Hey all,
Sorry I haven’t commented much on other’s posts so far. So far, at this party, I’m the person who says, ” But enough of me talking about myself. What do you think of me?”
Just wanted to post what I think is a MAJOR dichotomy for me in pursuing community music. I really dislike music being presented as being unavailable to most people. In fact, I think the whole idea of talent is sort of a scam. That said, I have worked hard for many years to be the best musician I can, and continue to do so. So, I also believe that hard work and study should be reasonably compensated for. ( Now THERE”S an awkward sentence! ) The amount of nickel and dime-ing I’ve experienced would never have occurred in any other discipline outside of the arts! As the expressing goes, ” Love the music, hate the business! ”
Thoughts? Comments? Manifestos?
I also think about this often – important to remember that community music as such does not mean that performance standards are lower, nor should they go unappreciated…perhaps the industry will change, and community music making can be something that people can purchase? There might be an industry of facilitated jams by professionals in the future? Who knows. Anyways, love that quote…
Thanks Keenan. Those are interesting ideas. 🙂
Paid, facilitated, jams. Love that idea! There are a few groups like that cropping up now, have you heard of the new choir “Outside Voices”? or of course Choir!Choir!Choir! based in Toronto.
I used to go out with someone in Choir!Choir!Choir! and saw them play and loved it!
I feel the dichotomy, too. However, as a church musician, I have accepted not being compensated for my time and limited skills. In our tradition, musicians generally don’t get paid!!! It is part of the community-nature that all are welcome and those with skill and training are appreciated greatly.
I am always overjoyed when someone expresses verbal appreciation. Clearly, I’m not doing it for the money, and have had other sources of income, like teaching and accompanying. It’s delightful to be asked to other venues and to receive a cheque at the end.
Right, but for me that begs the question, why is it okay for someone to not get paid when they play, when it wouldn’t be okay to teach or accompany for free? I’m not giving you grief about being a church musician Fiona, I think it’s great. But I often feel there’s this attitude of ” You enjoy what you’re doing, so you really shouldn’t expect to get paid”. In my tradition ( freelance ) we usually are vastly under compensated and it’s lame!!!!!
Ted, your question may be rhetorical but let me explain about my faith community. It is pretty consistent in that none of the musicians are paid, and my teaching and accompanying work is done outside of that community. I believe it has to do with their history as a reaction/break away from the institutionalized church and being a grass roots organization, they relied on an “all hands on deck” sort of approach. There is some awareness of music as a vocation and not just a hobby, and there are some places where they have hired a lead musician as Minister of Music or Worship Pastor. So, the culture is changing but that tends to be in larger places where the budget will allow for that specialization. In general, participating in the music is seen as a voluntary act of service, much like teaching the children or helping with the potlucks.
Yes, that makes sense Fiona. Thanks for clarifying.