tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919905982435630050.post809562254174705160..comments2023-07-30T12:12:10.024-04:00Comments on Expressing the inexpressible...?: Can music schools stifle creativity?Max Levinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11061804039453056782noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919905982435630050.post-53947228133346957002013-07-09T03:52:18.542-04:002013-07-09T03:52:18.542-04:00I left a Conservatory program because it was so st...I left a Conservatory program because it was so stifling. All it did was create second-guessing myself, inner-chatter during performances, worrying about what others thought etc. When I realized the music was not anything I created and stemmed from nowhere emotionally, it was time to leave that environment. I never went into playing piano as a kid with a career in mind, I played it to express myself - and the career followed. The instrument plays me and there's no personal gratification to reinventing the wheel when it comes to playing all the standard rep. What a conservatories neglect, is nature. The music has been well documented and well preserved and classical music in particular is a vast toolbox of which to draw from ..TO create original work. Being a sheet music slave is just that. Yes, people will pay you for that service but if money and accolades are your primary goal as a Musician, then that's a shame. I just think Music students today need to be more creative and leave their mark on the world by being original and taking us all somewhere else...not putting the car in reverse and getting nostalgic for what's already been done. Competitions, Juries, Panels...? Really? That's important? Why can't self-expression be enough? And if money is how one measures success because they can't "want less" in life, then perhaps they're letting their own social programming get the better of their gut instinct. The reality of our culture is commercial success in music means you need to get into the pop genre. It's called pop for a reason and the name of the game is not music but self-branding and target-marketing. There are countries that don't have running water and certainly no music programs and they can produce better musicians then what's heard in most cities because they're just instinctually good and rather pure and untouched by other people's rules and restrictions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1919905982435630050.post-7133764417353081432013-03-21T22:51:15.909-04:002013-03-21T22:51:15.909-04:00It's also because many pianists see winning co...It's also because many pianists see winning competitions as a primary route to career advancement. Sad.vphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16647609487352038948noreply@blogger.com