Author: brycon
Date: 2018-07-19 18:27
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I think it comes down to a tolerance level. It's sorta like the difference between the pro who has a great mastery of their instrument (think principles of symphonies), and a pro whose instrument is merely an extension of their being (your touring solo artists that play WITH those symphonies and their principles as their backup band).
I very much disagree: the way a musician deals with his or her "mistakes" is more a matter of personality and ego. Very good students, for example, can pick out all the problems with their performances (and often, they're overly critical because they don't yet have a grasp on what's really important). And students--not professionals--are usually the ones who respond to their mistakes with visible frustration.
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I was just talking about this with a friend of mine with pros we've seen concerts of, or youtube vids of. He had a great clip of Joe Alessi where he plays a lick and cacks a high F. And the video zooms out as the rest of the orchestra plays, but you can literally see the frustration and anger growing on Alessi's face cause he SHOULDN'T have missed that F. And when it comes around again, with his still angry face he nails that F with a laserlike tone.
The anecdote here, if it happened as you recount it, is all about the player's ego. Did the music dictate that the high F be performed with a "laser-like tone" or was Joe trying to prove something?
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All the greats (and I mean TRULY GREATS) that I've watched videos of show major frustration if they get something wrong. Jeff Coffin, Michael Brecker, your stadium/amphitheater filler performers. Those who are pros but (like Dave Blumberg) said above, accept that they're not perfect, show less frustration and drive on with less visible anger.
I once played in a big band that backed Michael Brecker on a concert. Mike had flown in from overseas and was rather jetlagged; he missed some things (though he was still brilliant). But he didn't get frustrated.
What Mike and other great musicians realize, I'm sure, is that mistakes occasionally happen. Dwelling on them, however, means you aren't focused on the music: you're focused on you. If you really want, do the perfectionist thing in the practice room, not in the concert hall. You can't make music while also constantly judging yourself.
The fetishization of perfectionism I read here, by contrast, is rather disturbing. I sincerely hope no students are encouraged by it...
Post Edited (2018-07-19 20:11)
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