As a musician, I will always carry with me the joy of music.
So many never do.
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This article is about the knowledge of possessing the gift of music, playing that music an entire lifetime; and sharing the gift of teaching how to play music so that others may also experience the same joy.
I am a M.A.S.H. fan. I have watched every episode countless times. One of my favorite episodes is the 1980 story called "Morale victory". Winchester saves the leg of a soldier wounded in combat. The soldier awakens to discover that his right hand is no longer fully functional due to the injuries he suffered in a mortar attack. When Winchester points out to the soldier that he saved his leg, the soldier is dismissive about the leg being saved, and breaks down when he discovers that he can no longer use his hand, Winchester then learns that the soldier is a concert pianist graduate of Juilliard. Winchester then acquires sheet music made for the left hand and begs the soldier to play the piano in the officers club. The soldier is understandably resistant to even attempting the "freak music", until Winchester explains how much music means to him personally. He tells the soldier that he (as a surgeon) can make a scalpel sing, and he can even play the notes on the piano, but he cannot play the music. Winchester goes on to explain that even though the soldier, having lost the use of his right hand, he (the soldier) will always know the joy of having played Mozart, Tchaikovsky and Beethoven on the piano. The soldier then goes on to play the piano as he reads the strange sheet music.
I have been a practicing musician since 1976. I honestly do not know how many songs I know how to play on the guitar or bass guitar. I have long since lost count. This is not to brag. It is simply a fact. I also have no idea how many thousands of hours I have practiced my instruments. I can only guess how many bands I have been in or how many performances I've played. I have instructed several hundred students since 1996. I have no idea how many there have been. You see, the gift I possess in my head, in my soul and in my hands is something I have worked to maintain, my entire life…and I have never once taken this gift for granted.
There are billions of people in this world who love music, because they listen to it everyday; and they sing along to the lyrics and the melodies. They go to concerts and shows and enjoy the thrill of live music. The music they love becomes the soundtrack to their lives and their memories. They have their collections of vinyl record albums, cassette, 8-track or reel-to-reel tapes, CD's and of course, mp3's. It doesn't matter which medium they use to listen to their music. Most of these people have never played an instrument of any kind, in their entire life. All that matters is that they get to listen to their whenever they desire.
Musicians, however, live in an entirely different world than non-musicians. Musicians have a knowledge of music that (to me) closely resembles what it must be like to be an artist-painter. A painter uses many colors of paint and many brushes and canvas’s placed upon an easel. A painter paints the colors on the canvas to create a picture or a portrait. A musician also paints colors, but they do it in the middle of thin air. Music is the color that is used to paint the portrait being created out of nothing. No two artists of any kind can create the exact same thing. They can create faint copies at best; but there is no way to duplicate the exact same work of art twice.
This is the super power all artists possess. The soldier in the story may no longer have full use of both hands, but he can write the music, he can teach the music, he can orchestrate the music because he possess the music inside him, not in his hands or the instrument. The instrument is merely the tool the hands use to play the music. Every song a musician has ever practiced and played, is carried with that musician for a lifetime. All of the endless hours of practicing to become a better instrumentalist, and all the work are all part of the joy of being a musician. It is indeed, a true labor of love.
As a music teacher (coach), it is my job to teach my students how to practice their guitars correctly. I can give them examples and ideas, I can give them the tools for their tool box, and I can even give them the colors to paint on the canvas of air so that they can create their own pictures and portraits. Regardless, they still must do their own work to become better instrumentalists. I cannot do it for them.
I can type these words for you to read, hopefully as an insight into my perspective as someone who possesses the gift of music. I am well aware of the powers I have as a musician. I sometimes sit and play my bass guitar to music for a solid hour straight, and I still want to keep going. I sometimes practice my guitar for 15 minutes or a couple of hours. It all depends on how I feel. I am always learning how to become a better instrumentalist. My rewards are when I play a piece of music all the way through and I have enjoyed it. If someone else was listening, well, that's pretty great too.