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A Guest Post by Belen Hernandez
What is art? Do we ever ask ourselves that question?
What is being an artist? Are classical musicians artists? We all know that in a broad sense, any person that expresses himself by artistic means is an artist. That is not a nominal issue—it’s a deeper one.
Again… What is art? How do you teach someone to become an artist? I don’t feel that as a classical musician I’ve been trained to be an artist. I’ve been trained to be a performer following my teacher’s standards.
That’s it.
It took me years to call myself a violinist because I felt that if I was not "good enough", I should not call myself a violinist. Not so long ago, I felt really uncomfortable saying that I was a musician.
Not because I felt unworthy in my playing, I felt that I was merely playing an instrument without saying anything. Without really understanding or feeling the music I was playing.
I was lucky to have some open minded teachers who didn’t put me inside a box. Many teachers believe that you need to develop the technique first and after you can play "well enough" (according to their particular judgment of what that implies), they give you some sort of freedom (very limited, by the way.)
What a nonsense! I refuse to be that kind of teacher, or to receive that kind of training. If we wait until we develop our technique to express our ideas, we will wait forever, and it will be too late. Technique and expression go hand in hand.
Technique is only a mean to express something.
How do we learn to speak? Certainly not just learning random words (as if they were musical sounds) or reciting books by memory (playing pieces)! We learn to speak because we NEED TO COMMUNICATE SOMETHING! I’m hungry! It hurts! I love you!, etc..
As classical musicians, we sometimes get stuck in the learning stage where we just repeat and repeat; no content, no meaning, no expression. I think that’s why many classical musicians hate what they do. They end up hating the instrument and sometimes even music altogether. Some musicians learn the instrument as an end on itself and not as a mean of expression.
You are supposed to learn the notes, and play what is on the page. That’s your job. Do it well, and you will be successful.
Ideally, it shouldn’t be that way.
But, let’s be honest… that’s exactly what happens. Those who can play what’s on the page are the ones who succeed. I’m not against being accurate—I practice in order to be accurate too. My problem is that musicians often focus only on the technical aspect.
I’ve played the violin 20 years out of my 27. I’ve been surrounded by classical musicians my whole life. I’ve seen how many of them feel ashamed because they can’t play "perfectly", "good enough", or "as good as such and such".
We often hear; "My teacher said… this and that" As if teachers’ say were the supreme truth.
In art there are no truths, or any right way to do something. We only have TRADITIONS.
Hopefully, we artists don’t believe blindly what people tell us. It is very important that we THINK CRITICALLY.
I see musicians from my generation (and younger) that don’t think about deeper topics anymore, such as our RESPONSIBILITY as interpreters. (Recommended Poetics of Music by Stravinsky).
I understand that life is not only about music (relationships, school, health, family, finances, etc.) but if we are not going to dig deeper why bother doing something like music? Pick something else that brings home more money.
I truly think that we need to rethink the situation and not just keep going on automatic pilot.
Why do you play your instrument? What do you have to say? What is your worldview? What do you think of…? How do you feel…? Tell me about…
WHO ARE YOU? Perhaps these questions will boost many other interesting questions. Take your time to ask, to learn, to communicate, to THINK, to FEEL, to dare, to be who you are without shame.
Belén
Belén Hernández holds a degree from the Universidad Nacional de Tucumán of Argentina in Violin Performance. A former violinist of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Salta (2007 to 2010), she is currently pursuing a BM in Music Theory at Carson-Newman University.
To submit a guest post send me an email: cesar@tipsforclassicalmusicians.com