Don’t rush the process of becoming a better artist

One lesson I’ve learnt in the past couple years is that one cannot rush the process of becoming a better musician. As deeply related they might be, I think being a great instrumentalist and a great musician are two different things.

An excellent violinist is able to do technical things more effortlessly. There are many, many excellent players in the world today. But having a great technique has to have the goal of executing artistic ideas with less effort. There might always be a better fingering, a better bowing technique, a less effortless way of playing an instrument - but all are essentially worthless, if they are not put in service of the music.

That said, we shouldn’t rush the process of becoming an artist of high level. I think we really should slow down, be humble and do lots of contemplations along the way - because it is much more like a marathon, rather than a 100-meter race. Now, I am not saying that we should just take it easy and be lazy. Most of us are ambitious to some level - but collaborating with higher-quality musicians, understanding their interpretations, the diverse life experiences we get and understanding the world in a deeper level will all contribute to the depth of our art. We have to respect this process. It’s normal to reach a plateau sometimes, but we should always look for more ways and avenues to follow as aspiring artists.

As a classical musician, I now find comfort in this idea - we can just relax and be open to learn. Let’s enjoy gaining experience and doing some artistic self-reflection from time to time. Creating higher quality art should always be the goal of a true artist - no matter the discipline.

Go ahead and let me know what you think about this post in the comments - and if you got value of it, I warmly invite you to share it with your friends.