As someone who has trouble multitasking, it's hard to hear the music in my head while trying to perfect my part. A way I overcame it as a young musician was to buy a recording. Once I was fairly proficient in my part, I would play along with the recording so I could hear what else was happening. Eventually I stopped counting rests and listened for the oboe solo that cued my entrance. I realize that there are downsides to this method- the recording does not necessarily portray your own conductor's vision. Tempos may slightly vary, nuances may be adhered to differently; It's not a perfect system. However as someone who does not see relationships by studying a score, the recording is what pieces the orchestra together for me.
Now, let's bring this method to 2011. When I was growing up, I loved going to Borders to browse the classical disc section. I would purchase the recording of a piece I was preparing for about $15, then take it home to practice with. Much of the time this couldn't take place unless music had already been provided. This puts me in a bind present day, simply because music sometimes isn't available until 2 weeks before my concert, and the process is accelerated considerably. There are two resources that put me in control of this dilemma: YouTube and imslp.org.
The general population does not realize the gold mine that YouTube provides for classical musicians. Some of the best recordings, be it merely audio or a video of a live performance, reside in the search box. Now instead of spending $15 on a recording, I can literally be practicing with Leonard Bernstein on my computer screen. Incredible.
Now as to the dilemma of accessibility to music, there is almost no excuse for a musician to not be prepared. That 2 week window is now infinitely expanded with www.imslp.org, an online resource that provides scores and individual parts for instruments for virtually every staple in the symphonic repertoire. You may not have the luxury of set bowings, but the time you get to master the notes of your part is now increased to the time you know what piece you'll be performing. The best part? It. Is. FREE.
We know this is great for professional musicians, but what about amateur or aspiring musicians? What we have now is the opportunity to have an entire orchestra at everyone's disposal. Great orchestras at that. Now a high school musician who dreams of playing Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov (okay, that was me) but does not have the resources to pull an orchestra together or buy a $15 recording has everything he/she needs to do it, even if it's just for fun. Young musicians of the world don't have to wait to see if their youth orchestras are performing their favorite pieces- they can print the music for free and play along with top orchestras of the world, right in their home.
Before I go further on my endless possibilities rant, I want to acknowledge the downside- and it's a big one. Orchestras struggle. Recordings they sell don't do a fraction as well as their popular music counterparts, and having these recordings available online for free robs them just as much as copying a disc does. Is it really in an orchestras best interest to have these recordings on YouTube? Should they police YouTube and take their recordings down?
Many orchestras have taken this approach, and rightfully so. The endless database, however, goes on. We live in a society where so much information is available, it's hard to get off of the wave of knowledge it provides. My opinion is this. Orchestras have every right to take down their music, and I shall never condemn an orchestra for protecting its property. But as for the recordings that will inevitably remain available on YouTube and the accessibility of free, downloadable music on IMSLP, I can't help but marvel at what is now possible for the modern musician.
Get to practicing.
LoveAlways,
Gnarleigh
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