Art And Snobbery.

Joshua Nemith did two great posts Freelancing in the “New” economy (part 1) and Part 2 in which he comes up with 9 different ideas of how to increase your income. Some of the ideas will be frowned upon by some uppity pianists, but I think they are great and two bad that snobbery often gets the better of us. 

One of his Ideas, which I  will quote - got me ranting away in my head and I will expand on that right after the quote:The more instruments you can play competently, the more work you will get. I won’t speak for clarinetists who can play saxophone or guitarists who can hammer away on a mandolin. They can write their own posts. But I can definitely speak for the keyboard group! I can estimate accurately that a full 20 to 25 percent of my performance work comes from continuo work on harpsichord or organ. It is extraordinary to me that pianists rarely learn the other keyboard instruments! The real world (the one that writes checks) will not care that much if you can play Rach 3. (They could always get Yefim Bronfman.) On the other hand, if you can play continuo parts for Baroque suites and large ensemble pieces (e.g., Handel’s Messiah requires BOTH organ and harpsichord continuo parts) you could find yourself getting paid next week.

Now that I’m a working “stiff” in an urban setting, it is becoming more and more clear to me that the conservatory schools spend way too much energy focusing on training people for solo careers. (This subject may be suited to a separate, longer, and more heated post…) I received absolutely no training whatsoever on organ or harpsichord in my TEN years in degree coursework. I know of what I speak - I’ve attended three different institutions and in none of these places did anyone even encourage me to get even just a tiny bit comfortable with the other instruments. This reveals an incredible lack of insight about the field. Sometimes performance professors just don’t really know what goes on outside of their little ivory tower studios…

What really got me going here, was his description of how conservatory schools don’t really take into account the fact that a person actually has to eat and that part of a schools job is to make sure that after spending 4 or 10 years in there facility the person will have the means and the knowledge to do so.

This is true not only of conservatory’s and music programs, but of all the arts. How many of these schools offer courses in business, marketing reading the market and innovation that is not directly connected with the art of choice?

The result is a world full of extremely talented and well trained, but clueless people.

I think that this verges on criminal.

Another thing, The snobbery factor that all of this emerges from….The all or nothing theory. Either you are Yefim Bronfman or you are nobody and nothing. Teachers are often scoffed at (”those who can’t do - teach”)

As are wedding and funeral musicians. I have spent my life surrounded by people in all fields of art - from singers to musicians through painters and crafts people - All of them look at any form of making money other than though the most coveted jobs as just about worse than begging or starving.

I, on the other hand, whole heartedly agree with Joshua - use the skill you have. There are many ways to make money as musicians, not all of them involve performing at Carnegy Hall.