They Just Get It

It shouldn't come as too much surprise that I absolutely love my music and the music of others, classical especially. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find too many people my age with whom I can share this, because, frankly, the genre's intimidating. When young people, or any age people for that matter, think "classical music," they usually think tuxes, long gowns, everyone very serious and formal, but there's almost an air of exclusion. That only a set of a few chosen are able to listen to this music, and that there are certain standards to be upheld in the genre.


I have to say yes, there are certain standards that need to be upheld in the music. But classical music isn't just for snooty folks with cash to throw around; it's too beautiful to be exclusive! Likewise, there are certain standards and expectations which the musician has to meet. Yes, you have to practice a great deal, and yes, you have to be disciplined, and yes, you have to have a great love for what you do to be able to do it well. But I don't think enough growing musicians such as myself know, or understand, that you have to live life, too. Sure, you can spend twelve hours at the piano bench every day, doing technique until your fingers fall off, and come concert day you can play the piece perfectly, but if there's no emotion to show, no experience from which to draw, technique is next to worthless.


Consider these guys for a moment...























They're the 5 Browns. Five siblings, all play the piano, all went to Juliard, first time the school's had a whole family at one time. You've probably heard of them.
But have you ever heard them play? The top one's Flight of the Bumblebee; it's short in case you either want a snippet, or don't have the time/attention span to watch/listen to anything longer. The second one's Rhapsody in Blue, one of my favorites. The last one's an excerpt from The Firebird; it's a bit different than the others, but it's still awesome.








Yes, these guys are for real.
But not only are they real musicians, they're real people. They understand that this isn't, and shouldn't, be an exclusive art form; they get that you need to live to gain experience which you can give in a performance. In my mind, they just get it. Take a look at this, you'll get a sense of what I mean.