oboeinsight

I recently was taken to a video of an adult musician’s performance. The musician was quite pleased and wanted to share with others so the URL to the video was posted in a very public place. Trouble is, the performance was not good at all; it was out of tune, the tone was quite unpleasant, and there really wasn’t any musicality to be heard. I do not mean to sound harsh, but it really was cringe worthy. It made me sad.

It’s possible that some who go to that URL might then post the YouTube video elsewhere to mock the person. I won’t be surprised to see it on Facebook at some point. (Heck, it could go viral for all the wrong reasons). I won’t post it here or anywhere else. I won’t give you the URL if you beg and plead. I won’t tell you how I found out about it. I won’t even tell you what the person’s gender is or what the person’s instrument is. (I will tell you it wasn’t oboe so none of you out there worry about whether I’m talking about you, though.) The person who posted it isn’t a reader of this blog. Of that I am sure.

All I could think was, “What is the teacher of this student doing? Is the teacher honest about the performance? Will the teacher be honest with the student, assuming that teacher will see and hear the video?”

It’s a tricky issue, being a music teacher. We are to encourage while we instruct and point out problems, to be sure, but what does one do if a student believes himself or herself to have a future in music when there really appears — especially when the student is older — to have no potential. Do we continue to encourage (and even lie?) and take the money and run? Do we “owe” the student honesty and gently say, “You don’t appear to have what it takes to do this professionally and you might consider something else,” saving the student from years of expense? Do we not lie, but not tell the truth either, and just hope the student eventually can hear what he or she is doing? (Obviously this student didn’t hear any problems with a performance that was out of tune, rhythmically questionable and all around uncomfortable.)

Thoughts, readers? I really do wonder what our responsibility is to, especially, these older students who think they have a career ahead of them. It’s one thing to do music for enjoyment, and I’m ALL for that, but this person really did think a career was a strong possibility. I just felt bad and a bit embarrassed for the individual. But maybe I’m over reacting. I do that a lot.