June 2009

I spent a lazy morning today finally updating my biography and watching videos of previous amateur piano competitions. One common topic that comes up is the debate of what defines an amateur versus a professional musician? People claim that if amateur competitors have ever studied at a music school they should be disqualified from such competitions. Others claim that some amateur musicians are just as good and sometimes better than the professionals out there. People even go out of their way to tally how many competitors in these amateur competitions come from music school training.

Since I did not ever receive formal music training, I think I can make a fair assessment on the situation. I believe that the term “amateur” implies a financial designation. From what I recall, all these competitions state that if you do not receive the majority of your income from performing, then you qualify as an amateur. Whether or not you have a previous music degree doesn’t really garner a professional status. If you obtain more than half of your income as a musician, that’s another story.

Someone once mentioned that the term “amateur” means “to love”, and that it is not a designation of the skill-set of the musician. While this is true, I also tend not to use this explanation either. I believe everyone who plays music loves it, regardless of their title. One person once wrote on my You Tube video, that professionals love music more than amateurs because they are the ones who have decided to continue with it, through good times and bad. I tend to agree in some respects to this comment, because I do know how much dedication it takes to become a professional musician. I understand my own limitations in becoming a professional, and I wouldn’t enjoy the lifestyle that a concert pianist lives anyways. This is why I have the utmost respect for my peers who are making it in this business. It touches my heart to see when someone develops their musical career, because it is the dream for so many of us. We amateurs are lucky in the sense that although we may not possess the same talent or sheer volume of repertoire, at the end of the day we go back to our careers. So let’s all assume that every musician loves to play...isn’t that why we all do it in the first place?

I’m sure most of us can agree that to have a degree in music doesn’t put you into a professional status either. It takes a lot of perseverance, detemination and luck. Furthermore, like any craft, if you so much as take three weeks off from playing the piano it sets you back both physically and mentally. So why make a fuss if someone studied music at Julliard ten years ago? Some people may still huff and puff about this debate, but let’s go back and reclaim the definition as merely a financial designation. It’s not a definition of talent (as I have heard some amateurs play better than professionals), nor is being an amateur pianist just a state loving piano.

I’m going to re-read this blog at a later date, to see if I still agree with my own thoughts. Maybe it’s not even an issue. But I certainly think about it a lot, as I do many other aspects of music. Now, back to my beautiful piano in Saskatoon that I have missed so much.