Klarinet Archive - Posting 000334.txt from 2003/10

From: "Chantelle Edwards" <music_oft_hath_such_a_charm@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Inspiration
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 22:46:20 -0400

Hello everyone,

In response to all of your replies(thank you so much, by the way), i thought
I should answer some questions and clarify a few points. Yes, it is true
that I am grappling with two different issues altogether, though the main
one that concerns me is the motivation. I mentioned both of them because at
the moment, (in my case) they seem to be very closely related (ie: how can I
make my passion a career if I'm not motivated to practice it right now?) I
think I may have just hit a rut and I'm confident that I will overcome it.
I think I just need something, to hear something in performance or read
something or hear something and it will just click and I will be reminded of
what I love about music. And, just to clarify, I don't intend to become a
professional performer, I thought I had mentioned this, I intend to study
music education and one day teach in a high school.

>The reason why I asked you earlier "Why do you want to play music?
>What's in it for you? Why not be a race car driver instead?" is
>precisely that I was hoping you would look at your 'instinctual'
>response to _MUSIC_ first, and then you would address the other issues
>with a clearer mind. This is part-and-parcel of the question that
>Christy Erickson and I were discussing in another thread. Can you
>*learn* to love music? I believe not. Can you be *conditioned* to
>hate it despite your inborn desire for it? Unfortunately, I believe
>you can.
>
>Don't allow this to happen to you, Chantelle.

My response to your above question is a little difficult. It's difficult to
put into words what I love about music. An interesting part of this story
is that nearly 5 years ago, when I had absolutely no musical training and
came from a rather non-musical family, I was forced into taking band in
school. Let's jsut say it was my one, short-lived teenage rebellion. I was
convinced that I did not want to play music. Now, I can't imagine a day of
my life without it. I find it so difficult to believe that 5 years ago, I
had never heard Miles Davis's soaring trumpet lines or Benny Goodman's Sing
Sing Sing, never mind Mozart's K622 or Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto (some
of my favorite music today). I have found an absolute passion in something
that once seemed so foreign to me, and my journey into loving music has
proved to be both an inspiration and a challenge. My love and profound
attachment to music can only be summed up in one word, and can only be
explained by one thing: passion. Music itself can only explain exactly what
it is that I am drawn to, because my love for music goes beyond words.

Thank you to everyone who replied and offered suggestions, hints and advice.
Your kind words and experiences are somewhat of the inspiration I was
seeking!

Chantelle Edwards

STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE*
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Klarinet is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org