cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/37264234
I mean classical music: playing a piano, a clarinet or a cello professionally at an opera or theater.
I have a job I’d describe as easy, is not a job I had to go to college for, it pays the bills, I don’t like it nor hate it but it doesn’t motivate me. There is some micromanaging sometimes but most of the time I’m left to work alone, which is good.
Studying a musical instrument would involve extensive micromanaging: first from your professor, then from your conductor, something that’d destroy your motivation.
I consider every art related job to be like this: Jobs in the humanities are known to be very scarce, meaning lots of graduates compete for a very reduce number of positions, meaning employers get away offering the “lucky” ones less, meaning employers can micromanage more than usual, because they know graduates don’t have that many options. Art could be painting, sculpture, architecture, theater, museums…
Can an actual musician chime in? This was maybe too dark.
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Being in a band is like being on a sports team. Especially in orchestral or big band settings, it’s important that each individual plays their written part as written. A conductor is up front to give cues for when to enter, exit, or to change dynamics. They aren’t out there micro managing individuals but steering the entire group. In rehearsal, smaller groups may be called to play their part in solo, but this is just practice.
If you hire an instructor to teach you how to play an instrument, then that is literally paying someone to micro manage you. Their whole job is to give you a instructions, watch you practice, and critique your playing. In something like a guitar that will be physical aspects like hand position, finger position, how you holding your pick and music theory skills like rhythm, chords, and scales. During a lesson you’ll be micro managed but you should leave with exercises to practice. It’s on you if you put in the work, but an instructor will just get paid for you to make slow progress when you come back. It’s entirely possible to learn how to do all of this without human interaction.
If you join a band, like a rock band, the situation will be what you make it. There are no formal rules, you just have to work as a group to make music sound good. If you can do that as a cohesive group then no micromanaging is necessary.
Is it really micromanaging? What you described sounds like coaching. With a professor / teacher, they are there to help you with doing things the correct / efficient way; and with a conductor, its them steering the orchestra towards their vision.