What makes a good musician
What makes a good musician? Is this question still ringing in your ears? After all those years? Yeah… then you are at least a genuinely curious person. But something tells me you haven’t received a satisfying answer. Not yet. I’m also pretty sure that you did have receive answers. Plenty of them, actually. Only these answers weren’t the revealing kind. Don’t blame those people. They can only teach you things they have learned. So can I. Let’s see if you have heard these answers before.
What makes a good musician
You hear music playing constantly in your head: What? You wanted to know what makes a good musician, but didn’t expect this one? It’s really one of the tell-tale traits of a person who was carved out to be a musician. Audiation is king. Having musical thoughts on your mind is a required step. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have anything to express. Which leads us to the next point.
What makes a good musician
Urge to express yourself musically: Yep. No matter how many piano/violin/cello/whatnot lessons you were forced to attend as a kid. If you didn’t feel this void when you couldn’t make musical sounds, that’s bad news. Even if it was on your mind only. That still counts.
Desire to develop: If you’re starting to get what makes a good musician, you’ll know it’s one of those things. For the pro fakes, crazy amounts of practice come first. They are like good sportsmen (or women). They put in the work, and that often covers up what’s lacking. Mechanical practice will make you out to be a good robot. But let’s not confuse the two. Wanting to be able to express certain things you still can’t express, and wanting to be able to play fast/hard/accurately are not the same goals.
What makes a good musician
Good rhythmic sense: Probably the very thing we should have started with, trying to answer the question of what makes a good musician. Oh, well. Have you heard people who’s learned to play many things? Sure, you have. And most of them can get away with it, playing with a drummer, a metronome or to a click signal. Turn those off and get ready to grin, when it comes to rests. Those pesky rests. They just never seem to be able to wait long enough between the notes. This natural itch to seriously rush is a good sign that you are not a musician.
