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雅子さんは、20年近く続けてきたピアノのレッスンをやめることにしました。7歳から習い始め、上達するほどに楽しくなっていったピアノですが、ここにきて限界を感じ、以前のように真剣に練習する気持ちにもなれないためです。先日、大学時代の室内楽クラブ仲間に会いましたが、彼女もチェロのレッスンをやめたと言います。
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雅子さんは、20年近く続けてきたピアノのレッスンをやめることにしました。7歳から習い始め、上達するほどに楽しくなっていったピアノですが、ここにきて限界を感じ、以前のように真剣に練習する気持ちにもなれないためです。先日、大学時代の室内楽クラブ仲間に会いましたが、彼女もチェロのレッスンをやめたと言います。
A Time To Quit
By MASAKO YAMADA
A few days ago at the New England Conservatory, I saw
an old chamber music partner from college, Cathy,
coming out of the main auditorium. We've only seen each
other a few times since graduating in 1996, but it has
always been in some sort of musical context: our
going to a friend's concert together, or my attending one
of Cathy's concerts.
She told me that her orchestra was having a concert
that night, and that they had just had a rehearsal. She
then asked me what I was doing at the conservatory:
"Well, I quit piano lessons," I started explaining.
"Yes, I thought so," she replied. "But I accompany a
friend of mine who sings," I explained. "Oh, so you're
at least doing something." "Yes, barely."
After almost 20 years of taking piano lessons, I recently
decided to quit. I've decided not to participate in any
chamber music programs, or to take on odd jobs as an
accompanist, either. It was hard to make this decision,
but now I think I've made the right choice.
I started taking lessons when I was seven, which was
extremely common among the Japanese people in my
neighborhood, and I was not a remarkable pianist. I
didn't particularly love music, either.
However, for some strange reason, I continued long
after most of my friends had quit. They were too busy
studying, or too busy socializing, or too busy looking
for a job, or too busy working.
I never found myself "too busy" for anything to
quit, and I found that I enjoyed myself more and more as
I improved and became a part of the music community. I
didn't take any private piano lessons in my last year of
college, but that was only because my music professor
went away on sabbatical.
I remained extremely active in the Chamber Music
Society, attending practice and rehearsals almost every
day. Immediately after I entered graduate school, I was
too busy to look for a new teacher. But after a year, I
found a new teacher, resumed private lessons and
continued with him for three years, until now.
Actually, I had been thinking about quitting for a long
time. There are numerous reasons I thought it would be a
good idea, and at some point, all those reasons seemed
to point to one direction: stop now.
Lessons were extremely expensive; I didn't have time to
practice properly; the (little) practice that I did
prevented my working on my thesis; I wasn't
improving.
It was the last reason — lack of growth — that
really forced me to think. The whole point of playing
music is to play beautifully, and I felt that I simply
wasn't getting any better at the game. I couldn't
justify paying over $60 (¥7,080) an hour for a lesson
that didn't help much.
I seriously considered changing piano teachers, but I
decided that my lack of musical growth was not my
teacher's fault; I simply didn't have the time and the
willpower to dedicate myself to practicing.
Unfortunately, boring practice is essential for
improvement.
Cathy seemed very understanding about my decision. But,
of course, my quitting piano lessons was nothing compared
to her quitting her cello lessons. I was shocked when
she told me several months ago that she'd quit.
She attended the Juilliard Pre-College Program — a
world-famous incubator for aspiring pro
fessionals — when she was young, and she decided that she
really wanted to pursue the performance track after
college. She took lessons with some of the most famous
cello teachers in Boston, and she even got a graduate
degree in performance.
But now she is the manager of the orchestra that was
playing at the New England Conservatory a few days ago,
not a performer. Apparently, she still plays as a hobby
with friends, but not in any kind of competitive or
professional manner. She told me that her dream is to
found a music foundation or a music school, but that
she'd be doing the business side of things, not the
performance side.
She looked very happy and calm, probably much more
so than when she was practicing scales for hours a day
and unsure of her future. However, I was afraid to ask
what was going through her mind when she decided to quit
her cello lessons. I could list my own reasons for
quitting, but I couldn't imagine how she would even
start to explain her own.
A few days ago at the New England Conservatory, I saw
an old chamber music partner from college, Cathy,
coming out of the main auditorium. We've only seen each
other a few times since graduating in 1996, but it has
always been in some sort of musical context: our
going to a friend's concert together, or my attending one
of Cathy's concerts.
She told me that her orchestra was having a concert
that night, and that they had just had a rehearsal. She
then asked me what I was doing at the conservatory:
"Well, I quit piano lessons," I started explaining.
"Yes, I thought so," she replied. "But I accompany a
friend of mine who sings," I explained. "Oh, so you're
at least doing something." "Yes, barely."
After almost 20 years of taking piano lessons, I recently
decided to quit. I've decided not to participate in any
chamber music programs, or to take on odd jobs as an
accompanist, either. It was hard to make this decision,
but now I think I've made the right choice.
I started taking lessons when I was seven, which was
extremely common among the Japanese people in my
neighborhood, and I was not a remarkable pianist. I
didn't particularly love music, either.
However, for some strange reason, I continued long
after most of my friends had quit. They were too busy
studying, or too busy socializing, or too busy looking
for a job, or too busy working.
I never found myself "too busy" for anything to
quit, and I found that I enjoyed myself more and more as
I improved and became a part of the music community. I
didn't take any private piano lessons in my last year of
college, but that was only because my music professor
went away on sabbatical.
I remained extremely active in the Chamber Music
Society, attending practice and rehearsals almost every
day. Immediately after I entered graduate school, I was
too busy to look for a new teacher. But after a year, I
found a new teacher, resumed private lessons and
continued with him for three years, until now.
Actually, I had been thinking about quitting for a long
time. There are numerous reasons I thought it would be a
good idea, and at some point, all those reasons seemed
to point to one direction: stop now.
Lessons were extremely expensive; I didn't have time to
practice properly; the (little) practice that I did
prevented my working on my thesis; I wasn't
improving.
It was the last reason — lack of growth — that
really forced me to think. The whole point of playing
music is to play beautifully, and I felt that I simply
wasn't getting any better at the game. I couldn't
justify paying over $60 (¥7,080) an hour for a lesson
that didn't help much.
I seriously considered changing piano teachers, but I
decided that my lack of musical growth was not my
teacher's fault; I simply didn't have the time and the
willpower to dedicate myself to practicing.
Unfortunately, boring practice is essential for
improvement.
Cathy seemed very understanding about my decision. But,
of course, my quitting piano lessons was nothing compared
to her quitting her cello lessons. I was shocked when
she told me several months ago that she'd quit.
She attended the Juilliard Pre-College Program — a
world-famous incubator for aspiring pro
fessionals — when she was young, and she decided that she
really wanted to pursue the performance track after
college. She took lessons with some of the most famous
cello teachers in Boston, and she even got a graduate
degree in performance.
But now she is the manager of the orchestra that was
playing at the New England Conservatory a few days ago,
not a performer. Apparently, she still plays as a hobby
with friends, but not in any kind of competitive or
professional manner. She told me that her dream is to
found a music foundation or a music school, but that
she'd be doing the business side of things, not the
performance side.
She looked very happy and calm, probably much more
so than when she was practicing scales for hours a day
and unsure of her future. However, I was afraid to ask
what was going through her mind when she decided to quit
her cello lessons. I could list my own reasons for
quitting, but I couldn't imagine how she would even
start to explain her own.
Shukan ST: Feb. 2, 2001
(C) All rights reserved
chu.htm
- New England Conservatory
- ニューイングランド音楽学院
- chamber music
- 室内楽
- auditorium
- 講堂
- (in)musical context
- 音楽に関係したことで
- accompany
- 伴奏する
- barely
- かろうじて
- participate in 〜
- 〜 に参加する
- take on odd jobs
- ちょっとした仕事を引き受ける
- accompanist
- 伴奏者
- was extremely common among 〜
- 〜 の間ではとても当たり前のことだった
- remarkable
- 素晴らしい
- particularly
- 特別
- continued long after 〜
- 〜 の後も長く続けた
- socializing
- 交遊する
- never found myself "too busy" for anything to 〜
- 〜 するほど何かで「忙しすぎる」ことはなかった
- improved
- 上達した
- professor
- 教授
- sabbatical
- 研究のための長期休暇
- Immediately
- すぐに
- resumed
- 続けた
- at some point
- ある時から
- point to one direction: stop now
- 今やめようという結論に向かう
- properly
- きちんと
- prevented my working on my thesis
- 卒論準備の妨げになった
- lack of growth
- 成長不足
- point
- 目的
- game
- ピアノを弾くこと
- justify
- 正当化する
- 〜 's fault
- 〜 のせい
- willpower
- 意志の力
- dedicate myself to 〜
- 〜 に専念する
- boring
- つまらない
- essential
- 不可欠な
- cello
- チェロ
- attended
- 通った
- Juilliard Pre-College Program
- ジュリアード音楽学校の英才教育プログラム
- incubator
- (音楽家の卵の)育成施設
- aspiring 〜
- 〜 の卵
- pursue the 〜 track
- 〜 の道に進む
- performance
- 演奏
- graduate degree
- 学士
- Apparently
- どうやら
- competitive
- コンクールに出るような
- manner
- やり方
- found
- 創設する
- music foundation
- 音楽財団
- calm
- 落ち着いた
- scales
- 音階
- unsure of 〜
- 〜 に確信がない
- couldn't imagine how she would even start to explain her own
- 彼女自身がいったい(やめた理由について)どう説明するのか想像できなかった