my efforts through the years into a account, my musical life has lacked a certain “constancy” and could justifiably be described as “fitful”.

Well, If I give up the day job (and all that it provides for) and oblige my “dependants” to embrace the consequences and devote all my time and effort to the furtherance of my music, do I immediately become a professional musician dedicated to his art – or a selfish and delusional tyrant? Or do I just accept that I’m having one helluva musical “dabble”? Luckily, it’s not for me to assess whether my fitful output is superficial, too.

On reflection, why should I care? I only have to walk into a bar where there is some jazz playing to see musicians who could play the pants off of me and, furthermore, couldn’t care less it’s not a full-time gig – and of whom most would utterly reject a proposal to go “pro”. Dilettantes? Hmm…