On Pride and the Magic of Music

Several years back, I was performing at a club. Not a particularly BIG club, and in fact I don't recall where it was or the name of it. There were a couple of other musicians on the bill.

Well... I played really well that evening. The audience was very receptive, and all the elements just kind of came together. I got a rousing round of applause and wandered off the stage.

Then a very nice man approached me. He made some particularly glowing comments concerning my set. I blushed appropriately, naiive youth that I was.

Then, I proceded to talk him out of every single compliment he paid me. I was relentless; I would not stand for any of it. Gradually his big smile faded to an irritated frown.

This is an embarassingly true story. So, what could have possibly possessed me to systematically destroy the excitement of two people (he and I)? Did I not feel "worthy" of his remarks? Did I disagree with what he said? Did I not appreciate what he had said?

I have labored over this many times since that night. It was, indeed, a low point for me. But, I must admit that I have committed other, lesser, though similar, offenses since. This sort of response actually feels quite proper and natural to me, and I find I must guard myself against myself to keep from repeating the event.

In fact... my reactions were a horrific load of crap, a rather unattractive "false modesty". Why not simply say "thank you very much" to the nice person, or even "yeh, man, I was really HOT tonight!"? Well, I can't come up with a good reason.

So... let me talk about something else.

When does a bunch of "sounds" or "noises" actually become music? I wondered about this for years, too, but happily I now know the answer to this one:
It's when someone hears it and appreciates it.

It's that simple; there's no magic formula or test. And there's no "good music" and "bad music" either. It doesn't matter whether it's the latest pop radio song, a commercial, modern jazz, an age-old folk song, a symphony or even just a single note - if someone hears it and appreciates it - IT'S MUSIC.

And at that moment it is also MAGIC. It is the magic of 2 people (player and listener) relating in a very unique, artistic way. In this sense "art" IS "emotion".

A great work of art can remain dormant for as long as it takes for someone to appreciate it. This period of time can be centuries in length. There is no expiration date.