admin, Author at ImPulzus - Page 2 of 3
Life in the ivory tower? – I.

Life in the ivory tower? – I.

[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1553095679481{padding-top: 60px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”4134″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Life in the ivory tower? – I.

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Written by Csaba Tőri

20 March 2019[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The following question arises on countless occasions: is it worth playing music as a profession in this modern world, should we let our children enter the music field, or does it mean several financial issues and problems?

There are people who’re so committed that it doesn’t even worth talking them out of it. But there are people, who are interested in different professions and they even have the talent needed. How can they decide whether to enter the music community or not and which things help them make this serious decision?

Of course, the best thing would be if everyone could get well-paid for doing what they love. But it isn’t good if the professionalism is so strong that you’re satisfied with low salary – in other parts of your life it can cause serious problems in the future.

Nowadays, many people working on certain fields where don’t get enough salary to be able to live a healthy life. Even though it’s the same in other countries too, it doesn’t mean that it is easy for people dealing with this issue every month. People working as a nurse, a bus driver, a teacher, a social worker or even as a doctor get a salary that is not even close to the lower end of the wage range.

Let’s forget about the bad consequences it can cause for a moment and let’s try to think differently.

As we try to examine what decides the amount of salary given to the workers of each job, it’s easy to recognize that certain professions are moving at a generally higher wage level, while other workers are low-paid even they think that the importance of their job is higher.

After talking about this topic a lot (which lead to several conflicts about whose job is better etc.), I started to realize that the “importance” is totally subjective. There are just a few people that can fully understand all the different specializations, if there is any. However, it’s a good measure of how much society considers it important. Of course, we don’t have a full range of knowledge (and the consumer society commercials also affect our desire), but we must admit that we can spend a lot of money on things that we consider as important one.

I can give you a good example that happens a lot to me: sometimes I don’t want to spend 500 forints on half a kilo of oranges (because it’s relatively expensive) but I can spend 700 forints on two packs of chips with no problem because it was on sale, but it was only 200 gramms.

If we look at the price-value rate, it is striking that we attribute some value to everything, and if (comparing to our value to the product) the product is being sold cheaper, we’ll buy it. And if we see a 40 forints worth of pastry we consider it too cheap, that is probably not even good.

But what decides the value of something on our minds?

(Sorry about the long financial attachment, I’ll turn back to the musical side of it.)
We’re more likely to believe what we see, that’s why commercials are so successful. Commercials need to influence people to buy that product, so it is made to make people emotionally connected to the product.

It’s not surprising that when I was a child, I’ve seen more chips commercials than orange ones. Maybe that’s why I felt more attracted to chips than oranges (and because as a child I wasn’t allowed to eat as many packs of chips as I wanted to because it’s unhealthy and my parents didn’t let me do it).

Because of that as the years passed by, I couldn’t help but buy chips that was on sale. I felt more attracted to a 200 g of unhealthy stuff for 700 forints, than to 1 kilo of oranges full of vitamin for 500 forints.

This long introduction was important because the same process can be tracked in several steps in the proportion of wages between different professions. So, what decides how much we value the job of a doctor, a social worker, or a nurse etc.?

Setting the right price is even harder because in this case commercials do not help us. There’s no specific product so it’s difficult to identify exactly its  value: we need doctors in case of emergency, and feel the importance of disinsectisation when we have to face with the bedbugs.

If a bus driver/carpenter/fast food waiter doesn’t get paid, doesn’t get the expected wage, that he/she won’t go to work tomorrow. There are some serious collective contracts that guarantee that this person will eventually go in at least if he/she expect the situation to improve over time. As a consequence, the importance of his/her job will be moved higher.

On the other hand, a doctor/nurse/teacher chooses his/her job because of the dedication and quality of the job. They will do their job even if they don’t get enough money for it. A doctor wouldn’t go on strike and miss saving patients’ life because they’re not satisfied with their salary. Unfortunately, this unintentionally pushes down the value of their work.

It’s also bad going on strike as a teacher, skipping lessons for weeks: we teach the kids, because their life is important to us. Sometimes their lives become more important than ours, because we’re grateful for the predecessors who did the same for us.

It only takes a few steps from this to start making more compromises, and even if we don’t get enough money to make a living, we keep on working, because the sense of vocation is as important in our life as the financial security. But it means that we make more value of it, than we can earn. Everyone has been accepting a smaller sum for years, so this image of value for society has been already on this unrealistically low amount. It’s a reversed example but it’s very similar to cartel, but now at low prices.

Because of the lack of market competitions, those jobs where the sense of vocation is crucial, can get valuable wages if they ask for the price of their work, even though it’ll hurt in the first period to leave school/hospital for a while. As soon as everyone requires a certain appreciation, changes will happen.

This question is similar for the musicians as well. In this culture at least there are some market competition. However, in the history of humanity, authors, painters, musicians didn’t make a living out of their basic earnings, but instead they gave private lessons to get enough money – so that they can write their 9th symphony-maybe even for free.

These days it’s clear that the true value has no price. But we want to create it even if nobody pays for it. But this has some serious consequences. The ivory tower came into existence: high-cultural people, actually create things for each other – but people outside the tower are almost unaware of what’s happening inside.

(Second part of this article: Life in the ivory tower? – II.)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Vocal Technics form a Materialistic Angle

Vocal Technics form a Materialistic Angle

[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1564905195567{padding-top: 60px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”4143″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Vocal Technics form a Materialistic Angle

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Written by Csaba Tőri

30 January 2019[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Getting weaker a butterfly – is said – could less and less fly, its wings get collapsed more and more. And after hours/days of waiting for passing away, in a minute it soars high as long time before, and as it lands it takes its final breath.
Allegedly most humans pass away after getting better all of a sudden. As if they would show once again what really is hidden in them.

Several music pieces are composed the same way: slowing, fading, calming down, and by the end flying high again: a big crescendo, a strong dominant and it ends.
This pattern could be detected in many areas: we humans are like this, we see it in the animal world, and we even find it in music.

„Everything is energy, this is all what you should know.

Tune yourself on the frequency of the Reality you want to live on and you will get it. It can not be other way. This is not philosophy. This is physics.”

One can read these – not always relevant – kind of quotations in esoteric notes. I lifted up my head when I learned that these words were those of Einstein. So a man who happened to be one of the highest peaks of materialistic thinkers, greatest minds described these words over those I can discuss truly with  friends knowledgeable in sciences. :)

For many years I had thought there was no depth behind material. There was nothing behind things, once we would understand why things are like they are, as all relations can be learnt and proved. But then there was no reason to play music: if everything is logical and explainable, someone should please help to understand why I get depressed by one precise and accurate performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and catch fire by another one that is almost the same by the music notes. Still there must be a substantial difference.

I still feel likely that most of the things could be described by exact calculations but for a long time I have been observing when materialistic and spiritual approaches are conform. Learning the world is sensational and I feel it becomes apparent more and more that different approaches get to the same point.

Eventually singing consist of the same mechanisms as life. Energy, unexplainable self confidence are key factors in whether two line H will sound or fall. Just as we have been developing by learning reading and writing or as we learn our qualities, whether we bear hot spices or not, we are following the same route when training to sing. We need to know when starting where we are and where we want to get. In order to see what we have to develop – and after smaller successes, filled up with self confidence to cope with bigger tasks.

And our biggest help is energy and common wish: as we motivate and inspire also each other that it could be and will be better the obstacles will outweigh.

Immediately I fell less that „I do not have a voice, it is better for everybody not to hear this”. But Steve is standing beside me, who also does not have.

Not yet.

But till it will come, it is good to invest energy together.

This is what Choral Vocal Training is about. We do believe that one does not have to face all time at the beginning what one does not know. When starting, we set goals together and collect good practices so as to get more spirit and knowledge what one can base higher goals on when stepping forward.

ImPulzus would like to help here, and that is why we developed weekly Choral Vocal Trainings or intensive weekend workshops.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

„Motivate” and motivate

„Motivate” and motivate

[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1542626501524{padding-top: 60px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”4084″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

“Motivate” and motivate

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Written by Csaba Tőri

19 November 2018[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]I met a thought-provoking idea in a course that has changed my view about the world: ‘It is impossible to motivate.’

As a teacher this is a pretty bad news, if it’s true – moreover inside of my mind it was occurring immediately: what if this is just tricks with words? What does motivation mean for me, what it could mean for others – isn’t it possible that we simple think of different things?

Then it turned out that there is much to understand in it for me.

In my childhood in the school environment where we were raised up, there was just a few things to do freely in our free-time, and they were mostly obligatory or at least expected behaviours. (Is there anyone who saw the third season of the serial Therapy?

Our motivation towards certain topics couldn’t emerge: we did what we were allowed to do – and what we had to. And after a while we found pleasure in it: not because of the topic itself but instead the reinforcement from outside.

For a young child it is a great experience when the teacher gives full marks them for the well-done tasks, especially if they get chocolate for it, it will bring extra enthusiasm. (I won’t egg you to forget about this. Just in order to understand motivation on a deeper level, we must denude it.)

So, it doesn’t seem to be true that if I look at motivation, look back to my motivation as if I got to like singing, because my teachers induced me to do the right music, and that’s why I felt like doing it. (Once again, I must say it: I am not against giving full marks this way, since it can be an experience for the kids, and they could get love a topic when they understand their structure. I do not even criticize my teachers – I remember to most of my teachers as ones I liked to go to, and later, during my studies I realized that they could teach wonderfully. But it isn’t about motivation.)

The next sentence of this course was: “you can only strengthen motivation in those people where there was a seed of it. If you don’t have tiny little motivation in you towards a topic, there you won’t have it.

You can be motivated in different ways: there is a motivation that comes from outside, when I am working for a purpose, I do something for someone’s sake. And there is an inner motivation, when I do something for my sake, for my pleasure, to make myself happy or to recharge myself back.  I think we tend to believe that there are topics where it is impossible, so we accept that for example we need to force ourselves to do long tasks in work, otherwise it won’t be ready at all.

Apart from some of the tasks that are like this, in most of the issues we have more choices than we allow to ourselves.

As a teacher I had to face the fact that pupils are not interested in the things I would like to teach them: they are not interested in that way or time, or at all. As a bad response for that – based on my experience from my childhood –, I thought that there can be only two solutions for that: either I do not teach good enough, interesting enough and I do not raise their attention or I do not expect them enough to take the task seriously. It’s a pity that it takes so much time to realize that although both of them could be true, none of them could bring so much improvement that  can solve this problem: most of the kids isn’t interested in this type of education, especially music education anymore that was acceptable earlier for them.

Moreover, the forms of being not-interested-in has changed a lot (fortunately according to my opinion…): earlier the signs of it were supressed with giving respect by not showing it, but nowadays it is expressed much more easier and frankly by both the children and adults. (For example, by falling asleep, or saying nuts according to them).

Of course in an ideal situation a golden mean like one would be fine, but it is not a surprise that after so many decades and centuries where to measure up to the expectation was an absolute norm, in the first liberated moments we throw out the baby with the bath water.

We always want to believe in that the most the processes of civilization go in the right direction. (It would be a pity if we would destroy this, because for example we refer to that there is no climate change)

So returning to the subject: in a lot of situations we talk about motivation, where it is not about it, like we think we are motivated: but at least on the level of everyday duties we work, we could give ourselves to believe that we accept the necessary bad things. We complete the hated homework, read the required readings that are not proper for the age group, and do 3-4 hours overwork even if we do not feel like doing it. And finally, next week we stay at home on sick pay.

It would be so nice for me, if we could start to think about motivation in another way: everybody is interested in something, supposedly that with appropriate compensation all the tasks could be completed, we are enough for doing that.

To stay at my own example: for organizing a concert we need the desire of the singers to come into existence. But among them there will be some people who come for the joy of singing, some because of the exciting piece, and some people because they love others. (About the other dozens of resources of motivation experts who know more could write about it.

As soon as we found (or at least we try to find) these desires, most likely we could be productive, everybody takes part in the common work too with more pleasure.

A hypothesis occurred to me: there can be a world where no one (literally nobody) should do his duty by necessity. This world is far-far away from now, but probably pedagogy would help to reach there, if teachers could become so much attentive.

We started an experiment with one of my classes, after I found an article about disapproving the necessity of grading and replaced it with an evaluation system with scores. The result we experienced was surprising: we could achieve the double amount of the duties than before, although the tasks didn’t change, and the participants were almost the same.

Only one thing has changed: it was not obligatory anymore – if you do not complete it you won’t fail – and I do not need to worry about how to get people to do it if they do not want it. Furthermore: if I am not able to get them to do it – how the others would comment it…

It seems to be true that it works in small. I trust in that it is adaptable for more educational systems. In this topic there are a lot of valuable articles: if you feel motivated a bit, they will increase it.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Should I become a musician, or should I play as a hobby?

Should I become a musician, or should I play as a hobby?

[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1541434181117{padding-top: 60px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”4125″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Should I become a musician, or should I play as a hobby?

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Written by Csaba Tőri 

5 November 2018[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]As I’ve been talking a lot to professional musicians as well as to amateur ones, I came across this problem many times. How can I decide whether I should become a musician or just play the instrument as a hobby while having another job?

The answer is always difficult for people who ask themselves this question. Of course, there are musicians that don’t even care about this, but those usually come from a musician family and the examples help them a lot to prevail in this field.

Musical career is beautiful.

This is how it always starts and although we often experience its „dark side”, it really seems to be true as a basic thesis. If someone commit himself/herself to this job, 95% will become an instrumental artist or will work as a teacher. Without question, the „dark side” includes low salary, inner conflicts in the art wold, and the competition that exists in the musical world nowadays.

Usually when this question appears, people are about 16-20 years old, some of them study musical training, others study at music schools, orchestra or sing in a choir. Those who learn at a music conservatory usually get a wide range of education. For them it’s also a question whether to stay in the music industry or to do something else. For those who took it as a hobby often feel like they’re late, won’t get into conservatory or into university.

I think in both ways we deal with good dilemmas. I consider something as a „good dilemma” when whatever we choose as an answer, it’ll bring us closer to our goal. Meanwhile we may not have time to realise that what we’ve learnt at music school will not disappear. Sometimes we get job offers that requires musical background, which is useful for those who’s already qualified. For amateurs, this dilemma will tempt them until they make the great decision. It can take years, and as you make your decision, new perspectives will open as a musician or as something else.

One of my close friends asked me this question directly: Can you not do it?

If you can live your life without music, it’s better for you not to choose this field where only the best 5% will achieve something. I believe it’s very important.

Same time I think this dilemma is not always about your end goal – and from the realisation of this making a decision is going to be much easier. In life we must make thousands of decisions which will take us somewhere, but it doesn’t help if we take responsibility of our whole life beside every decision we make.

Many scientific resources show that 80% of the population don’t work in the field where he/she has the highest qualification. Then why people who’ve learnt as a musician must work as one for the rest of their lives?

If that is true, then the decision made at the age of 16-20 is not actually for a lifetime: it’s enough to decide what to study for the next couple of years. It’s a fact that having a professional background is essential to get well-paid jobs, but we probably won’t even know about the 60% scope of the position of the next 100 years.

Those who can easily adapt to the changing requirements, will be successful, and those who can’t will probably become less useful in this world of robots.

So, we don’t make our decisions for life (like 100 years ago). Quoting another close friend: „ it’s worth deciding what we want to learn, and let’s try to get to know it on the best level.”

And he continued with this: „But be careful not to become a diverse educated dilettante.” It’s not worth learning everything perfectly at the same time, because you can’t be successful. You need one thing that you’re excellent at and what you can build up your life on. But it’s becoming harder and harder to decide this at the age of 20.

So for those people who want to learn music, most of the time I encourage them to learn! As you get deeper into it, you’ll find the meaning of it, and its place in your life. Maybe you’ll need it in your profession, and maybe you’ll be proud that you’ve learnt it![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

How different is a vocal training of a choir?

How different is a vocal training of a choir?

[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1541271792877{padding-top: 60px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”7274″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

How different is a vocal training of a choir?

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Written by: Csaba Tőri

October 27, 2018[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]In one word: a lot :)

When you found an amateur choir, you do not dream of building up a choir from well-educated singers. Of course, if it works well, there will be often choir members, who will feel ambition for more self-improving, but as a conductor you should expect that the “spine” of the choir will always be those who are engaged for the community, but do not consider themselves as professional musicians.

So that if someone would like to be a soloist, it usually happens that a choir will not too big motivation for them, moreover a lot of times they should give up the vocal training principles that are evident for them, because there is no other tool that help to assimilate into the common sounding.

A well-trained singer would solve any kind of situation naturally.
Sometimes it happens that after a couple of years of vocal training, they emerge from the community that launch their improvement; later the private lessons are cancelled, but they have no time to reconnect – so playing music will temporarily will disappear from their life.

Our aim is double, when we teach vocal trainings for choirs: on one hand we would like to have everyone to sing healthy without pain (since I wrote it first, I have realized how common this problem is); on the other hand we would like that everyone could do this in a way that the community they belong to could be around them.

We are over several concerts where we could experience that a singer’s vocal knowledge – let it be with awareness or skill-based – is essential. every play would be grateful when the singers learn not only the notes, but the technical part of it, even the whole music interpretation. Nevertheless, if somebody can do that, it is worth to step forward to the solo roles. Within our choirs we could observe that there was else that provided more improvement in self-esteem than a couple of arias or to sing a part of any musicals successfully.

Otherwise there is a difference in the technical exercises too: while a singer with professional ambition like to invest months or years in learning a technical element, an amateur singer won’t have so much time for it even they have a strong desire to do so. It needs to compromise a lot of times but establishing a kind of an illusion has extreme importance: if you believe and feel that it would be successful, it will succeed easier and later much better.

 

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]