Do you know how wonderful the life of a professional musician is? How do you imagine it? Probably as an endless journey through Art and sounds, where you meet great people, perform in venues where you are adored, generally believing it’s a life of glory. I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you…the life of a professional musician is not like that, or at least, there are few moments when it is.

To describe it to you, I’d ask you to imagine living a life where every week, or even every three days, you’re taking school exams! You might have enjoyed the process, I’m not saying you didn’t, but the life of a professional musician is quite similar to that process. And the funny thing is that every single time you have to excel in front of an audience! Of course, sometimes you WON’T excel, and everyone will focus on those moments when, due to fatigue or other external factors (“What do you mean the love of your life left you? You don’t have the right…you’re a professional, you must deliver!”), you won’t play well.

But let me not sound too dismissive; the life of a musician, beyond all this, is a fulfilling life. In what other job do they pay you to play an instrument? Well, okay, it happens in others too, but here you’re playing music! Yes, but what if you’re playing something you don’t like or you’re bored with it? What happens then? You harden your heart and move on…

And how long did it take you to become a musician? A few years, no big deal. Yes, but I studied many hours and learned many things alongside school because you can’t start learning music at 18 and become a professional at 22. There’s a whole preparatory process. Yes, but wasn’t it fun? Wasn’t it good, you’ll say? It was good, but it would have been better with fewer exams…you’ll have realized that I don’t like exams, and I tried to avoid them even when I was teaching in Istanbul. I preferred my students to be continuously and constantly assessed because I’ve concluded (and no one can change my mind at 48) that that’s the only way one truly learns. I would make an exception, however, for instrumentalists because ultimately that’s what they have to do every week, and they need to get used to doing it. But for the other knowledge they need to gain from their studies (a musician who plays notes well but is uneducated in the old sense is not valuable; they will play correctly but not well)—that is, their theoretical knowledge, music history, and all the other courses they must attend—I would suggest they be assessed only through assignments and continuous evaluation.

I’m saying all this because I recently heard a story that was based on some exams. Exams are good, but ultimately what matters is what you perform on stage, just as being an educated person matters for playing better music. What good is it if you play fast but have never read philosophy or history in your life? You won won’t succeed; you’ll remain someone who simply plays the clarinet/oboe/viola/harp or any other instrument fast. What matters is performance over time, not momentary success.