Yesterday was my first lesson with my piano teacher after playing the concert during Thanksgiving week. We ended up having a sort of philosophical discussion about performing and why we as musicians perform for other people. Not focused on the fact that performing has incredible benefits to overall playing and mastery of music, but beyond thatā¦. What are we doing when we play for someone else? Showing them our musical skills? Sharing our love of music in general? Sharing our love of a particular piece? Trying to create an emotional/musical experience for the other person?
We got into this discussion because I pointed out that when I played in the recital conducted by the music school, I pay to participate. Itās only $20 so itās barely any money, but the point is, itās very much an extension of my lessons, and participating in that is, IMO, very much a learning or pedagogical experience. And the audience is composed of other performers, who are almost all children, and their parents. Thereās no one in the audience who isnāt connected to one of the performers.
But when I played at the concert, itās not like that at all. The audience was composed almost completely of people not connected to any of the performers. And they were all there to hear music.
And, I did not pay to participate (although unlike a professional, I also did not receive pay for playing ā thank goodness! š
So I felt that my intentions, my goals, at the that concert naturally were quite different than at the school recital. And I think I felt some responsibility toward the audience that I didnāt feel at the school recital. And I think thatās ok, btw. It doesnāt have to be āpressure to perform.ā But I donāt think itās appropriate to ignore the difference in the two events.
Thatās neither good nor bad, itās just differentā¦
As we discussed this, I was also reflecting on the fact that two days after the concert, on Thanksgiving Day, after feeding my guests, I played for them (my concert program plus one additional piece). And after having fed them, we were all very relaxed and it was a completely pressure free environment. My performance was soooo much better, which is due to a whole set of factors, like it being my piano, the audience smaller, less formal etc. But after the fact I also felt like, part of it was maybe having to do with those expectations. My guests were there because I invited them to dinner, not because of a promised musical experience.
And it occurred to me that maybe one way to think about it is that performing is like cooking for someone. Thereās the base function ā prepare and offer nutrients so we donāt die, and make sure we following food safety so we donāt kill the guests š
But when we cook a big meal (like thanksgiving or other special occasion) we are providing a culinary experience. We want the guests to enjoy the food and be able to share in that experience, and the totality of it is much more about the experience, and the gift of that experience, than it is about nutrition or food safety.
So maybe performing is more like that, giving someone else a musical experience ā¦
Anyway it was interesting to discuss this with my teacher, who is currently completing two doctoral degrees, one in piano and one in harpsichord, and who plays and performs at an incredibly high level.
So apologies for the long post, but, what are your thoughts on this? Why do you perform for others?