A Revelation
I always used to believe that when it came to violin performance, there were only absolutes: obviously the basics, like good intonation, clean tone and precise rhythm--but also the smaller stuff, like how to put the bow away in the case, how taut the bow should be when tightening right before playing, etc.
It didn't dawn on me until recently, that many of the things that I was either taught or just told by various teachers, teaching assistants and many violin peers (including my own husband) were possibly just personal opinion and not necessarily solid fact or the only correct way to do things.
It seems to me that musicians are very picky--and we need to be, of course--and that once we find something we really like or that we think works for us, we stick to it and don't budge from it for a very long time. When I look at other every day situations in the world, though, I realize that I don't apply mindlessness in assessing one's opinion of, say, what good food is, or if something looks beautiful to me or not. It goes without saying that those kinds of things have a vast and wide array of tastes and opinions depending on who it's coming from. So, why have I been so accepting of the things I've been told when it comes to playing the violin?
Thinking about this has been a great reminder that we're never done learning or experiencing. I know--it sounds like a basic concept, but for the musician, time isn't infinite and we are all made aware from the start (if we're seriously considering going professional) that we have a limited amount of time to become amazing and to establish ourselves in our careers. While I think it's stupid and a little unfair, this is probably one of the reasons why so many international violin competitions have an age limit, and it's usually around the age of 28-30. If you look at the professional orchestral musician, it's likely that they snagged their first professional gig at a fairly young age--it's probably more rare to see someone get into a good orchestra at an older age, like 45-50 yrs. Of course, it's not impossible, but not likely.
But my point is that just because others have placed clear boundaries and markers for when we need to succeed doesn't mean that the quest for excellence should cease or lose its appeal.
Several years ago, I was on a Jascha Heifetz "kick" and probably learned way too many facts about the man; a quote of his in one of the biographies I read stuck out to me and I was deflated as soon as I read it. Heifetz allegedly claimed that "no one over the age of 25 can ever absorb anything new or hope to improve beyond what their current skill level is at that age". At the time I read that, I was 24 and thought to myself with both relief and panic at the same time: "I've got time...yesssss!! Oh crap, only a year left before I 'stop improving'!"
Of course, that's silly. Heifetz was--and is--the god of the violin to many...but he was still just a man. A man with opinions of his own. Just like so many other people out there, musicians or not.
I believe there are definitely absolutes in life--but man, am I glad to realize that NOT everything is.
It didn't dawn on me until recently, that many of the things that I was either taught or just told by various teachers, teaching assistants and many violin peers (including my own husband) were possibly just personal opinion and not necessarily solid fact or the only correct way to do things.
It seems to me that musicians are very picky--and we need to be, of course--and that once we find something we really like or that we think works for us, we stick to it and don't budge from it for a very long time. When I look at other every day situations in the world, though, I realize that I don't apply mindlessness in assessing one's opinion of, say, what good food is, or if something looks beautiful to me or not. It goes without saying that those kinds of things have a vast and wide array of tastes and opinions depending on who it's coming from. So, why have I been so accepting of the things I've been told when it comes to playing the violin?
Thinking about this has been a great reminder that we're never done learning or experiencing. I know--it sounds like a basic concept, but for the musician, time isn't infinite and we are all made aware from the start (if we're seriously considering going professional) that we have a limited amount of time to become amazing and to establish ourselves in our careers. While I think it's stupid and a little unfair, this is probably one of the reasons why so many international violin competitions have an age limit, and it's usually around the age of 28-30. If you look at the professional orchestral musician, it's likely that they snagged their first professional gig at a fairly young age--it's probably more rare to see someone get into a good orchestra at an older age, like 45-50 yrs. Of course, it's not impossible, but not likely.
But my point is that just because others have placed clear boundaries and markers for when we need to succeed doesn't mean that the quest for excellence should cease or lose its appeal.
Several years ago, I was on a Jascha Heifetz "kick" and probably learned way too many facts about the man; a quote of his in one of the biographies I read stuck out to me and I was deflated as soon as I read it. Heifetz allegedly claimed that "no one over the age of 25 can ever absorb anything new or hope to improve beyond what their current skill level is at that age". At the time I read that, I was 24 and thought to myself with both relief and panic at the same time: "I've got time...yesssss!! Oh crap, only a year left before I 'stop improving'!"
Of course, that's silly. Heifetz was--and is--the god of the violin to many...but he was still just a man. A man with opinions of his own. Just like so many other people out there, musicians or not.
I believe there are definitely absolutes in life--but man, am I glad to realize that NOT everything is.
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