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Perfectionism

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A recent commenter on this blog quoted:
“An amateur rehearses until he can do it right.  A professional rehearses until he cannot do it wrong!”
At the same time, author Gerald Klickstein challenges the perfectionist mindset:

[T]here’s a big difference between precision and perfection.

Actually, when it comes to music, the notion of ‘perfection’ seems like an oxymoron.

That is, we might perform without any noticeable flaws, but a musical phrase can’t be ‘perfectly’ expressive. Can it? And no performance, no matter how profound, can ever be ‘perfect’ because artistic experience is necessarily subjective.

Worst of all, musicians who insist on unattainable perfection sabotage their creativity and let loose torrents of negative emotions.

These aren’t really as in conflict as they seem at first glance. The first commenter is really talking about the notes and rhythms, and other mechanical matters such as words and dynamics. Being totally consistent on those is what frees you to make musical decisions in the moment, just as your ability to walk without thinking about it allows you to walk fast, walk slow, change directions or speeds suddenly without worrying you’re going to fall down.

 

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Comments

  1. What to do about choir members who are perfectionists?  My choir contains about 2/3 non-majors, and it’s never going to achieve the technical perfection of an all-voice-majors choir, or a choir that rehearses 5 days a week.  But they sing musically—expressively; they work hard at it and enjoy it. 
     
    But I always have one or two perfectionists (and often they’re non-majors) who point out little flaws as though they were major issues. ("Doc, all the altos have always missed that f-sharp," when actually the complainer and her neighbor are the only two audible altos who have missed it since the second rehearsa.)   If I don’t "fix it," it appears that I don’t care about quality; if I *do,* it takes time away from more important issues such as phrasing.  At some point in the preparation of the music, I just have to cut it off and say, "It’s too late to fix that; we’ve moved on to other issues." 
     
    But I’m always conflicted.  One result of these harpies-in-training is that some students are unable to feel satisfied with any performance, as though cutting off one phrase-ending too soon has ruined the entire concert.  Again, if I say, "Relax; these things happen with human beings.  It was a fine concert," I’m afraid I may be perceived as a sloppy musician, but if I say, "We’ll get to the root of this and fix it or I’ll know the reason why," then I’m encouraging what I believe is an unmusical and unreasonable fixation on technical matters.
     
    Any advice?

  2. Hi, Allen.  While I’m enjoying the posts, I should point out that there is nothing in the quote about "perfectionism," nor was I suggesting any such a thing.  It’s interesting that several people has interpreted it that way.
     
    Do we not believe that every performance is unique to its place, its moment in time, its audience, and to a hundred other factors including ambient noise and barometric pressure?  That every performance SHOULD be new and different, as if it were our first performance ever? 
     
    That’s certainly what was impressed on us in grad school.  And in grad school I observed that one of the choral conducting faculty produced performances that were flawlessly prepared, while another was still actively finding new depths in the music during performance, and the latter was certainly the more exciting and rewarding experience!
     
    There’s another saying that has a large kernel of truth to it:  "Practice doesn’t make perfect; practice makes permanent"!  The same errors and the same lack of understanding can be practiced until it can be repeated every time, but that isn’t perfection.
     
    In the normal course of events, musicians (and yes, singers are musicians–we hope!) do not repeat programs as often as do, say, actors doing 8 per week, week after week as long as the seats are filled, so I would defer to Tom on this point.  And of course the moment actors start entertaining themselves on stage instead of their audiences, they are in big trouble!  (Of course my son is well on his way to singing as many Messiahs as your average piccolo player has played "Starts & Stripes" by his age!  But still, every performance is new, which is the wonderful thing about being involved in an art form that is not only creative but re-creative.)
     
    All the best,
    John
     

  3. I like Ned Rorem’s quote on perfectionism:
     
    Perfectionism is no more a requisite to art than to heroes. Frigidaires are perfect. Beauty limps. My frigidaire has had to be replaced.
     
    "Random Notes from a Diary," Music From Inside Out
     
    IMO, both the music and the singer’s soul have a much better chance of soaring when rehearsal is seen as a joyful collaboration, with all working toward a shared goal. When the rehearsal becomes about the director trying to create perfect sounds, perfect phrases, or perfect performances, all becomes mired in the director’s ego. And from that limited and anxiety-laden perspective, the audience’s experience is much more likely to remain earthbound.
    Or so it seems to me.

  4. I have always thought of it as differentiating between “artistic” (or synthetic) perfection and “absolute” (unattainable by humans) perfection. “Artistic” perfection requires discipline, strive for excellence, etc, etc, but should never be misread as an attempt to achieve the unachievable.

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