Something that came up recently during our weekly studio meeting (aka Sunday afternoon teatime after walking the dog), was the difference between working with students who are “serious” and “not serious,” what that really means, and how to encourage talented students to consider becoming “serious.” It’s true that we’re always going to be teaching quite a number of students who are in it “just for fun” and there’s nothing wrong with that. But what is especially rewarding for us and where we can best enjoy the fruits of our labors, is working with students who have a serious goal in mind, whether that goal is to make a career in the arts or even just to have a stronger audition for next year’s school musical.
As we were talking, I was thinking about my own experiences as a performer and what made being “serious” worthwhile. The truth is, there is some pretty spectacular pleasure that can really only be experienced when your instrument and performance have reached professional (or at least near-professional) level. There is something about singing–when everything is working just as it should and something incredibly difficult has become, in many ways, effortless–that feels better than anything else in the world. It is an unparalleled rush. The sensation of it, the sound of it–there is honestly nothing like it. When we were discussing this together, I likened it to a “high,” but really, it is much, much better, because along with the euphoria is the sure knowledge that this is something produced entirely by oneself through years of study and hard work.
I am an essentially impatient person. I enjoy hard work, but really only when it leads to immediately satisfying results–a fault responsible for my ultimate lack of success with the oboe, cello, piano, and guitar–four instruments I studied without consistent dedication or focus at one point or another. I loved the idea of playing these instruments and I enjoyed playing them when things were going well, but I didn’t have the patience to work through what was difficult in order to make any significant progress. I must admit this applied to my vocal studies during my early years as well, the only difference being that I had more natural talent in that area so it was possible to make progress with very little work. It wasn’t until college when I was hit with the reality of the talent around me that I was forced into evaluating how much work I was truly willing to do, and it was the inspiration found in watching and listening to some of the upperclassmen that finally pushed me to the point where I was able to experience the pure joy of musical performance for myself.
This is something I was reminded of just recently, watching an episode of the anime series Nodame Cantabile, in which one of the main characters, Chiaki, is making his “serious” debut as a pianist, playing Rachmaninoff’s second piano concerto under the direction of a visiting German conductor whose genius he admires. His performance is so beautiful, it inspires the other main character, Nodame (who has never been serious about her studies despite her obvious talent) to run straight to a practice room to play the piece herself. Now, those who know me well will know that 20th century Russian composers are my weakness (during my college years, I “found” Prokofiev the way other people find Jesus) but honestly, the performance really is absolutely gorgeous and it made me want to run to a practice room just like Nodame, despite having no skill at all as a pianist.
It is these moments that we as teachers must try to facilitate for students, and it’s difficult to know just how to do this. One thing we’ve discussed is trying to bring in artists from the field as often as possible to work with and inspire our students. Another is to show them DVD or video performances that might be inspiring, though I think it is extremely difficult to convey that pure joy and beauty without the energy of live performance. So here is where I open the floor for suggestions or perhaps stories of your own “ah ha!” moments. What inspired you to take that step towards true seriousness, and how would you convey that to others?