Three Types of Musicians
I greatly dislike statements that begin, “There are two types of people…” However, I’m going to employ that overused “wisdom-starter” to begin my post tonight.
There are three types of students/musicians: those who care, those who don’t care, and those who are never satisfied. Of course the best type of musician to be is a musician who cares. Musicians who don’t care are everywhere. You can hear them destroying music and playing “good enough” all over the world. These musicians don’t last long in the business or inside of lessons. The musicians who care get the job done, they practice, they make sure to be on time, they make money (usually), and they last. What I want to talk about is the oddity of the musician who is never satisfied no matter what he does.
Never being satisfied can be described as a positive by some people, and I happen to be one of those people. Striving to be better is what makes a musician, a person, great. It is an asset to any personality to want to be the best you that you can be. However, when the striving goes beyond the normal and even when the music is perfect (yes, it can be perfect) that person is dissatisfied then that is counterproductive.
I teach students who cover a range of ages from five-years-old to retirement age. Once in a while I enroll a student who is never satisfied and shakes his/her head and moans and groans after performances that others would be shouting and blogging about. This type of student makes me nervous because I never know what he’s thinking! If the music is played well, with no mistakes, with everything intended performed then what’s the problem? I asked a student today what the problem was after one of these almost-perfect performances and he could not tell me. I would have loved to have heard the student expertly explain something he missed in the music that I did not hear, but that never happened. Often when students begin an instrument when they are already experienced playing another instrument the frustration of being a beginner again is too much to fathom. I think that was the case with the student I have in mind. Identifying the problem is the start to correcting it. GI Joe would agree. Knowing is half the battle.
To end this blog I leave you with these tidbits of thirty-eight-year-old wisdom. 1) If you played it correctly, played it perfectly, be happy and move on. 2) If you are always dissatisfied figure out why and fix it. 3) Picking up a new instrument always assumes a learning curve no matter who you are.
Disclaimer: these bits of wisdom in no way apply to myself within cello lessons, for I am usually completely dissatisfied with myself. HOWEVER, this forces me to practice more so I say, “Leave me alone in my muddy discontent.”
Great post, I can identify with this. I am a jazz guitarist and never feel satisfied with my playing. For me I could play a fantastic solo and whilst I would be happy with it, I would still be yearning for improvement as for me the need to reach long term goals overrides the satisfaction of achieving short term goals.