What every musician needs to know
Inspiring conversation with a young and actively developing musician about writing, fear of the stage, work in a group, classics and trends, club 27 and the highest purpose of music.
Artem is 21 years old. He lives in Moscow, studies in the first year of the magistracy, but considers playing the guitar his main business in life. Now he regularly performs with drummer Yevgeny Anoev at Rolling Stone club, and before that he managed to play on the same stage with Noise MC and on the same project with Re-pac, MC Quick san, Spanish Nasty Mondays, Ice beat lab, Arnica, dj- Pasha Panda, Clubkilla, General Mike, Junior K, and others. He participated in the festival “City Story”, “Art Nights”, “Xxx rave”, performed at Museon sites, Artplay, Lumiere Hall. In addition to sessional activity, he performs and writes music with his own group and oversees the Musical Museum of Moscow.
When can I start writing? What experience is required for this?
Artem: I didn’t need a lot of experience to start writing. I began to try to write something of my own, when I had just learned the basic chords, at the age of 13. Now I can say for sure that no one will teach music to compose. I do not remember who said: “The composer has enough good taste.”
So the teacher is not important?
Artem: Of course, it’s important, if not for my teachers, I would walk this way 10 times slower. Each of them gave me a certain vector in development. But the mentor should only share the experience, and not impose their point of view.
Are you worried, afraid when you show your work to others? How to deal with constraint?
Artem: Of course, I was especially afraid at first. Although then everything that I composed, it seemed to me simply brilliant. Now I don’t show anyone the new material until I bring it to the end, until I myself am sure that this is the very thing.
How to learn not to be afraid of the scene?
Artem: Fear of the scene is an uncertainty that you have a high enough level. But at this moment you have to forget that now someone is evaluating you, smiling more and remembering that even if you failed, they will quickly forget about it. One good performance can erase all previous failures.
I am always nervous before going on stage, but I like this jitter. The main thing is not to lose heart, if you co-operate, people will feel it, and if this happened, consider that you lost. Well, the mood is important. The mood for a good performance is 50% of the work done. It is necessary to go on stage with a smile and love for the audience, in no case you should look down on them.
What mistakes do newbies make?
Artem: The main mistake is constraint. And this is a mistake not only for beginners, often experienced musicians also do not want to make contact. And they look down on beginners.
What is more important: theory or practice? Talent or work on yourself?
Artem: In this case, practice and theory are equal. Theoretical knowledge without the use of meaningless, but on the same instrument playing, too, will not go far, sooner or later there will be a need for new knowledge. With talent is the same. It seems to me, rather, work generates talent. Over time, you acquire a wealth of knowledge and skills, even when you do not have much talent. The main thing is to be persistent and think about your goal every minute.
Good or bad to copy in the learning process? Where is the line between copy and plagiarism?
Artem: You need to copy. Copying different styles, you begin to synthesize, to realize your own. When you begin to understand that you are too much like someone, you have to try to think like you don’t tend to, take techniques from another direction, for example.
Why does everyone advise listening to classical music?
Artem: Classics is a standard, the quintessence of theory, skill and technology. The classic work uses such means of expression and techniques that are able to tell the whole story, reflect the whole essence of the work without words. You can not just hear music, but feel it.
What to do if you don’t like classical music or listen to it for a long time?
Artem: You just have to come to this. It is a matter of time and experience. All popular styles and trends have their limits. Classical music, too, probably, but it does not last 4 minutes. Moreover, there is much more information for analysis. Taste generally need to bring up. By the way, such a direction as the metal of the classic is very influential.
Where, where do you get inspiration?
Artem: Emotions are the most important source of inspiration. Good, bad – this is all potential material for a song, because when writing you sublimate.
And if there is no inspiration at all?
Artem: If it is not at all, you just need to work on the technique. The more you play, the more likely there will be inspiration. Playing, you begin to realize your potential. Writing generally requires more time and patience, just inspiration is not enough for him. You have to play a lot, listen to a lot of music, tons of different music, write a lot of your own, listen to what was recorded, postpone, then listen again, only then you will understand if it’s good or not.
