hypothesis

Here's a thought, brought on by Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance -

We always think of musicians as performers. A musician's work is validated by his performance on stage. It's a widely held opinion that the defining act of musicianship is the stage performance (in the case of jazz players, the improvisation) and that practice is just a necessary preparation for that one act.

I think though, hypothetically, that the defining act of musicianship includes practice and the act of searching for what Pirsig calls 'Quality'. In fact, it could just be more important than the performance itself. In that sense, practice is as much a component of the art as performance. I think the musician should be distinguished from the performer - a musician is a performer but a performer is not necessarily a musician.

Just musing, what do you all think?

adam