Two Different Musical Styles by John R. Haws
	Yesterday, my family and I listened to a solo violinist in the park at 6:30 pm.  The violinist had a special six-string violin and a special piece of equipment that allowed him to play the bass, cello, viola and violin parts, all at the same time.  He was an extremely talented violin player but not a particularly entertaining artist.  For all his natural, God-given talent, he simply could not entertain.  His music was strange, weird and totally unfamiliar.
	Today we listened to a four-piece, Caribbean-style band comprised of two guitars, a drummer on Congo drums and a female singer who shook beans in a clay pot, clicked two sticks together and played the accordion.  These four players were entertaining.  Their music was great.  Their music was not the run-of-the-mill, everyday sort of music; but it was conventional enough to be recognized - with rumba, samba, tango, and the rhythms of other countries like Cuba and Columbia and Brazil.
	The thing that struck me about these two sets of entertainment was the irony of their difference.  Four people playing as one were much better than the one person playing as four.  The four people were having fun and so was everyone listening to them.  The one person was playing for himself and no one really understood him or his music.  He was not entertaining.  He was not even good, except in his own eyes.
	I believe musicians have an unspoken obligation to entertain others.  If all one artist does is entertain himself, then he misses the point.  Creating joy and laughter in an audience is not an easy thing to do.  But, even with the simplest of instruments [beans in clay pot], a good musician can entertain.  A good band can make your feet move involuntarily.  They can inspire you to dance.  A good band arouses your senses and emotions.  They invite you to have fun and to enjoy life.  Musicians like that are entertainment at its finest.
	July 2003 Return to Essays