What does a musician play? Musical and didactic game “Who plays what? Musicians without musical education

In May, Minsk street musicians will be provided with 12 official venues for performances in underground passages as part of the “Musical Map of Minsk” project. We decided to ask professional musicians what they think about street music and musicians.

ANNA
violinist

I started playing music very early. My mother is also a violinist - she was my first teacher. At the age of five I was already performing on stage. Then she studied in Mogilev, and then went to St. Petersburg, where she graduated from the conservatory. And now I decided to change my life and moved to live in Europe. This is where I live and make music.

I have a good attitude towards street musicians, especially if they are professionals. Of course, there are different performers, some a real master his business and it doesn’t matter where he plays, but someone is just trying to earn extra money. Although this does not make me negative in any case.

I heard that even the conservatory sometimes organizes small concerts in the passages. I really don’t know what this is connected with - perhaps this is how they promote music, or maybe there is simply no opportunity for performing on stage for all students. The more you play in public, the more you interact with the audience, the better. For some musicians this a big problem, and any public performances help them develop.

Sometimes they say that it is harmful for professional musicians to play outside, and this is true, but only when it is cold outside can you damage your hands. Because temperature changes do not have a good effect on the ability to play. And sometimes this can be dangerous: the instrument can be stolen, and everyone’s instrument is different - some are very expensive. It is also important what time of year you perform on the street. For example, I have a wooden violin, and I feel sorry for it - wet weather can ruin it.

But I still think that street musicians bring something good. Even if you are busy with your own business, running somewhere and hearing a familiar melody, you still stop for a minute, get distracted, and remember something good.

For young developing musicians, street performances are generally a salvation - there are few places where they can get such a response as from people on the street. For them, this is some kind of push forward, some kind of platform for performance.

They say that in Europe there is more space for street musicians and street music is more developed, but this is not always the case. For example, in Germany you need to get a license for a place to play, they strictly monitor this. You don’t just come to the transition and start playing there.

When I was little, I often went to Europe with by different musicians, which are now very famous, we had small venues right on the street. We only played in good weather and it was great fun. You get a great charge of emotions from people passing by, everyone stops, listens, applauds. As an adult, I no longer had to play on the street; I perform only with orchestras or solo in halls. But it was a very rewarding experience.

YURI
double bass, bass guitar

I have been playing music since I was six years old. My parents sent me to piano, but I had misunderstandings with the teacher, and I started studying piano at home. Then somehow, overnight, I abandoned everything, but began to get involved in rock music - my father suggested that I go to music school again, but this time in guitar class. I came, passed the exams, and was hired as a double bassist. But my teacher was interesting - he himself is a guitarist, bass guitarist and double bassist, so he taught me how to play these three instruments. After music school I went to college and started playing different groups. And then I entered the Institute of Culture in the jazz department, studying bass guitar - and I’m still studying music, playing solo and in different groups.

It seems to me that our musicians are still far from street music. In Europe, high-level musicians play on the street and show their skills, but in our country this rarely happens. Although sometimes I hear really professional musicians in the transitions. But mostly in the passages we have teenagers who play the guitar poorly - and they also want to be paid for it. People probably lack attention and want to show someone something. But now you can do this on the Internet.

If all our street musicians were good, I would be very happy and would listen to them with pleasure. Why not, if you're walking down the street in hot weather and some musicians are playing reggae, and next to someone is playing skate punk, and someone else is... alternative music? I think it's fun. In general, style is not important as long as the music is of high quality. Children from the conservatory often play on Victory Square; it’s nice to listen to them. Or in the summer, good musicians also play in the Upper Town.

As for the fact that professional musicians are not allowed to play in transitions, in my opinion, this is nonsense. Yes, it can be problematic after hearing acoustic sound in a transition to get used to the sound in some other place. But no matter what room you come to, you still need to get used to the sound, it’s different everywhere. This is why sound checks exist, so that the musician gets used to the new sound. But for a musician to play for a week in the transition, and then come to the Philharmonic and his hearing is impaired - this does not happen.

The only thing is, if you play in transition in winter, it affects the tendons. I don’t know how this is possible, but they say that you can pull or damage the tendons, and then it will be more difficult to play.

It is also unlikely that anything will happen to the instrument. Is this new tool, then the guitar’s neck may “lead”, and the violin may dry out. And if it’s old, then it’s already “shrunken” as it should be, and only sudden temperature changes can cause something to happen.

PHILIP
bassoonist

My father is a musician, so my whole life has been connected with music, since childhood. My parents sent me to the music lyceum at the conservatory. At first I was a choir member for four years, then I played the trumpet for a year, and from the sixth grade I switched to the bassoon - since then it has been my main instrument. After college, I studied at the Minsk Conservatory, and then entered Cologne, where I am studying now. I have more pedagogical orientation- besides studying, I'm here in music school I teach bassoon. In Belarus, we are taught to play the bassoon only from the age of eleven or twelve, because the bassoon itself is quite large, but in Germany, children from five to six years old are taught to play the bassoon - it’s like the bassoon, only half the size. In Germany, the situation is generally better for musicians - there are many music schools, parents send their children to music with early age, everyone is interested in music, all churches have small orchestras and some kind of concerts are constantly held.

There are a lot of street musicians in Germany - it's very cool. You walk along a pedestrian street where several ensembles or solo performers are playing, and this creates a special positive atmosphere. Some new performers appear here every day. We really lack this in Belarus - and first of all, we lack a pedestrian street. I also saw a lot of talented guys in our transitions, but they don’t have enough space, some special platforms.

In Europe, in some big cities You can play without a license, but in general, as far as I know, it is quite easy to get one - you need to pay some small fee, and they just give you permission. Also here in Germany, it is forbidden to play music with amplifiers, only live sound, so as not to disturb the residents.

I have a friend who periodically plays on the streets here: on a good day he would earn thirty euros in half an hour. That is, if you stand all day, you can earn normal money. In Belarus too, it seems to me that if you try and come up with something unique, you can make a living from it.

Of course, there is the fact that for some instruments playing outside is not the best the best option. With woodwind instruments you can't just go out and play on the streets: the wood can crack and the instrument can become damaged. It's easiest for people who play brass instruments - they play on the streets all the time, and there are no problems.

ALEXANDRA
violinist

I was born in creative family, my mother is a violinist, my father works in the theater, so from childhood I was immersed in the atmosphere classical music and she herself wanted to go to music school. The parents did not insist.

I have an ambiguous attitude towards street musicians. I know guys who put on great shows. They give passers-by a good mood; a crowd of people gather around them to listen to academic or jazz music in high-quality and, most importantly, professional performance, and completely free of charge - here it is up to the viewer to decide how much money to throw into the case and whether to throw it at all. I myself, being a professional musician with a conservatory education, never pass by street musicians who do their job on high level, and I always support them financially - not out of solidarity, but because I treat their performance as going to a concert, and you have to pay for tickets to concerts.

On the other hand, there are street musicians who evoke no feelings other than pity. As a rule, they hide along the passages with out-of-tune guitars, in dirty clothes, and, walking past them, I understand that they will spend all the money they earn on drinking. Such musicians are no different from ordinary beggars. And I pass by, and even turn up the music in my headphones.

I had experience playing on the street, but I approached such “performances” no less responsibly than more traditional concerts. My colleague and I have a duet, two violins. We play at minus. Repertoire - from Vivaldi to Piazzolla. Before playing on the street, we rehearsed because we can’t afford to “crash.” Those who think that playing on the street is easy money are deeply mistaken. It's heavy physical work, and you are no less mentally tired - you are an artist, people stop, listen to you, you need to be in high spirits and charge your listeners with it. I played on the street at the beginning of my student years, because it was difficult to get a job due to my age and heavy workload at school. But now I no longer do such things, because I have permanent job in a specialty for which I practiced the violin every day for almost twenty years, and I am satisfied with my work.

Professional musicians can play in transition, but if this is your only type of work, this is sad. Is it for this reason that a person puts his whole life into practicing his instrument for many hours every day, and gets higher education? Plus, your entire professional being suffers from constant playing in transition - your hearing is clogged from the hum and noise, weather the instrument reacts sensitively and, as I already said, physically it is not at all easy - try standing for six hours, and even playing the violin, dancing and smiling at passers-by. Perhaps this kind of income is ideal for students, but you cannot be content with this lifestyle. Every self-respecting musician wants to build solo career or sit in an orchestra (academic, jazz, theater, pop - it doesn’t matter).

When you get such a job, you realize that all your efforts are not in vain. You get the opportunity to play great music in great concert halls, work in a large group where everyone becomes your second family, go on tours all over the world, meet brilliant performers and conductors, participate in a bunch of interesting projects. You develop every day, you feel inspired and desire to improve in your business, because the field of music is inexhaustible.

Photo: heroes archive, unsplash.org.

What kind of profession is a musician? This question interests many people. Our article describes in detail all the nuances and features of this type of activity. If you are really interested in this topic, then stay with us!

Who is this musician?

Before we start analyzing the features musical profession, you need to understand what the word “musician” actually means.

In fact, we will not say anything surprising or supernatural. To put it as briefly as possible, based on explanations from explanatory dictionaries, then a musician is a person who either plays music professionally or plays musical instruments. Got it? Let's move on.

Musician's education

Musical education is an important component in the life of any artist who decides to connect his life with singing or playing an instrument. To achieve success in this area, without resorting to specialized training, you need to be a real unique person and a genius.

Musical education is the process of acquiring knowledge, experience and skills in the field of music that are necessary in professional activity. The essence music education consists of learning under the guidance of a teacher and educator.

First stage

For people who want to connect their lives with music, it is important to remember one simple rule: “the sooner, the better.” Ideally, it is better to start playing music at a young age. In this case, two are best educational institutions: Children's music school and children's art school. The first specializes only in music, and in the second, in addition to it, they teach theater arts, dancing, etc.

The Children's Music School and the Children's Art School teach playing various musical instruments, conducting, choral and solo vocals. There are also musical-theater and music-theoretical specialties.

These types of institutions accept children from 6-7 years old to study. But there are also classes for older people. The duration of study lasts from 3 to 8 years (depending on the chosen specialty). When young musician finishes his studies, he is given a special certificate of academic achievement.

Second stage

The next stage of training that future composers and musicians must undergo is secondary specialized education. It can be obtained either at a specialized college or at a school. The specialties and form of education there are approximately the same as in children's schools, but with their own nuances during selection and admission.

Colleges and schools admit students on average from 15 to 35 years old. Total term Receiving the necessary education lasts 4 years. After graduation, the graduate is given special diploma with the assignment of the qualification for which he studied.

The final

Higher musical education is the third and final stage. It can be obtained at a university, conservatory or academy. The training process lasts for 5 years. After graduating from one of the listed institutions, the musician receives a diploma of higher professional musical education.

Street musicians

When it comes to musicians as such, one cannot ignore the representatives of this profession, who earn their living in passages and on city streets. One street musician once gave an interview to The Village, in which he fully described all the features of this type of income, as well as the difficulties that he and his colleagues face.

So, when asked why musicians who have received a full education in this field begin to perform on the street, he replied that, as a rule, low salaries are to blame for this. No matter how strange it may sound, many musicians can get much more money, playing in passages and squares than, for example, in an orchestra or conservatory.

Many people are also interested in what are the features of working as a street musician. Is it dangerous or not? Please note that in some major cities In order to work in this field officially, you must have a special license. And it just so happens that few people prepare it, since it takes a lot of time and effort. Also among the difficulties of this work are problems with law enforcement agencies.

And the income of street musicians, in their opinion, can hardly be called stable. So, in one month they can earn 150 thousand rubles, and in another - half as much. Many factors influence your final earnings. For example, if you perform at the same point all the time, performing the same compositions, then over time the listeners will get tired of it, which, in turn, negatively affects income.

It is interesting that, according to sociologists, most often adults with children leave money to them, then pensioners, and only teenagers. Although the latter have the most expected response to music.

For those who would like to try their hand at the described field, the artists advise smiling as often as possible and trying to always be in good mood to charge other people with your positive energy.

Musicians without musical education

Who are self-taught musicians? This question also interests many Internet users. The answer to this is as simple as two and two, since it lies in the word “self-taught,” which denotes a person who has learned something himself, without professional training.

We hope you now know about many of the intricacies of the official and unofficial musical profession, as well as who the musicians are. This article was intended to help people find answers to their questions, and we hope that this task was accomplished.

In his essay “Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain” (2008), the famous neurologist and psychiatrist noted:

The universal ability to respond to music distinguishes humans as a species. They say about birds that they “sing,” but music in all its complexity, with rhythms, harmony, tones, timbre, not to mention melody, belongs only to us. Some animals can be taught to beat a rhythm, but we never see them suddenly spontaneously start dancing to music, as children do. Like language, music is a human feature.

However, in a sense, music anticipated the emergence of language, because sounds were the primary form of communication. We are able to express emotions, tell stories, inspire, evoke sympathy, trust and compassion with the help of the sounds we make, but music itself invariably makes us experience different states - from calmness or immersion in deep sadness to stimulation of incredible activity and the birth of genuine joy. And perhaps for this reason music is one of the most instinctive and communicative of the arts. At the same time, music as the most sensual and intuitive art still remains a mysterious phenomenon, especially from the point of view of its effect on the brain, on our neurophysiology.

How does music affect the brain? How are musicians' brains different from the average brain? What can playing musical instruments give us? As numerous studies around the world show, quite a lot. Thus, recently scientists from Stanford found that listening to music helps the brain anticipate events and improves concentration. Additionally, research into the therapeutic effects of rhythmic music has shown that it stimulates the brain and causes brain waves to resonate in time with the rhythm of the music, which in turn “facilitates movement when the ability to move is impaired or not developed at all.” And a recent study conducted by Finnish scientists from the University of Jyväskylä helped to find out that regularly playing any musical instrument can “change” the circuitry of our brain and even improve its functioning in general.

The study is based on data obtained back in 2009, which then showed that long periods musical practice contribute to an increase in the size of the brain centers responsible for hearing and physical dexterity. Musicians are more likely to be able to filter out sound interference and understand speech in noisy environments, and some can even boast of distinguishing emotional cues in conversations (in the same noisy environment). Previous studies have also shown that the corpus callosum is the tissue that connects the left and right hemisphere brain - more in musicians than in ordinary people. Finnish scientists led by Iballa Burunat decided to once again double-check the old data and find out whether this circumstance improves the connection between the hemispheres of the brain.

Two groups were formed for the study. The first included professional musicians(keyboardists, cellists, violinists, bassoon and trombone players), and in the second there were people who had never played musical instruments professionally.

To find out how listening to music - not just playing it - affects the hemispheres of the brain, scientists used MRI scanners. While the subjects were in the scanners, three musical works: song Stream of Consciousness by Dream Theater (progressive rock), Argentine tango"Adios Nonino" by Astor Piazzolla and three excerpts from the classic - "The Rite of Spring" by Igor Stravinsky. The researchers recorded each participant's brain response to music and used software compared the activity of the left and right hemispheres.

As it turned out, part corpus callosum, connecting the two hemispheres, is indeed greater among musicians. The researchers also found that left and right hemisphere activity was much more symmetrical in the brains of musicians than in non-musicians. At the same time, keyboard players showed the most symmetrical balance, and the researchers attribute this to the fact that playing keyboards requires more synchronous use of both hands. Burunat emphasizes:

Keyboardists use both hands and fingers in a more mirror-like manner when playing. Despite the fact that playing the strings also requires using fine motor skills and hand coordination, there is still asynchrony between the movements of their fingers.

Musicians in professional ensembles, showed rapid response to multiple sensory stimuli, an important skill for successful musical collaboration. The researchers believe that this skill—which requires speed and efficiency—may also require more symmetrical use of both hemispheres.

But, as scientists note, the most surprising thing about this is that all the effects that playing instruments have on the brain are activated in musicians by simply listening to music - which means that not only the brain changes with musical education, but also the perception of music. Musicians' brains seem to "rewire themselves" by creating alternative neural pathways.

We also observed symmetrical brain responses in the frontoparietal regions of musicians, which are responsible for the functioning of mirror neurons. Therefore, listening to music likely activates neurons that also regulate the movement that produces those sounds.

According to Finnish scientists, the results of their research convincingly indicate that the brains of musicians are different from the brains of ordinary person: its hemispheres interact better with each other. Their brains are able to work more synchronously, but scientists are not yet ready to say what benefits this increased connection gives musicians in other hand-related skills. These questions will certainly form the basis of new research. In the meantime, one thing is clear: playing a musical instrument for a long time directly affects the development of the brain, and the fruits of this influence turn out to be constant and independent of the playing situation itself. Isn't this a reason to take up music?

WITH full text research can be found.

Sources: Plos One, New Scientist.

Marina Nikitina

Target: expand children's understanding of musical instruments and ways to play them.

Tasks:

1. Consolidate children’s knowledge about musical instruments, their appearance, names;

2. Draw children’s attention to what is on each musical performed on the instrument music appropriate style;

3. Draw children’s attention to the fact that when playing on different musical instruments, the musician's pose changes.

I was inspired to create this game Game B. V. Voskobovich "Non-dissolving ice floes". What attracted me was that when used in didactic games Transparent elements create many interesting possibilities.

A game represented by a set of cards with the image musicians while playing on various musical instruments. Everyone has musicians characteristic poses, gestures and costumes, but instruments in the hands no musicians.

This game also includes transparent cards with the image musical instruments .

The player must determine, on what instrument musician playing.

The child can pick up the right tool by overlaying a transparent card over the image musician. With the right solution, the tool "magical" ends up in the hands musician.

Older children preschool age are able to identify the right tool by its characteristic pose musician or by his costume. For example, it is clear that musician V folk costume can't sit at the drum kit, but musician in tailcoat - play on spoons or balalaika.

I used white cardboard to make the game. (for image musicians) and transparent covers of plastic folders (for elements with an image musical instruments) . I drew on transparent cards with a permanent marker.

Children play this game play with great interest, because it’s not easy to position it correctly in your hands musicians need the instrument! But if it works, it almost appears before your eyes. "alive" image, and the child himself brought it to life!

Publications on the topic:

Didactic game “Who is the helper?” Purpose: To develop the ability to classify problematic situations reflected in works of art.

Made: from matchboxes covered with colored paper, colored pictures are cut out and pasted with glue. [i] Goal: to introduce children to wild animals.

The bunny had breakfast in the garden. How sweet the vegetables are here! The little bunny deftly devoured both cabbage and carrots. (Lyudmila Gromova) A hedgehog was walking through the forest.

Didactic game “Who lives where” Description of the game: 4 pictures on each of which depict (forest, sea, shroud, desert). Pictures from.