2020-09-28
Why learn an instrument?
It's hard to follow the news these days. It seems each day we learn of some development that turns our world upside down and creates new hardships either for us or for someone we know. Playing a musical instrument may seem frivolous, when people all over the world are struggling to preserve health, work, education.
Have you noticed, though, that more than once, since last March, when the pandemic reached the United States, a media pundit has commented on how art, all the arts, have taken on a new meaning? When we are isolated and frightened, looking for something familiar and comforting in dark days, what do people do? Well, it appears that they sing and play music. They must find safe, distanced ways to do so; but sometimes when the world is going to hell in a handbasket, belting out your favorite ballad or lick may be among the few remaining enjoyable activities you have. I will never forget the images of Italians hanging out of balconies and singing and playing to each other in lockdown. I do not recall images of people leaning out of balconies and watching each other play video games or watching each other watch Netflix.
Therein lies the single best reason to acquire skills on your chosen instrument. You will have a means of expression when you desperately need to vent. I have taught more than one student over the decades for whom I could see this was going to be a significant safety valve in their lives. Through patience and perserverance, they got to the place where they could speak through their music. Cheaper than psychiatry, less phsyically dangerous than lashing out, usually just a few feet away to the instrument in the corner, playing your heart out can save you.
In less fraught times, learning to play often yields subtle benefits that I have seen in students. I like to describe the performance of a keyboard piece in public as solving a scripted problem set in real time. One needs coordination, focus, poise, preparation to pull it off... just as one does for a corporate presentation, a political speech, a dramatic performance. Throw in a touch of improvisation for the unexpected and you have a pretty good description of what we live through in society day in, day out.
Music is also a social construct. Almost no musicians play only for themselves, avoiding contact with other musicians. We play in ensembles, in bands, in orchestra, in pick up groups... and all along the way we make friends (and enemies, too, I suppose) and learn how to cooperate to present a unified result. If there were ever a time when the human race is aware of how social a creature homo sapiens is, it is now! I can assure you that there is plenty of genuine suffering right now among musicians who cannot gather to share their art; we are all looking forward to the day we can play together with intense longing.
So if you play an instrument now, keep playing. The day will come when we will all be able to gather safely again. Keep learning... expand your skills with a teacher or tutorials so that you are always challenged. If you do not play, consider the possibility. You might find a life-enriching means of expression that you did not know existed. If you started when you were young, and life got in the way and you think you cannot resume, I disagree. There is no better time in your life to explore music than when time begins to open up for you again after periods of overwhelming work and family obligations.
If you have more questions or comments about this topic, don't hesitate to contact me and we can chat.
K
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