General Music Blog: Requirements to become a performing artist

One of the standards I will be working on these last 25 days of school is from the more personal experience of students of music. Here is the standard: M35E4.a. Students understand the relationship among the arts, history and world culture, and they make connections among the arts and to other disciplines; to goal setting, and to interpersonal interaction. The substandard is: Identify the various roles of and requirements to become artists. Yes, that needs to be un-packed for sure. I think it means that a student should understand what it takes emotionally, psychologically, and professionally to become a working and successful musician or artist. So- I am giving them an example to study, and then I will ask them that question: What is required to become a famous musician or composer? Let's talk about Aaron Copland, as a great example.

Copland was born in 1900 in New York to a large immigrant family. He was the youngest of five children, and his siblings were given piano lessons. He was not afforded this luxury until he begged his parents to get him lessons. He practiced all the time, and decided he didn't want to go to college, he wanted to go to Paris and study music. He saved his money from a part time job at his father's store so he could go and study abroad. He got a scholarship from Fontainebleau and studied with the famous Nadia Boulanger. She encouraged him to compose an organ symphony for a concert she was playing in, so he got his first big break with this piece. He said later that this was the most important meeting of his whole life, as it secured his future as a composer. The wonderful and legendary conductor, Serge Koussevitsky also also supported Copland for the rest of his career by premiering many of his compositions.

Copland was very influenced by the music that was being written at the time; he worked on many compositions with twelve tone rows, and he used jazz elements in his work between 1925 and 1935. However, he felt that his music was not reaching as big an audience as he would like. He realized that his audience had been weaned on radio and television, so he changed his style to meet his audience. For example, "Lincoln Portrait" uses simpler chord structures and tonal elements, as well as using narration as a way to reach the public. He began to compose movie scores, as well as ballets, such as the famous "Billy the Kid", "Rodeo" and "Appalachian Spring". These ballets told
quintessential American stories, which helped him to become one of the most beloved American composers of the twentieth century.

Copland, Bernstein and Koussevitsky

Now you may ask, how do I get the answer to the "requirements" question from all this information? Let me help you with this question..If you want to be a musician, you have to find a great teacher or several. If you want to become a successful composer you need opportunities to have your music performed. If you want to be a famous composer, you need to find your own voice and you need to be able to read your audience. Finally, if you want to be a great musician and a great composer, you have to stick with it, you need grit, perseverance, and you need to be obsessed with all of those important elements of music.

The photograph above tells the last part of this story. At the end of his career, Copland mentored many composers and musicians and gave them opportunities for performances, as well as helping them with orchestration, and other essential composition techniques. This photograph shows Copland with his mentor Koussevitsky as well as Leonard Bernstein with his mentor, Aaron Copland. Everyone knows one of the biggest requirements for a successful career as a performing artist is a great teacher/coach/mentor who can follow you through all the rough patches in the life of a musician. And the best musicians know that they would be nowhere without their mentors so they always mentor young musicians later on in their careers.