Music, Teaching, Learning, and Life

I was just a small part of a conversation on Twitter which sparked my enthusiasm and energy once again.  Tim J raised the question, “Is it better to be a professional amateur, or an amateurish professional?”  One of the responses stated, “Better for whom?  A professional amateur is better for the world.  However, an amateurish professional may have a better bank balance.”

I wonder if questions like those come to mind often for other musicians?  They certainly do for me!  In my opinion, part of the problem lies in the way we think about the words “amateur” and “professional.”  For instance, we often label people who play instruments in addition to a full-time job “amateurs,” or at best “semi-professionals.”  If what we mean by those terms is the level of compensation they receive for playing, then of course those terms are accurate.  I think too often those labels, in the minds of many, become a description of ability or musicianship.  If that is the case, we do many people a disservice.  Several friends I’ve met in recent years are what most would call amateur or semi-professional musicians, but in fact, they are some of the finest musicians I’ve ever met.  If I had heard those terms used to describe them without hearing them, I would have had a mental picture of a mediocre or only above average musician.

I read a book several years ago by Wayne Booth, a former English professor at the University of Chicago, who decided to begin cello lessons in his early 30′s.  He had no experience playing or learning the cello previously.  In his book, For the Love of It:  Amateuring and Its Rivals, he wrote of his many hours of practicing, taking years to accomplish what younger arms and fingers would have been able to learn in a much shorter time period.  In spite of the challenges of mastering a string instrument as an adult, Booth continued his journey of practicing, playing chamber music, and performing with orchestras as an amateur throughout the rest of his life.  His writing showed his obvious joy in the process, not just the achievement.

As I’ve thought about these two seemingly opposite ideas (amateuring as a clarinet player vs. working to be the most professional clarinet player I can possibly become) I’ve come to a conclusion time and time again.  The joy and personal benefits I receive from practicing my clarinet as well as performing far outweigh any loss of “leisure time.”  I’ve found these “amateur pursuits” of playing my clarinet (and even writing) are more enjoyable to me than many other ways I could spend my time.

In closing, I’ll go back to the original question posed by Tim.  “Is it better to be a professional amateur or an amateurish professional?”  In my opinion, it’s much better to be a professional amateur.  I think Wayne Booth might agree.