June 2, 2009

One of the strongest inspirations for me this year has come primarily from books – mostly contemporary novels, though occasionally a few tried-and-true older books and non-fiction as well.  I find that I’m drawn more and more to the books where I feel the writer has fantastic technique and a compelling personal voice, much like I’m drawn to that sort of musician.  Plot is actually (surprisingly) not very high on my list these days, though it is always a treat when the plot is as compelling as the craft.  One of the most beautiful books I read this year was “Blue Mountain” by Meir Shalev.  I also really enjoyed “On Beauty”, which is Zadie Smith’s latest novel.  I went through a couple of shorter books by Joyce Carol Oates, who it is great at conveying the characters’ psychological states through their thoughts and dialogue and not necessarily narrator commentary.  Another inspiration and joy to read for the masterfully-written dialogue and narrated passages examining states-of-mind was “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, which I last read over 15 years ago.  It was also a pleasure to return through that book to the sights and smells and hot temperature of the American South for a couple hundred pages (except of course for painful reminder of the South’s racism).

I sometimes wonder at my fascination with technique.  Perhaps because I always felt that technique was my weaker point, I’ve often been impressed by musicians who are natural technical masters.  And yet, I’ve also found comfort in the words of great musicians bemoaning those who just show off rather than have anything real to say.  There are obviously those who do both very well…but I know that technique is much easier to train than musicality.  Well, maybe it is just that – technique is trained, whereas musicality is inspired.  One involves hours of small muscle movements, and one involves years of life experiences.   Technique is quite a bit easier to judge objectively, and it can also be easier for an audience to grasp immediately.  But musicality comes from something more internal, starting first from personal inspiration (and this can come through many different channels), and then through the bravery and honesty needed to open up your soul and share it with the world.