We are surrounded by perfection. Whether we've turned on the television or visited any news blog, we are confronted with perfect people, that have perfect faces, and dress their perfect bodies in immaculately styled fashion.
In many ways, this unsurpassed perception and aura of success envelops us. Magic sporting events are constantly replayed on television, while equally surrealistic and virtuostic musical displays are frozen into our collective psyche through the radio and other mediums. Personally, I think that the proverbial bar has been set a little too high. And yet, we are constantly reminded of its presence in a cruel and ceaseless way as media distributors bombard us with a myriad of images, videos, and web streams.
However, countering this trend, authors like the Zanders' are suggesting we learn to see things "the way they are" and "embrace the passion and vitality" of honest performance rather than simply celebrating the staggeringly rare moments that escape classification.
Ben's anecdotes about performance and music were especially poignant as he recollected that Stravinsky chose a musician with less aptitude to play a particular line in The Rite of Spring. In Stravinsky's mind, as a "master" or virtuoso" would likely have played the particular passage with relative ease, the maestro realized that a more desperate player might imbue the concert with a greater sense of emotion or delicacy. In reality, the part actually needed to be desperate, conflicted, and even emotive in order to convey the message the writer had intended.
We often live in fear of measuring up in not only our professional lives, but also in our personal lives, appearances, and even relationships. Too often, individuals and society as a whole miss the fact that the excitement of anticipation or attempt can actually accentuate the moments we hope to experience in life.
In many ways, I found the Zanders's observations to be in line with those of Sir Ken Robinson and other contemporary thinkers. In his now famous TED Talk entitled, "Do Schools Kill Creativity", Robinson reminds us that if anyone is ever afraid of being wrong, it is quite likely that they will never try anything original out of fear of failure or rejection.
Personally, reading the Art of Possibility has been a very timely experience. As Newsweek, the New York Times, and other major media outlets have all decried the lack of creative acumen in our younger student population, I believe that it is high time for all of us to embrace realistic and personally applicable measures of "success" and accomplishment for our students.
Within my short lifetime, I have been witness to a variety of sublime displays of human prowess. However, if I set my daily barometer to the level set by the likes of Michael Jordan or Prince, I don't know if I would get out of bed.
Besides, there are some things that I aspire to do that I don't they could do either.
And I bet our students would agree. There are a lot of other jobs to be done in the world today…
Scott,
ReplyDeleteI, too, thought of Sir Ken Richardson as we were reading this week's assignment. I even went back and re-watched the video after watching the film of Ben Zander.
You are so right about the media setting up unrealistic expectations for performance. That is one of the things music educators must overcome on a daily basis. So many students are afraid to try, for fear they wont be perfect.
great observation and commentary. What i find interesting about your Michael Jordan comment is that Michael didn't make his high school basketball team at first but because it was something that he loved so much he worked and worked until he realized his potential. So the "lesson" I get from his biography isn't that the bar is set too high, but that I can realize my potential if I put my 10,000 hours into it.
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