I am listening to Sid Sriram’s ‘It Isn’t True’ (independent single) as I write this. I am glad he is expanding into less-tested waters, and his film popularity aside, is willing to start from scratch in a new space. I am reminded of famous painter Georgia O’Keefe’s philosophy of life and work. At a time when ideas like “following the trend” and “catering to the marketplace” were doing the rounds, she shut herself up in her New Mexico home, far from the madding crowd and refused to follow either trends or markets. Each painting was a “start from scratch” offering from her. And therefore a masterpiece.
Not all musicians are in this space. Not all musicians are also able to keep pace with the demands of today’s consumerist mindset. As a result, they often succumb to mental pressure and, sometimes , gointo depression . A statistic that I picked up from the U.K.’s Music Minds Matter initiative shows that suicide among musicians has tripled in the last five years. Chester Bennington’s death recently and the death of keyboardist Karan Joseph in Mumbai last year are sad examples of why this topic is important.
Too often I come across declarative statements from my musician-friends to the effect of quitting music or worse, quitting life. I too am guilty of feeling like this from time to time. Rather than hide behind platitudes and politically correct phrases, it is time we are honest about it and try to uncover the causes of mental breakdown among musicians.
Bring out the best
The U.K. has set up a dedicated helpline just for the musician community and it is obvious why. Musicians are often cognitive tunnellers, getting into deep recessed thoughts and ideas in an effort to unleash creativity. All art mirrors society, and a society that is fickle with respect to its tastes and preferences will naturally take its toll on an already sensitive mind. Indeed, it is the very sensitivity in a musician that sometimes brings out the best in his or her art. So it is futile telling a musician to “toughen up.”
For musicians, the brain is also wired slightly differently. They perceive the world through an optic that is unique and layered. They thrive (like most artistes) on external validation — gigs, acclaim, recognition and the like. In a world dominated by the social media, most musicians are hard-pressed to find ways and means to keep themselves relevant.
Hardly a handful manage the tricky balance between relevance and inventiveness. The rest are left to wonder what they did wrong, and in extreme cases succumb to mental illness.
So where does the solution lie? First in recognising that musicians are slightly less resilient to social pressure.
Second, in realising that for most, catering to ‘market demand’ is not what they signed up for, but belief in their art.
Third, in following the U.K. in perhaps setting up a helpline that will prevent disastrous self harm.
We cannot expect trends and social media to disappear. Neither can we expect the market pressure to vanish. My intent is to make the world realise that musicians are among the most vulnerable individuals. And find out ways in which this can be addressed. A society needs its artistes too.
The writer is a pianist and a music educator based in Chennai