MAKING MUSIC

Few, very few, make any kind of living from playing music. Those who are solvent do something else -- they teach, or manage musicians and negotiate contracts and gigs, or write about it. If you are determined to play music and do nothing else, good luck. Your best bet is to MARRY WEALTH.

About music itself: the human voice is our first instrument, and our ears are the most important part of our musical equipment. Therefore, I think the European method of teaching music -- solfeggio -- depicted clearly in the 'Do Re Mi' ditty from the film 'Sound of Music,' makes the best use of the equipment we are born with -- our ears and our voices. We imitate pitch and sing melodies. Little by little we learn that specific tones and rhythms can be recorded on paper. And before we know it, we are READING MUSIC -- and enjoying it.

Only after this, do the Europeans introduce a musical 'instrument' -- that is, a second instrument other than the voice. So, by the time the student gets to the piano or the cello or whatever, he/she already understands the basics -- pitch and rhythm, and how to read music. This seems to me a natural and logical approach to making music.

But if you're an American you've probably been taught in some completely different way. You have probably been taught that music is 'difficult.' And you've been taught in a manner that makes it seem like boring WORK. WRONG! It is taught that way, but music certainly does not need to be that.

So, if you can sing, even a little, you are already a musician.

Rule 1: Master your instrument -- know every single thing about it, the lowest possible note, the highest possible note, ALL of the sounds the instrument is captable of; how to take good of instrument [including your voice], tune it, keep it ready to go. . .

Know how to hold it -- posture, breath, pace.

Rule 2: Master your instrument -- voice or whatever. The latest experiments in psychology confirm that anypne can become an expert -- a world-class expert -- in any field, IF you are willing to focus and work, repeat focus and work, for a minimum of TEN YEARS, pretty much all day every day. If you do not want to do this, relax and accept that you will remain an amateur and dilletante. The words above are a shorthand way of saying 'PRACTICE.' The best players warm up and practice EVERY DAY.

(Years ago, I was the impressario for four concerts by Louis Armstrong and his All-Stars. Louis asked me "when do we hit?" meaning, when is the first note of the concert? I told him, and said it would take five minutes from the hotel to the concert. About thirty-five minutes before the concert was to begin, I heard him in the hotel lobby. He was playing scales, long tones, playing all over the instrument. He then came downstairs and got in the car, we drove to the concert, parked right at the foot of the stairs leading to the stage-platform; Louis was warmed up and ready to play -- and when he 'hit' he really 'hit' from the first note. This, from a star who had done everything there is to do on the trumpet. He knew even that no matter how high or far you go in music, you must warm up and practice.)

Rule 3: Learn the repertoire for your instrument. If you are a singer, you will have to memorize lyrics and discover which key is best for your voice. Ditto for any other instrument. . .

Sooner or later you are going to have to get familiar with the piano keyboard -- maybe not skillful enought to be called a pianist, but very familiar with harmony and scales. . .

Rule 4: Aim for 'a sound.' At first, what you hear is likely to be the central 'natural' sound of the instrument. Make it a pleasant handsome sound -- full, 'fat,' warm. But don't stop there. Search for your PERSONAL sound. Miles Davis said, famously, "You have to play a long time before you know what YOU sound like." Every great jazz player has a distinctive sound -- individual and highly personal. If you have listened for some time, you know INSTANTLY who is blowing that solo. No liner notes needed.

Rule 5: Make your instrument 'sing.' Make it as expressive as the human voice. Make it 'talk' and 'yell' and 'cry.' This is why virbrato is important, for a mechanical 'instrument' as well as for the human voice. A good instrumental player is always 'singing.'

Rule 6: If you don't practice, you can't play. Jazz players have a joke (not really a joke): "If I don't practice today, I know it; if I don't practice for two days, the band knows it; if I don't practice for three days, the audience knows it." If you HATE to practice, consider abandoning music. Without practice, you will never get good enough to express yourself. You will constantly dissatisfied -- and for a reason.