Musicianship
As I sit through the student recital that concludes the semester of private music lessons at Beloit College, I entertain thoughts of how horrible each string soloist's performance is. Not horrible, but mediocre at best. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to play a violin, viola, or cello well, but I know that it is possible as I've heard professional recordings of both solo and ensemble string performances, and I know that it is possible to play a string instrument well.
The two main ingredients of musicianship, I feel, are as follows: technical ability, which is the range, speed, and accuracy at which you are able to play, and tone, which is the sound your instrument makes when you play it, and whether or not it is in tune or not, or if it sounds good or not.
The student performers that performed on Monday night did not have the greatest musicianship. Though occasional performers were able to achieve one part of the equation, it seemed like nobody was able to pull of the whole picture. It is a rare occasion that a person is able to incorporate every part of musicianship well, which brings me to my next point.
At the point in which somebody does become a full-fledged musician, that person will tend to get cocky or chauvinistic or pretentious about his or her talent. Becoming a musician usually involves giving up some human characteristics that make one a decent person. One of these is humility. If a person were to be both humble and a talented musician, that person would undoubtedly have to give up some amount of musicianship to retain said humility.
It is no wonder why a person of such extreme talent would get to be cocky and pretentious. They would be critical of everyone else's abilities and hold their head up high above everyone else's. But just because they are talented doesn't give them the right to be assholes.
Thus I must make a request. I, being a musician by trade, have a long way to go before I would ever be able to make a living professionally as a musician, and I do not think I would ever achieve the talent or ability necessary to do that. But if I ever did, I would rather give it up than be obnoxious and rude to people. So if ever that happens, I would rely on my public to keep me in check and remind me if I ever lose my dignity and humility.
The two main ingredients of musicianship, I feel, are as follows: technical ability, which is the range, speed, and accuracy at which you are able to play, and tone, which is the sound your instrument makes when you play it, and whether or not it is in tune or not, or if it sounds good or not.
The student performers that performed on Monday night did not have the greatest musicianship. Though occasional performers were able to achieve one part of the equation, it seemed like nobody was able to pull of the whole picture. It is a rare occasion that a person is able to incorporate every part of musicianship well, which brings me to my next point.
At the point in which somebody does become a full-fledged musician, that person will tend to get cocky or chauvinistic or pretentious about his or her talent. Becoming a musician usually involves giving up some human characteristics that make one a decent person. One of these is humility. If a person were to be both humble and a talented musician, that person would undoubtedly have to give up some amount of musicianship to retain said humility.
It is no wonder why a person of such extreme talent would get to be cocky and pretentious. They would be critical of everyone else's abilities and hold their head up high above everyone else's. But just because they are talented doesn't give them the right to be assholes.
Thus I must make a request. I, being a musician by trade, have a long way to go before I would ever be able to make a living professionally as a musician, and I do not think I would ever achieve the talent or ability necessary to do that. But if I ever did, I would rather give it up than be obnoxious and rude to people. So if ever that happens, I would rely on my public to keep me in check and remind me if I ever lose my dignity and humility.
posted by Leland J. Fischer at 2:33 AM
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