A large number of people who have nothing to do with music believe that being a musician is easy and simple. In fact, a musician is a person who makes music every day, persistently and in any mood. This is the same work as any other profession.
It is impossible to achieve great success in music if you do not practice it constantly. Some people think that all they have to do is learn to play any musical instrument and they can call themselves a musician with a capital M. Also, you need to know that in a professional environment there is no such thing as a “modern musician.” A musician is a professional at all times.
Beginning performers often ask the question: is there any formula for success that guarantees fame on the musical Olympus? Unfortunately, such a formula does not exist. The only guarantee of success is regular, hard work.
Not a single famous musician playing on the modern stage has achieved success while sitting at home with a cup of tea. Today's fame is the result of painstaking work that does not stop for a second.
As for competition, talent cannot have competitors. If a singer has a voice from God, then he is not afraid of any competitor. This also applies to performers of any musical instrument.
Young performers should remember that fame and unlimited fees cannot be obtained on the very first day of work. You need to live music, you need to be interested in it. Moreover, a musician should also be interested in other areas that are closely related to music. A musician must constantly look for sources of inspiration.
You should not look for any secrets. The only factor that helps you achieve success is careful work on yourself, on your mistakes, on your projects.
This is what today's successful musicians who work in different musical styles and directions think so.
Interestingly, journalists from one provincial newspaper conducted a survey. During the study, it was revealed that ordinary citizens who have nothing to do with music completely agree with the professionals. Creating high-quality music that will not only find its listener, but also remain in people’s memories, requires full dedication from the musician.
Why can’t professionals give an unambiguous answer to such a seemingly simple question? Perhaps the fact is that being a musician is a state of mind that is not inherent to everyone.
Do musicians live well? We are not talking about celebrities from the world of pop, our thoughts are about the world of rock and roll.
Before a person becomes a musician, he needs to work hard. You need to study for a long time, learning tedious scales, keep musical notation in your head, and try not to forget it. The musician does all this in order to one day become famous. A person can become famous, but will he be happy about it?
There is a lot of good in the life of a musician, but there is also a lot that prevents him from living.
Only a musician who makes money through music can be happy. Not many people are so lucky. If a musician has to go to work, attend rehearsals, and get nothing for it, sooner or later he begins to get bored with music. He bet on it, but he can't make money with it. This test makes many people forget that they know how to play a musical instrument.
Girls like musicians; they rarely have problems finding people of the opposite sex. The problem is most often different - they cannot stop, they cannot make a choice. Some guys spend their entire lives looking for an ideal, while others constantly change women.
If a musician cannot become famous, he suffers. He is confident that he can achieve success and recognition; he does not want to look at the unsuccessful experiences of other musicians. He is very self-confident, and knows that soon he will live completely differently, and all his friends will be very jealous of him. Time passes and nothing changes. He doesn't become a star, he just gets old. It's always sad to watch such musicians. The man doesn’t understand that he no longer looks like a handsome man whom crowds of fans will run after. As a rule, such a man dresses brightly and ridiculously. He can wear a jacket with studs, leather gloves with spikes, and rough boots. He dyes his hair so that the gray hairs are not visible.
If a musician becomes famous, this does not mean that he becomes happy. He may have a lot of problems dealing with everyone's attention. He will have to attend different parties and communicate with many people. This also happens when a person needs privacy.
A musician is obliged to take care of his appearance, and no one cares whether he has money for it. He must have an expensive haircut, perfect teeth, branded clothes. If all this is missing, the musician loses popularity.
Playing in a team brings many unpleasant moments. A musician can always be kicked out if he doesn’t play perfectly. It's not very pleasant to think that you will be replaced at any moment.
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Being a musician is not a profession. This is a form of existence... if only because the musician differs from other representatives of the Homa Sapiens species even in childhood... No, no, don’t look at the unfortunate youngsters who mothers And dads, convinced of the genius of their offspring, are driven to the instrument with a stick - and who make up the majority in any average music school, leading teachers to heart attacks - these are not musicians and will never become one.
A real musician himself will reach for the instrument - to try to extract from it what he already knows... and he knows one simple truth: everything in the world has a “voice” - remember the hero G. Sienkiewicz, for whom “the wind played on the pitchfork”? Have you ever heard the stars ringing on a frosty night? And which instrument is such and such a literary hero closer to - the violin or the organ? If you can answer questions like these, it means you definitely have something of a musician in you.
But a musician not only “hears” the world - he can also “say” something about it... of course, if there is a “transmission mechanism” - what is called performing technique (at this stage many who have hearing “break down”) . Sometimes they say that the performing apparatus is the hands, but this is not entirely true: the performing apparatus is the entire body of the musician, in fact, it becomes an integral part of the instrument... and for this to happen, it is not enough to master some movements - you need to transform your entire being.
And here we come to one of the most pressing questions: the fact is that such a “transmutation” is absolutely incompatible with modern pedagogical doctrine. A modern teacher (at least his theoretical ideal model) is a cross between a psychotherapist and an entertainment program, and if he will teach- then this is a miracle (and if he doesn’t teach, it means he’s to blame for everything). A teacher-musician is comparable to a priest of ancient initiation rites - a cruel one who throws a student into hell: you are no longer you, you are part of the instrument, yours is the structure of a musical phrase, your movements are the steps of a scale...
And of course, such a teacher cannot, does not have the right to “create a situation of success” (another tired expression from pedagogical literature of later times!) - a musician is always dissatisfied with his (if you said to yourself: “I have achieved” - you died), a musician lives in Through the Looking Glass, where, as you know, “you have to run fast to stay in one place, and to be in another, you have to run twice as fast.” A musician’s professional skills are based on “body memory” - and it is very unreliable, this is the very matter that collapses, having lost its spirit: as soon as the grip is loosened, the reflex arcs disintegrate, the technique is lost, and therefore there is no greater misfortune for a musician than at least a day without pick up an instrument... However, the musician is afraid of this not only because fears lose shape (although that is also why - here musicians are comparable to athletes): an instrument is a living being, its beloved friend, its brother - like a sword for ancient warrior. Therefore, do not be offended by a musician when he does not allow you to try to extract a couple of chords from his instrument - he knows that the instrument will not like it (you might as well “lend” your wife to someone).
But no matter how much time a musician spends in the rehearsal room, in the end, this is done for the sake of the stage. The stage requires everything - if only because mistakes are not forgiven there: one small mistake can nullify the entire impression (especially at the beginning of the work - then even the subsequent brilliant performance will not correct anything). This is the moment of highest tension, both physical and emotional... but it is also something like a “drug” that causes “addiction”. This is “living blood”, after drinking which you will no longer be able to “eat carrion”.
And of course, a physically weak person cannot withstand such stress - there is no place for weak people in music. Musicians also have their own professional hazards - sitting for many hours in one position (often unnatural), so they are practically guaranteed - unless, of course, ... and this is also part of a “different form of existence” that requires everything.
Perhaps it is difficult to understand such a creature... perhaps it sometimes irritates: neighbors - with endless scales, relatives - with a penny salary, the government - with the need to pay this salary, and everyone - with immersion in their art... but they are all neighbors, and relatives, and even members of the government do not stop going to concerts... because without it you cannot remain human. This is the only way to remember that the world in which we live is only a not entirely successful copy of the Divine plan...
And therefore, gentlemen, be lenient with musicians: they are creatures from another Universe, it is not easy for them in your world, which simultaneously needs them and rejects them.
It is sometimes interesting to look beyond the line. Something you never even thought about. Something that happens without your participation, but you face it.
Is it easy to be a musician? Of course, we look at this issue from a work perspective. Recently, in Minsk it has become possible to make money from rock music. But for the most part this is work for cover bands. Why is that? The answer is simple. The songs that will excite the minds of listeners and settle in their hearts for a long time have not yet been written. But in the world musical heritage there are already such songs.
People like these kinds of songs. They cause a state of pleasure or in Arabic “high” (“time of pleasant idleness” - literally). The Koran states that the righteous in heaven are in a constant state of high.
So this is the kind of thrill people pay for. And if there is demand, then there is also supply. And today there are too many cover bands in Minsk alone. Many weddings and corporate events are not complete without the participation of a cover band. People dance to the music, look at the musicians, order songs. But let's move to the other side of the stage and find out what's happening there.
To play in a cover band you need to be a good musician. In the hands of a mediocre musician, the instrument does not sound. Music is not born. That's why really good musicians play in decent bands. This is a must.
But no matter how brilliant they are, they are still people. With your worries, affairs and problems. The audience doesn't see this. They shouldn't see. People buy the show and the “time of pleasant idleness.” It's like actors in the theater: on stage you need to live in your role, leaving everything else behind.
Therefore, for musicians it is “work”. That’s what they call their performances: “We have so many “works” this month.” While classical artists measure everything by “concerts”.
Everyone gets tired of playing the same songs sooner or later. Both ordinary artists and cover band musicians. It seems like they have over 300 songs in stock. Yes, they are able to fulfill all of them, and even more. But often in the wedding-corporate circle of fate, 30 hackneyed hits are played. They always “roll”, they are tested and why change anything.
But such “identical” performances do not bring joy. It gets boring. Does playing the same role for many years bring joy to an actor? Or a valiant traffic cop hiding in the bushes with a hairdryer? To each in their own way. Everyone decides for themselves.
This is our job - to enjoy good music.
And being a cover band musician is just like any other job.
Although, what makes me incredibly happy, many cover bands are starting to create their own songs. This leads to their identification as independent creative units. For example, the group has already released their first album under the name Vox Mira. And the song Wake Up from it allowed me to participate in the prestigious international rock band competition GBOB. creates songs under the guise of More M.
This indicates that these teams are composed of truly creative people who are one step ahead of other cover bands in Minsk.
Is it easy to be a musician?
No. Not easy. This is work. This is skill. This is creativity.
With respect to you,
Suchinsky Pavel (not a cover band musician).
April 14, 2015
