Loving Music

I think that before you can fall in love with an artform or an activity, you first learn to appreciate it. In order to appreciate it enough to love it, you must learn how difficult it is to master.

Playing an instrument can be seen as simple. If you started as a child or have natural talent, some instruments do come easily. Then again, learning a brand new instrument with no underlying natural talent can be difficult.

Anyone can sing.
Anyone.
Singing is taking words and saying them in a melodic way. Singing is simply putting a melody where no melody existed before.
But there are things about singing that take practice, dedication, and (frankly) a good ear for music.
If I cannot hear if and when I am ever off-tune, how can I learn to control it? If I do not learn how to differentiate between an open E and a nasal E, then how can I learn to manipulate that sound? If I never learn how to create a natural vibrato, how will I ever notice when another's vibrato is natural or forced?
Loving something takes an appreciation for its difficulty.

Take drums for instance.
Drums require stamina and athleticism. You have four limbs performing four beats - often all different. Four limbs doing completely opposite things within one measure. My nephew is already a whiz playing the drums.
I tried playing them a few years back - nothing intricate, just the downbeat with my left foot, quarter note beats with my right hand, and a syncopated rhythm with my left hand.
That was a total failure.
If I got the syncopated rhythm right, my left foot faltered, if I was perfect with the downbeat and quarter notes, my left hand basically went haywire. And that was only using three of those limbs and only three drums!! Have you ever watched someone closely while playing the drums?!? And those people who can also sing - on key - while doing all of this? Incredible.

Then take piano. This is a similar issue, but includes 3 limbs (yes, three). You have one hand doing whatever, the other hand doing another whatever, and then the dominant foot working the pedal. Then did you know you can add pedals? You can even add second or third keyboards for layered simultaneous sounds. Not only that but sometimes there is no downbeat at all... so you have to hear it in your head. (This is often why instrumentalists can lose their timing and speed up or slow down without warning).

Sure, everyone can play an instrument, sing, or perform.
It takes a lot more work, practice, and dedication to become an artist; a true musician.
For me, I find the best musicians have an unspoken level of musicality. They can feel the music, they feel the lyrics, they can feel the beat and the unheard accompaniment that goes with a song even while playing only one instrument. They can tell immediately if they are a little sharp or flat, if they have put enough strain to reach the quality of sound they are trying to achieve - an openness, or tinny, or nasally, harsh or soft, clear or breathy, pure or raspy, belt or falsetto, high palette or low palette, glottel or smooth, enunciation or subtle, slide or jump.
There are so many nuances in every part of musicianship and artistry, and no one has ever perfected their craft. An artist is forever learning, adapting, changing, improving. Every artist could continue taking lessons until their dying day. We are always and forever working to be better.

I love My Musical Life!