J+N
-+,,
6\-u:dvGI?
A painter hangs his or her finished pictures on a wall, and everyone can see it. A composer writes a 3"k n5)x
work, but no one can hear it until it is performed. Professional singers and players have great
dxtG3
responsibilities, for the composer is utterly dependent on them. A student of music needs as long and vg _ PMy\
as arduous a training to become a performer as a medical student needs to become a doctor. Most )@y7 qb
training is concerned with technique, for musicians have to have the muscular proficiency of an Ai5+ ;8z+
athlete or a ballet dancer. Singers practice breathing every day, as their vocal chords would be wwJ s_f\
inadequate without controlled muscular support. String players practice moving the fingers of the left ]#G1
]U
hand up and down, while drawing the bow to and fro with the right arm—two entirely different =En1?3?
movements. R\/tKZJjb
Singers and instruments have to be able to get every note perfectly in tune. Pianists are spared this K
]|hkp&
particular anxiety, for the notes are already there, waiting for them, and it is the piano tuner’s ,]das
responsibility to tune the instrument for them. But they have their own difficulties; the hammers that
=Mxu,A
hit the string have to be coaxed not to sound like percussion, and each overlapping tone has to sound } qZ^S9
clear. ^),t=!;p
This problem of getting clear texture is one that confronts student conductors: they have to learn to && PZ;
know every note of the music and how it should sound, and they have to aim at controlling these Pt-O 1$C[
sound with fanatical but selfless authority. kX:1=+{xg
Technique is of no use unless it is combined with musical knowledge and understanding. Great artists `gJ$fTi&
are those who are so thoroughly at home in the language of music that they can enjoy performing <p2\;\?4z
works written in any century. K*4ib/'E a
