P-
*R N
Q}`2Y^.
A painter hangs his or her finished pictures on a wall, and everyone can see it. A composer writes a YV>VA<c
work, but no one can hear it until it is performed. Professional singers and players have great m78MWz] Yo
responsibilities, for the composer is utterly dependent on them. A student of music needs as long and Ib<
5u
as arduous a training to become a performer as a medical student needs to become a doctor. Most 3]5&&=#
training is concerned with technique, for musicians have to have the muscular proficiency of an R&d _ WB4w
athlete or a ballet dancer. Singers practice breathing every day, as their vocal chords would be _<&K]e@dp
inadequate without controlled muscular support. String players practice moving the fingers of the left
7{6cLYl
hand up and down, while drawing the bow to and fro with the right arm—two entirely different A+P
m "|
movements. )QJU ] G
Singers and instruments have to be able to get every note perfectly in tune. Pianists are spared this ~N+/ZVo&y
particular anxiety, for the notes are already there, waiting for them, and it is the piano tuner’s =.3P)gY )
responsibility to tune the instrument for them. But they have their own difficulties; the hammers that _yXe X
hit the string have to be coaxed not to sound like percussion, and each overlapping tone has to sound `'{%szmD
clear. 4N^ Qd3[d
This problem of getting clear texture is one that confronts student conductors: they have to learn to t.i9!'Y ]
know every note of the music and how it should sound, and they have to aim at controlling these ?5+KHG *)
sound with fanatical but selfless authority. s Gm(Aax*0
Technique is of no use unless it is combined with musical knowledge and understanding. Great artists M#gG D-
are those who are so thoroughly at home in the language of music that they can enjoy performing pDn F T2
works written in any century. u \& [@v
