A Lan g u a g e That Ne e d s No Tran sl a t i o n

by Denis Brott 10. 96

If toda y had not be e n tom orrow yest e r d a y, I would not be her e. If tom orrow is not a challe n g e for me tod a y, will I still exist? hould I resist sim !ly bec a u s e I ha" e se e n that the goal is nec e s s a r y? I shall act.

Being a succ e s sful stud e n t of life me a n s you und er s t a n d and acce ! t that arri"al is the !lat e a u from which to "iew the next sum mit. In

music, des !it e this und e r s t a n di n g , ther e is a dis! ar a gin g #uir$ to this see mi n gly ration al and acce ! t e d !re mis e. %he natur e of the solitud e re#uir e d for instru m e n t a l and !ractic e !res e n t s a cons e # u e n ti al can often

!sycholo gic al

!hysiological aw ar e n e s s

which one

o"erloo$ and, ther efor e , can !ro"e to be a serious im!e di m e n t at any sta g e of one& s de" elo ! m e n t .

PRACTICING IS SOLITARY CONFINEMENT 'racticing really is solitary confine m e n t . (ery few !rofes sio n als who

use their body to achie" e !erfection are re#uire d to train almos t com!le t el y alon e as we musician s mus t. from the fact that !ractic e, the !roc e s s %here is no gettin g aw ay of !ers o n al training for

musicia n s , is an ex! e c t e d isolation acce ! t e d as being a !rer e # ui sit e

for

de" elo ! m e n t

from

our

"ery

earlies t

encou n t e r s

with

an

instru m e n t .

)eflect

for a mo m e n t

u!on

the

com! o n e n t s

which

crea t e

this

situa tion.

%he one hour of inten s e instruction which is the wee$ly

lesso n ultima t el y sen d s the stud e n t to his or her roo m, left to their own de"ice s , to a!!ly the instruc tion s and re* enac t the sens a tio n s and feelings they were show n during thos e relati"ely brief 60

minut e s . +or ma n y com mit t e d stud e n t s the ma t h e m a t i c s of daily !ractic e, say four hours !er day, e#u a t e to ,- hours alon e for each one hour with the teac h e r * a dis!ar a gi n g e#u a tio n in any !urs uit let alon e one which de m a n d s such heigh t e n e d self* awar e n e s s .

+or !rofes sion als long er re#uire the

li$e mys elf, su!! o s e dl y one* hour

mat ur e

enou g h and

to no a

wee$ly ass e s s m e n t

analysis

teac h e r !ro"ide s , it is ass u m e d we ha" e the nec e s s a r y !ow er s of outsid e obs er" a tio n to be both teac h e r and stud e n t , an alys t and !atie n t. In my o!inion, this !res e n t s a "irtually im!os sible duality of

roles and is, ther efor e, a seriously flawe d ass u m ! ti o n .

I am with other !eo !l e. I .oin, I belon g, I forge lin$s, I reco gni/ e nec e s si ti e s. I li$e being with !eo!l e, sharing my !lac e with other s. But how far can cons e n s u s be ta$e n? 0ho am I * am o n g other s?

I am.

)elat e

the

solitary

natur e

of

!racticing

to

other

adult

life

ex! erie n c e s .

0e acce ! t the ne e d to see$ ad"ice from an an alys t for 0e acce ! t the ne e d

our emo tio n al, inter a c ti" e or marit al !roble m s .

to see$ out ad"ice from !ar e n t s or ex! erie n c e d elder s when we feel ill e#ui! ! e d to de al with !roble m s in life. 1et how ma n y ma t u r e

musicia n s , thos e out of school and on their own, see$ guida n c e e"e n in the face of instru m e n t a l or !rofes sion al ad" er sity? few. %he #ue s tion is, why not? %he answ e r is

OBSERVATION MEANS PRO !CTIVITY Ideally, when we learn to thin$ for ours el" e s and de" elo ! the ability to conce ! t u ali/ e, we should beco m e awar e of the enor m o u s

im!ort a n c e !roce s s .

the art of obs er" a tio n

!lays

in a continu al learnin g

2e"ert h el e s s , we instru m e n t a lis t s rarely do reali/e early

enou g h that it is inher e n t in our !rofes sion al function that we be both the coach and the coach e d . ucces s or failure at att ainin g this

und er s t a n d i n g early in the study !roce s s , ultima t ely det er mi n e s the efficacy of our use of time. %his und e r s t a n di n g can seriously affect

whet h e r or not we reali/e our long* ter m goals.

'roble m* sol"ing, trouble* shootin g, stre a m* lining ha" e all beco m e the turn$ e y words in the an alysis of !rod uc ti"ity in busin e s s . 3ll sectors

of the incre a sin gly com! e titi" e and com!le x world in which we li"e are loo$ing inward, ass e s sin g resourc e s and the efficiency of wor$ habits in order to beco m e mor e cost effecti" e. 4 0heth e r in busin e s s

or !ri"at e life we are all facing the sa m e !redica m e n t 5 how to we do " or e , ha # e " or e and " a$ e " or e with less. O %E SPEA& T'E SAME LANG!AGE( %he combin a tio n doors of sens a tio n as and und er s t a n d i n g of disco" e r y which o!en s is the "ery

of im!ro" e m e n t

a !roc e s s

bac$b o n e of growth and de" elo ! m e n t for stud e n t and !rofes sion al ali$e. 3cti"e self* awar e n e s s and consist e n t re"iew of the !roc e s s %hin$ing this way me a n s ther e

of learning ens ur e s !rod uc ti"ity. really is no !oint of arri"al. de! a r t u r e .

Inste a d , ther e are ma n y !oints of

3s a !erfor m e r and teac h e r of the cello it is clear to me !oint * when music transfor m s itself into

that the ger min a ti n g

feeling * can be directly lin$ed to the attitu d e and a!!ro a c h the !erfor m e r has when he !ractice s his craft.

%he attitu d e and a!!ro a c h I am referring to form the conc e ! t of how the !erfor m e r wants the listen e r to reac t. %his forces the

!erfor m e r to focus on the imag e, thoug h t or feeling he wants to !ortr a y. 6nly then can the soun d s !roduc e d met a m o r ! h o s e into langu a g e and

com m u nic a tio n and that is when music beco m e s s!e a $ s to us. hu m a n being. It re#uire s no transla tio n.

It is acce s sible to e"ery

3ll hum a n

beings shar e the imagin a ti" e !roce s s that transla t e s

sound into feeling and feeling into emo tion. 7motion is !erh a ! s the mos t !ow erful of hu m a n ex!r e s sio n s . It is a det e r mi nin g factor in

our li"es and has the !ote n ti al to bring !rofoun d and long* lasting me a nin g to life.
0hen music m a$ e s imag e s in my mind, and whe n !ictur e s se e m li$e long* forgot t e n music. 0hen the im!r e s si o n blend s with the an al ysi s and yet is correct. 0hen hard fact s beco m e m er e frag m e n t s of a ga m e that I !lay, endl e s sl y. %hen I am ali"e.

S!PERSTARS IN S'ORT PANTS %oday, mor e youn g !eo!le are !laying bett e r, at an earlier age, tha n e"er before. 1996 ;get 3 rece n t 0all dat e< = focus e d e"e n tre e t 9ournal front !ag e article :3ugus t on how world artist talent ma n a g e m e n t into is

!arlaying succe s s .

adole s c e n t , %he article

!ub e s c e n t , the

com m e r ci al of this

rightly begg e d

a!!ro !ria t e n e s s

incre a sin gly com m o n !ractic e relati"e to the long* ter m #uality of life issue s of thos e chos e n few select e d for inclusion in this exclusi" e grou!. Does anyb o d y out ther e care abou t what $ind of hum a n beings thes e $ids will end u! being after ha"ing be e n merc h a n di s e d in this way so early in life? %he exa m !l e of >eo!old ?o/art& s

com m e r ci ali/ing his fi"e* year* old son 0olfgan g & s genius, exe m !lifies the !er" er s e effect this can ha" e on ha!!in e s s and fulfillme n t later in life.

%raditions of disci!line, !articularly from 3sian cultur e s , ha" e see n a "irtu al wa"e of !erfection* dri"en !erfor m e r s desc e n d u!on 0est er n music schools and !erfor m a n c e s!ac e s . 3s a res ult, from the !oint

of "iew of note !erfec tion in !erfor m a n c e , instru m e n t a l music has ne" er bee n mor e !recis e. urely muc h of this is dri"en by the

!riorities, e"e n !rer e # uisit e s , the world of tech n olo g y and digital !recision has im!os e d u!on us.

IMPACT OF TEC'NOLOGY 2ot to critici/e the mar" els of mod e r n tech n olo g y, of which I am a fer"e n t de"ot e e A I write this article on my la!to! abo ar d a train

betw e e n ?unich and Bern. I !ut it throu g h a s!ell chec$, set it u! in what e " e r style, form a t or ty! e I wish and, u!on arri"al, will !rint it out on my laser !rinter at eight !ag e s !er minut e . 6ut it will com e

loo$ing !erfect. 7xce!t to the mos t discer nin g eye, it will be difficult to $now whet h e r the !rint e d !ag e was !rofes sion ally ty! e s e t !ublish e d at hom e . Bowe" e r, her e is the im!ort a n t #ues tio n. or

Does

any of this high* tech e#ui! m e n t ass ur e the #uality of the cont e n t or the "alue of my mes s a g e ?

IS PERFECTION A GOAL IN ITSELF( >et us relat e tech n olo g y and !erfec tion to !racticing. stud e n t s s!e n d countle s s hours att e m ! ti n g to Instru m e n t a l the

re!rod u c e

!recision accur a c y

laser tech n olo g y

has grac e d

us with "ia CD.

3mong too ma n y, !erfection a!! e a r s to beco m e the goal rath e r tha n the me a n s with which to Ds!e a $D the langu a g e of music. +or

exa m !l e , 6

I would be mos t distr a u g h t if, in rea din g this article, you,

the

read e r,

focus e d

on

the

words

and

consid e r e d

the m

mor e

im!ort a n t tha n the thou g h t and mes s a g e behin d the mA

ELIMINATE 3 rece n t !ers o n al ex! e ri e n c e exe m !lifies this dile m m a . me m b e r of the 1996 Intern a tio n al ?usi$wett b e w e r b 3s a .ury der 3)D in

?unich this !as t

e!t e m b e r , I was u!s e t by the elimina tio n of what I %hes e four 9a!an e s e I

had at first thou g h t was a talen t e d #uart e t .

girls !laye d with ra/or* shar ! inton a tio n and im!ecc a bl e ens e m bl e .

was aw ar e that much was lac$ing music ally and stylistically ;they had !laye d the gre a t und er s t a n d i n g chub e r t E ?a.or Fuart e t with little a!! a r e n t style<. Bowe" e r, I rea s o n e d that,

of (ienne s e

bec a u s e of their yout h and the short time they had bee n toge t h e r ;two year s<, would beco m e Dawar eD and soon meld and ultima t el y em e r g e into a mos t worthy grou!. encour a g e m e n t . I thou g h t that they warra n t e d

3llowing the m to go on to the next roun d would ?y "ote did not they were

signal a belief in their futur e, a faith in their talen t. carry the m throu g h and so, to my initial

regr e t,

elimin a t e d .

?y curiosity abou t how they wor$ed, what their !ot e n ti al was and why they !laye d the way they did, ma d e me see$ the m out. tal$ed abou t 0e

chub e r t and I as$ e d if any of the m had e"er listen e d to chw ar t/$o !f

gre a t sing ers li$e Dietrich +ischer* Dies$a u or 7li/ab e t h

sing lieder. %o my sur!ris e and shoc$ not only had they not listen e d to lieder, they barely $new what lieder wasA

O!T OF CONTE)T I tried to bring this situa tio n into my own cont e x t. 0ould I stud y

9a!an e s e so as to be able to identify each and e"ery one of the thous a n d s of char a c t e r s without see$in g und e r s t a n di n g abou t the langu a g e s historical etym olo g y? 0ould I not want to $now abou t the tradition langu a g e ? behind the use of this ancie n t and highly* ci"ili/ed

Clearly, this #uart e t e!ito mi/ e d a cultur al ga! glaringly

before my "ery eye s A

ISOLATE 3ll of this

COMM!NICATION has broug h t me to the following reali/ation. %he

com m u nic a tio n tech n olog y dri"ing the em e r gin g glob al "illag e is !uttin g us all in !eril of turning our hith ert o fore inter! e r s o n a l* de! e n d e n c e * our com m u nic a ti" e e"olution a r y !roce s s * into a

fright e nin g oxymor o n * isolat e d com m u nic a tio n .

eat e d behind our

ter min als, !e ering inten tly into our monitors , !oun din g me s s a g e s u!on $eybo a r d s , alar min g nu mb e r s of us are com m u nic a tin g in

solitud e throu g h the me diu m of a 0orld 0ide 0eb, fax or Intern e t . 3ll are de"oid of a mos t im!ort a n t !hysic al criteria which !re"iou sly, !laye d a fund a m e n t a l and com!r e h e n s i" e role in go"er nin g our

!roce s s of cogniti"e thou g h t 5 our sens e s .

Incre a sin gly, we are being

robb e d of our "ital sens e s throu g h digital com m u nic a tio n5 no tas t e , no smell, no s!atial !ers ! e c ti" e , no facial ex!r e s sio n s , no !hysical reaction s and, im!ort a n tly for we musicia n s , no oral stimuli. If music is abou t com m u nic a ti n g, how is it musician s can achie" e succ e s s !racticing in solitud e ?

SIM!LATE FOR S!CCESS 0e all learn by s!en din g at leas t !art of our stud y time in solitud e * usu ally for the !ur!o s e of a!!lying learn e d s$ills to com m u nic a t e in som e way. att e m ! t %his !res e n t s a distinct irony for the musician. %he

to com m u nic a t e

with the listen e r is !re! a r e d for almos t

solely by recre a ti n g a sens a tio n of com m u nic a tio n while in solitud e of the !ractice room. 0e musician s mus t ha" e a "ery clear

und er s t a n d i n g that what we are !racticing for alon e in our !ractic e roo ms , will be !ut to use in an inter a c ti" e !ublic foru m. %hos e who

succe e d de" elo ! a refine d sens e of imag e r y * !ro.ectin g conditions which are ultima t ely reali/ed only on the conc er t sta g e . simulat e for succ e s s . %hey mus t

ARE LIVE CONCERTS

OOME ( at concer t s is down and falling.

tatistics tell us that att e n d a n c e Eo"ern m e n t s

are cutting funding to the arts in !ractic ally all its

forms. %he burd e n of res!o n sibility is falling e"er mor e he a"ily u!on cor!or a tio n s , found a tio n s and the !ri"at e indi"idu al. ?any

cor!or a tio n s stay away from s!on s or s hi! bec a u s e they reas o n that the relati" ely small Dbang for the buc$D su!!or t of cultur al e"e n t s offers, ma$ e s little financial sens e and, ther efor e , !reclud e s their in"ol"e m e n t . %hey as$, is it financially "iable to in"es t in the arts

relati" e to the num b e r of !eo!le the associa t e d !ublicity reac h e s ? Fualitati" e conc er n s see m not to be a moti" a tin g consid e r a tio n. In som e cas e s it is e"e n irrele" a n t . ?any s!ons or s .ust want to $now

whet h e r the botto m line e#u a t e s * how ma n y of thos e att e n di n g a conc er t will be affect e d by their s!ons or s hi! and end u! buying their 9

!roduc t.

%his is a "ery hard !osition to argu e .

%hos e who may be

unaw a r e or ha" e beco m e des e n siti/e d, ma y not reali/e the nec e s sity for cor!or a tio n s to ha" e a !rofile as #uality* of* life lead e r s . %hey fail

to gras ! the "alue the classical conc er t ex! erie n c e ma y ha" e for the m and their custo m e r . %he classical music lo"er and conc er t goer +inding the

ten d s to be a cert ain ty!e * a discrimin a tin g indi"idu al.

right marria g e of cor!or a t e s!ons or who has an enlight e n e d self* inter e s t in the concer t cons u m e r is the challen g e for the conc er t !res e n t o r of the 1990& s. ha" e come to und e r s t a n d %han$fully, ther e are still s!ons or s who the "alue of their nurturing the arts.

Imagin e what our li"es would be li$e withou t the m * the few that care. %he big #ues tio n is how does all this bod e for the futur e?

IS M!SIC ON ITS %AY TO T'E M!SE!M( Bistorically, the arts ha" e always be e n de! e n d e n t u!on Dhel!D. In

the 16th centur y it was the church who was the !rinci!le s!ons or behind music. During the ren ais s a n c e it was wealth y indi"idu als

ex!r e s sin g their indi"idu ality throu g h su!! ort of artists and the arts, see$in g the resulting recog nition it brou g h t the m. ,0th centur y go"er n m e n t ass u m e d In the 19th and as a ci"ic

s!ons or s hi!

res!o n sibility, incor!or a ti n g artistic !olicy within !olitical stra t e g y. 2ow, as we near the end of the ,0th cent ur y, financial cons tr ain t s , budg e t crunching and !olitical !res s u r e ha" e cons !ir e d to no long er allow go"er n m e n t to be the socialH cultur al !ro"id er it has bee n.

IS CLASSICAL M!SIC STILL RELEVANT(

10

%hos e

who !ro!h e s y

doo m

tal$ of the

im!e n di n g

releg a tio n

to

mus e u m stat u s of a classical musicia n& s raison d&Itr e5 li"e music in conc er t. Elenn Eould was the first to her ald its im!e n din g de mis e .

0hy would one want to go out, bra" e "ehicular ass a ult and night* time !ers o n al end a n g e r m e n t to sit in a large im!ers o n al s!ac e

;conc er t hall< with hundr e d s of other s to listen to less tha n !erfect !erfor m a n c e s ;by digitally !erfec t CD sta n d a r d s <? mor e easily luxuriat e in digital ecst a s y, sea t e d 6ne can so much in a comfort a bl e

chais e loung e , enc a s e d in foa m cu!! e d he a d ! h o n e s , dres s e d in a .ogging suit isolat e d from the world within the intima c y of one& s own hom e A

Is ther e som e t hin g missing her e?

Can this be the future for classical

music * the listen e r in solitary confine m e n t ?

REAC'ING O!T AN

TO TO!C' SOMEBO Y

3s the glea n and sed uc tion of the electro nic toys we use wears, it is my ho! e that we will all long for the basic hum a n touch e d * touch e d in e"ery sens e of the word. nee d to be

3nyon e who has had

the ex! erie n c e , $nows the tot ality an emo ti" e !hysic al com m u ni o n with music can eng e n d e r . who recre a t e a union It is e"er mor e im!ort a n t for !erfor m e r s the !rinte d not e, to $now how to

with

conc e ! t u ali/ e, instru m e n t a lly and musically and then $now how to com m u nic a t e som e b o d y. what we conc e ! t u a li/e. %o reac h out and touch

>i"e classical music mus t be an otherwis e unob t ai n a bl e ?usicians mus t be

ex! erie n c e for the listen e r if it is to sur"i"e.

!ur"e yor s of !ur!os e whos e indi"idu ality and com mit m e n t beco m e 11

the reas o n for going to a concer t * !ers o n ality being the ma gic ingre die n t. 3s we use the cumula ti" e com m u nic a ti" e s$ills life ex! e ri e n c e

;rea din g, writing, listening, obs er"in g, feeling etc.< teac h e s us when we att e m ! t to acco m !lis h the tran s mi s sio n of a thoug h t, we mus t und er s t a n d the significanc e of truly gi"ing me a nin g to the thoug h t behind the soun d s we crea t e . %houg h we ma y strug gl e to trans mi t

an idea "erb ally, if we ha" e a clear conce ! t of what we want to say, we usu ally find a way to com m u nic a t e to Dsay som e t hi n gD.

Inter!r e tin g a !iece of music is no mor e or less com!le x. mus t continu e to !urs u e the challen g e * ma$ e

?usicians music

classic al

rele" a n t and acce s sible to oth er s * by focusing on its com m u nic a ti" e #ualities. 0e musician s mus t be com m u nic a t o r s . 0e mus t ha" e and transla t e our can music be a

som e t hin g to say, ha" e to coura g e to be ours el" e s music into a me a ni n gf ul mes s a g e . 6nly the n

langu a g e of choice and a choice langu a g e .

I am with other !eo !l e. I .oin, I belon g, I forge lin$s, I reco gni/ e nec e s si ti e s. I li$e being with !eo!l e, sharing my !lac e with other s. But how far can cons e n s u s be ta$e n? 0ho am I * am o n g other s? I am.

1,