“It’s the Music, Stupid,” or Why Are Performers So Conservative?

In my editorial in the previous issue of Medical Problems of Performing Artists , I observed that there appears to be a real difference in people’s inborn abilities to memorize, although in some this ability can be developed and improved upon as a skill. My purpose in writing about memorization was to question the wisdom of requiring solo musical performers to play from memory since the fear of memory slips appears to be a significant and for many the major cause of performance anxiety. I further questioned why, since memorizing is so difficult for some, all musicians are subjected to this added stress, by expecting them to play from memory. Is it not about how they play and interpret a piece of music rather than whether they choose to have the music in front of them? When I’ve questioned teachers and some performers about this, they say that playing with the music prevents the musician from performing with maximal interpretive skill, and the performance is less exciting. This seems to be remarkably without insight, because clearly if the musician is terrified, for whatever reason, including of having memory lapses, there may not be much energy left for interpretation, and the excitement may come instead from the musician’s embarrassment. I’ve had some further reflection on the question of playing from memory as well as some general observations about how difficult it is for performers to be nonconformists. This is not meant in the sense of performers’ being rebellious but about deviating from some abstract traditional norm rather than being their own persons. I’ve also written about that in the past in an editorial where I questioned whether people had to look alike, and asked whether vocally qualified singers with major deformities and disabilities should be excluded from opera. So this may seem like rehashing old issues, but I think there is more to be said than could be contained in only two editorials.