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The Unbearable lightness of “playing”
Many musicians live a sort of “Unsustainable lightness of playing”, misquoting an old Milan Kundera’s book. Which of course is euphemistic and sarcastic at the same time. Because “playing” is never easy, even when you learn it.
Many musicians live a sort of “Unsustainable lightness of playing“, misquoting an old Milan Kundera’s book.
Which, of course, is euphemistic and sarcastic at the same time. Because “playing” is never easy, even when you learn it.
Regardless of the musical genre, every musician must face a series of obstacles worthy of Hercules’ 7 labours.
He must organize evenings, promote them, write music and deal with social channels, without forgetting the rehearsals with the musicians and the endless journeys to get to the venues.
All this to do what they love.
Musicians are like craftsmen.
They are like craftsmen. The craftsman doesn’t ask too many questions. He opens a shop, collects his tools consumed by experience and starts doing. It does not follow the seasons, it does not follow the trend. The craftsman follows passion.
And success does not always crown efforts.
They are tenacious, determined, always looking for contacts, creative and productive collaborations.
In this way, they generate Art, a value transmitted not only through what they play. They express a vision, a Weltanschauung of their own experience.
In this hyper-connection era, it is unthinkable to live music without having contacts, without developing collaborations.
That’s why musicians-craftsmen are a community. Facebook, Spotify, Soundcloud and in other times, other platforms such as MySpace, are the jagged ecosystem in which sharing is the main tool to make yourself known, to grow, beyond contracts.
Often there is no real knowledge of the tools and strategies needed to survive in such a jungle. But despite this, the Musician-craftsman does not give up.
And it is thanks to him that music continues to live and move forward. Technologies are only a means.
What do we need?
To understand the music you don’t need algorithms, you just need ears and heart, which we often keep off. Just as we keep curiosity off, like a disabled button.
We take refuge in playlists, lists of songs where we passively lose the taste of discovery, where it is increasingly difficult to fully appreciate all the commitment and the world of an Artist. The rush that strangles us hides a rich panorama like a veil.
Are we really convinced that the future is all in a hyper-technological device? Let us remember that we are human, with all that this term implies.
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