is micromanaging in classical music much worse than in other jobs?

Submitted ⁨⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨ricesoup@lemmy.ml⁩ to ⁨[deleted]⁩

I mean classical music: playing a piano, a clarinet or a cello professionally at an opera or theater.

I have a job I’d describe as easy, is not a job I had to go to college for, it pays the bills, I don’t like it nor hate it but it doesn’t motivate me. There is some micromanaging sometimes but most of the time I’m left to work alone, which is good.

Studying a musical instrument would involve extensive micromanaging: first from your professor, then from your conductor, something that’d destroy your motivation.

I consider every art related job to be like this: Jobs in the humanities are known to be very scarce, meaning lots of graduates compete for a very reduce number of positions, meaning employers get away offering the “lucky” ones less, meaning employers can micromanage more than usual, because they know graduates don’t have that many options. Art could be painting, sculpture, architecture, theater…

Can an actual musician chime in? This was maybe too dark.

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otacon239@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
When I was in high school band, it didn’t feel like this. It felt like you were trying your best to become a part of the bigger sound. You really don’t want to stand out or “express yourself” as much because it was about the song, not the players at that point. Whenever I was corrected or told I needed to practice a section, it came across as duty more than personal reflection.

I also did marching band and the same rules apply. You want to blend in with the field. No one player really gets a spotlight of their own.

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StrawberryPigtails@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
First you need to define what you mean by classical music. Depending on who you’re talking to that could be anything from Mozart or Bach in a group orchestral setting to something instrumental written in the last 5 years played solo, or any combination in-between.

I’m not an orchestral player, more a bluegrass and old-time musician, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

When you are playing in a group orchestra, you are not a musician. You are an instrument. The conductor is the musician. You’re there to play the notes on the page. The conductor may give you some leeway, may not.

In smaller groups, you may or may not have more freedom depending on the musical style and the group dynamics.

Solo, do as you please so long as it sounds good. You are both the instrument and the musician here.

As always, there is only one hard rule in music, If it sounds good, it is good. Everything else is just guidelines.

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