[Slowhand] Musicianship

[Mel Boss]

Some years ago, I met a Frenchman via my family who resides in Southern Switzerland, a well regarded composer/musician/teacher. He knew Michael Kamen, and so I was particularly interested in his experiences and opinions. At the time when we met, he had recently completed a major project in which he tutored and conducted Taiwanese school children, and he was quite eager to discuss it. His English was better than my French, but that still isn't saying much, and so our discussion was somewhat limited, but that evening I agreed to help him write an explanation of his opinions that, in part, defined musicianship, an English translation for his internet site. Shortly after returning home to California, I received his email with a attachment written in French/English that would, eventually, be the foreward to his internet site. 

In summary, his view of musicianship consisted of the following elements: The ability to precisely translate from the written page into music; physical technique; the ability to spontaneously transcend beyond what is written in a creative imaginative style; the ability to impart personal "humanism" into your music. 

In short, my interpretation was - the mechanical, improvisational and emotional parts of the whole.

"...I strive to combine the mechanics of technique with emotion and feeling... how to produce a natural and beautiful sound – to control the voice without straining it and how to approach and interpret faithfully important works... intonation in music was achieved by combining sure technique and instinct (emotion)."

I'm sure that we could devise a quantitative "formula" for rating various musicians with all its weighted criteria (just like we did in business curricula to rate leadership style), but in the end there is a subjective element that trumps everything else - do I fu**ing like it - making this discussion, albeit interesting and fun, mute.

Peace, Mel :-)
ps. I particularly enjoyed your contribution, Fabio!