Define “Musicianship”

Student #1

Musicianship is the ability to fully understand music. Some people are naturally musical and others have to work for it. In our orchestra, musicality is what we strive for. We try to understand our music by learning about the composers, and studying the styles for each time period in music history. I think of musicianship as being able to understand how the composer wants me to play the music. It is very important to be musical because it allows the musicians to communicate with their audience. You never know who is going to be listening to you, and if you play a piece that “sounds nice” most people won’t notice the difference. However, true musicians can pick up whether a musician is sincere or not. They know if he or she understands their music and if they care about what they play.

Musicianship is a hard skill to acquire. It takes complete concentration and love of music. However, if a person is musical it makes all the difference in the way they perform. (anonymous CHS student)

Student #2

Musicianship can be defined as the knowledge, skill, and artistic sensitivity in performing music. You need to have knowledge of how to play, when to play with a certain tone, what directions in music, etc… Skill comes into play when you have the abilities to play well and are capable of it. And equally important is artistic sensitivity. If you realize what the composer wants and are sensitive to what the composer is trying to convey, you can have a better understanding about what the music should sound like, what the mood should be, and how you ought to play “musically.” All of these together can lead to a successful performance.

Being a successful musician can be difficult and requires work. You have to concentrate and practice a lot to play well. You are thought of as a good musician, a person who possesses musicianship, when you can execute difficult technical passages and have the musical knowledge to perform the music appropriately. With the mastery of technical skills and understanding of music, one can truly be able to move and capture the audience. A musician who possesses all necessary qualities could be said to have musicianship. (Cammie Wagner—9^th grade violist)