As a musician and a student of the Bible, there are several passages of Scripture that have become important to me, ones that I have embraced in my own journey as a creative and thriving artist.
I have always admired King David, since he was a successful musician and leader. There is a particularly illuminating statement made about him, giving insight into his success. This was a comment made about him by someone else who had heard about him just before his famous confrontation with Goliath.
“Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, a mighty man of valor, a warrior, one prudent in speech, and a handsome man; and the Lord is with him.” (I Sam. 16:18)
One of David’s characteristics as a successful musician was that he was skillful. When David became king of Isreal and set up teams of musicians to worship around the ark of the covenant at the Temple in Jerusalem, he expected that they be skillful, establishing training for them.
“David…set apart for the service some of the sons of Asaph and of Heman and of Jeduthun, who were to prophesy with lyres, harps, and cymbals…to sing in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, harps and lyres, for the service of the house of God…and their number who were trained in singing to the Lord, with their relatives, all who were skillful, was 288.” (I Chron. 25:1-7)
The history of Western Art Music has its roots firmly planted in the Judeo-Christian tradition and history of the Bible. In fact, one can make a case that it is the same tradition that winds its way along with the history of freedom, consent of the governed, and democratic rule of law, stemming from Jerusalem, to Athens, to Rome, to the Netherlands, to England, to America.
Classical Music, extending from Europe into American, merged with other folk musical influences, from Ireland (Country Music) and Africa (Blues) that culminated in Jazz and Rock. America, and the American musical ethos, like it or not, is firmly planted on the foundations of Classical Music and has become the steward of its existence. To embrace the freedoms we enjoy in the West, one must also understand the disciplines of the West, for freedom emanates from discipline.
One of the greatest examples of discipline is found in the example of Western Art Music, better known as Classical Music.
Classical Music and skillfulness are almost synonymous. The greatest examples of Classical Music demand a focus, discipline, and consecration of the musical artist that challenges the furthest reaches of human capability. We teach our students to become skillful in our music school Odessa Texas.
The Biblical word for discipline means correction or instruction. In order to pursue skillfulness, the artist must first humble himself to receive training from those who have come before him. Skillfulness is not a destination, but rather a journey. Daily progress is seen as success, always striving for more understanding and deeper knowledge. In our music school Odessa Texas, we train students to learn the value of discipline and diligence.
The Biblical word for diligence is to be sharp. The implication is to cut away. In other words, to focus, other things have to fall by the wayside. There is a difference between deciding and choosing. In our current culture, everyone wants to have the freedom to choose any direction they want at any time they want. It’s like going through a cafeteria line and choosing this entre or that desert. That is what choosing looks like. Deciding, however, is entirely different.
At the root of the word, decide, is ‘cide,’ or ‘to cut.’ When we make a decision, we cut away what we don’t want. In order to focus successfully on becoming skillful, it requires one to abandon anything that is getting in the way of gaining this skill.
As a child, I remember many times my friends would come knocking at the door, wanting to go out and play. I, however, chose to get some more practice time in. The short-term fun was sacrificed for the longer-term reward of being accepted into Juilliard a few years later. In our music school Odessa Texas, we see young musicians making the same decisions to sacrifice toward becoming excellent in their craft.
There is a misconception about the words discipline and diligence, however. Most people see these words as binding or inhibiting. Nothing could be further from the truth, however. The greater the discipline, the greater the freedom. The more skill I acquired on my instrument, the more pieces I could play with ease. The discipline was not for its own sake, but for the purpose of freely playing (and enjoying) the wonderfully rich repertoire of creativity spanning centuries.
Even in improvisation with current popular styles, I found that the technique I had gained through Classical disciplines of scales and theory, gave me many more options, musically, as I participated in creative spontaneity.
In the book, “Poetics of Music,” Igor Stravinsky made an astounding observation of creativity he had discovered in his own musical journey.
“My freedom thus consists in my moving about within the narrow frame that I have assigned myself for each one of my undertakings. I shall go even further: my freedom will be so much the greater and more meaningful the more narrowly I limit my field of action and the more I surround myself with obstacles. Whatever diminishes constraint, diminishes strength. The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees one’s self of the chains that shackle the spirit.”
Indeed, writing a piano piece using all 88 keys requires less creativity than writing for 2 keys. In other words, writing a piano piece for 2 keys maximizes one’s creativity exponentially! Students in our music school Odessa Texas have the opportunity to create at a high level.
The benefits of diligence are many, enumerated by these prescient verses:
“Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.” (Prov. 10:4)
“The hand of the diligent will rule, but the slack hand will be put to forced labor.” (Prov. 12:24)
“The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the soul of the diligent is made fat.” (Prov. 13:4)
“The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.” (Prov. 21:5)
The freedoms we enjoy in life are in the priority structure of doing the right things first. Is it any wonder that framers of the Constitution established the government in the framework of this order: 1) Life, 2) Liberty, 3) the Pursuit of happiness.
It is not dissimilar to the New Testament scripture, “For the kingdom of God is…righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Righteousness, or doing the right thing comes before peace and joy, just as honoring Life comes before Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness. When students in our music school Odessa Texas, learn these foundational lessons, they benefit throughout their lives in other areas, as well.
The only way to have true freedom is to embrace discipline first.
Ivan Galamian, the famous violin instructor of Juilliard and Curtis, had but one plaque on the lunchroom wall that every student would see three times a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). It was etched onto a piece of wood, hanging in plain sight. It read:
“He is most powerful who has himself in his own power.” (Seneca)
At our music school Odessa Texas students become powerful.