Competition's Place in Music

Few students, teachers, or parents would deny that competition is very prevalent in music. More music competitions exist now than ever; increasing numbers of students participate from year to year. The prestige of winning a competition can bring varying degrees of glory to the musician, institution, and teacher. Undoubtedly, many who support music competitions would quickly extol the many so-called benefits in store for players. I was about 14 when I first learned about music competitions. A friend had mentioned that he would be competing in a piano competition. At that time, I had been taking guitar lessons for two years but was unaware that such competitions existed. Neither of the two guitar teachers I had ever spoke of music competitions. My ignorance notwithstanding, the initial perplexity I experienced when I learned about music competitions has not waned 30 years later.

"How exactly is a music performance judged?" I wondered. Is it all about being technically flawless? Indeed, a technically perfect performance does not ensure that the music is at all compelling. Many of us have heard uninspired performances, despite being note-perfect. Conversely, we have also heard performances that were far from technically perfect, yet such performances were stimulating. So what criteria are used by judges to assess the value of a performance during a music competition?

Even if you consider music a type of game, is it a serious game with the winners being those who achieve a preset standard of excellence on one side and the losers who fall short of the bar on the other? Or is playing music more about embarking on a journey of discovery, edification, and cultivation for oneself?

A correlation exists between the amount of stress and enjoyment we experience in activities. For most people, the more stress-inducing the activity, the less the pleasure. You can easily observe this phenomenon when children play games. A fun, relaxed game transforms into a more stressful activity as the level of seriousness increases; players feel more pressure; the amount of fun quickly diminishes or completely disappears. As a result, some children decide the game is no longer worth playing and resign themselves from it, while others get caught up in the gravitas.

Because virtually every facet of life has turned into a competition, students often compete unconsciously from the beginning of their music studies. To mitigate students' anxiety, I urge them not to treat music as a competition or worry about how they compare to other players. As ice hockey great Bobby Orr's father would tell his son throughout all his career stages, "Just go out there and have fun. If things work out, we'll see what happens."

Today, few students begin lessons and play music without already having expectations firmly in place. Despite my encouragement and assurances, the unreasonable expectations of a student eventually lead to the point where the stress is no longer bearable. In many cases, such students become disenchanted with music; sadly, they take a hiatus or stop without ever resuming.

For those who argue that competition is a necessity for musicians to achieve greatness, I offer you the following story:

Many years ago, I often came across the legendary jazz guitarist Pat Martino at a Chris' jazz club in Center City, Philadelphia. At the time, Martino often attended performances by famed guitarist and my mentor, Jimmy Bruno.

Martino and I were listening to one of Bruno's performances with his trio. After the song ended, Martino said something that struck me as cryptic: "I never compete." He repeated the sentence with a pronounced smile as if he was imparting some invaluable esoteric knowledge. After that, he said nothing more to me for the rest of the night. I was not sure what prompted him to say what he did at that time, but not until quite sometime later did I fully realize what he meant.

Pat Martino does not approach music as a competition. On the contrary, he views music as a collaboration or a conversation. He is not interested in proving himself to an audience or the musicians performing with him on the bandstand; to do so would be an act of violence, one of separation rather than harmonization. Moreover, competing against fellow musicians and the audience is self-defeating. Connecting with others is virtually impossible if you treat yourself and your environment contemptuously.

Though music competitions are here to stay, I do not encourage students to compete in music competitions. If a student has a strong desire to participate in one, I certainly will not attempt to dissuade the player; however, the focus should be on enjoying the learning process and the teamwork involved in playing music with other musicians.

What are your thoughts and experiences with music competitions? Please share them below.