City Girl in a Country World

Yesterday, I had an experience that was both unfamiliar and enlightening. I haven't really revealed any personal details on this blog yet, but I am currently studying to be a classical musician. I specialize in the violin, and the viola (the latter of which is soon to become my main instrument, but more on that later). 

Classical musicians are a bit strange in their studying. I never really thought about it before but we actually can get to be quite segregated in our ways of playing and learning. We learn to do things always with the joint goals of perfection and emotional significance, and sometimes we can forget that music is still enjoyable even with a lack of perfection. And of course it is, but when we're spending 4+ hours a day trying to drill constant perfection into ourselves, well, it's easy to get hard on ourselves when things don't turn out the way we want them to.

Not to say that striving for perfection is bad - for us, jobs in orchestras, string quartets, or every musician's dream, being a concert soloist, all require near-perfect technique and interpretation. However, our value of being perfect all the time segregates us particularly from the other genres of music out there. This is not a good thing. 

Throw your average classically-trained musician into a jazz band and tell them to improvise and play along and they will probably struggle, myself included. Some of us are able to overcome the initial awkwardness and come to flourish in and really enjoy the different style of playing - I am not there yet, but hope to get there sometime. Yesterday I played in a concert for a guitarist, playing violin in a slow, country-style song. I had to improvise for the verses of the song (the main melody and bridge sections were pre-determined), and sound like a "country fiddler" kind of violinist...it was easier than I thought it'd be, and a lot of fun, too! I still don't think I'd be okay in something fast-paced, but next time I'm given the opportunity I'll take it and see what happens.

A view from the city

Everyone needs these experiences, whether it's through music or new jobs and unfamiliar social situations. It's a great thing to go into a situation feeling like the city girl in a country world, so out of place, and come out of it having learned something new, "broadening your horizons", so to speak. 

I'm hoping to learn the trumpet (something I've wanted to learn since 5th grade at 10 years old) over the summer, and maybe once I get good enough, I'll try playing some real jazz. 

We're all human here on this planet. Humans from different backgrounds and cultures, sure. But it'll always be better to open your perspectives rather than closing others off from your own.