The 3 Ps to music

Passion, patience and practice. Riad Kudsi, conductor and director of the Emirates Youth Symphony Orchestra in conversation with Reema Saffarini

They always tell us that to succeed in a career you need to have a passion for what you do. When it comes to pursuing music as a profession, passion takes centre stage, because it is what truly sustains you.

Notes met Riad Kudsi, conductor and director of the Emirates Youth Symphony Orchestra, to talk about the prospects of music as a profession.

He was talking on the sidelines of the Third Dubai International Peace Music Festival for Young Virtuosos.

When should a person start learning an instrument?
The best age for a person is five or six years. Of course each kid varies when it comes to capabilities and talent. There are fast learners, those who pick up playing quickly.

Learning how to play an instrument is exactly like going to school where you have to finish your primary, preparatory and secondary education.

You start at the age of five or six and you keep learning until freshman year in college. Practising, however, lasts till the day you die.

Where would one go to learn?
There are many conservatoires and schools that specialise in teaching music. However, not any student can last in these schools.

There are those who join and drop out after two years because they do not have what it takes. Many students then decide to pick music as a hobby rather than take it as a profession.

Characteristics of a good musician?
These people know that music is their passion. They study it from a very young age that they cannot think of engineering or medicine or any other field as a profession. They continuously practice and play to become real professionals.

How long do students practice to succeed?
Serious students practise for an average of six hours daily. For violinists, you can even see a mark on their jawbone from continuous playing.

How hard is it to join an orchestra?
It is not hard at all. Joining an orchestra is like joining the army. There are certain rules and regulations.

There 16 different instruments playing in an orchestra so it is important that everybody plays in sync with each other. To join an orchestra, students usually audition and get chosen.

Qualifications to join an orchestra?
A student should show that he or she is really a good musician, that he or she practises a lot and is truly talented.

Do you see lots of interest from students in the UAE?
There are only a few good students who can play instruments. So, no there isn't much interest, otherwise the number of musicians would be bigger.

Why is that?
There is a huge "music gap" in society. I don't have one UAE national student as part of the Emirates Youth Symphony Orchestra! Music schools are all non-profit organisations so they need the support of governments. Take Russia as an example.

There are more than 5,000 music schools there because they have allocated a special budget for that. Music there is part of the culture. Also, parents play a role; they are the ones who should enrol their kids in music classes to hone their talents.

What about schools and music classes?
What schools offer are just music classes for entertainment. Students bury themselves in maths, physics and chemistry. The last thing they need is a class to learn how to play an instrument.

So what is the solution?
Education and spreading awareness. You cannot make parents interested in sending their kids to music classes all of a sudden. It is a gradual process. Unfortunately, music is classified as haram - forbidden - in many people's minds.

We can easily reflect our beautiful Arab culture through music, just as those in Russia and The Czech Republic are doing by celebrating Tchaikovsky and other great musicians.

Any advice for budding musicians?
Music is about passion, patience and practice.