Melancholy , Perfectionism and the Musician

[DoubleBlade]

This is something which I've been doing loads of personal research on.

So you must be wondering what on earth is Melancholy? To give you a rough idea of what Melancholy and Perfectionism (as a psychology) is , here are some links provided :

Perfectionism :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfectionism_(psychology)

http://www.utexas.edu/student/cmhc/booklets/perfection/perfect.html

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/perfectionHG.htm

Melancholy (adapted from the 4 temprements) :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melancholic

http://www.fisheaters.com/quizm.html

The reason why I'm putting up such a thread is because lots of musicians belong to the Melancholic trait which can then develop into perfectionistic mindsets along the course of their musical journey. Even a simple , "Aiyah I played the wrong note during the solo" can considered as a mild form of perfectionism. I'm sure lots of us musicians have made such remarks after a performance.

I'm not sure whether melancholy and perfectionism dwells in rock musicians because so far I've not come across any rock musician getting depressed over the "cruelty of the world" which eventually leads them to create masterpieces but still I feel that melancholy and perfectionism are closely associated with musicians. So far I've observed Melancholy in only classical musicians but still I'm not eliminating the possibility that Melancholy could dwell in rock/jazz musicians as well.

After having said all this , I hope to start a discussion on the above topic.

It's just a personal research of mine so I hope to see some input from you guys.

-What are the adverse effects of Melancholy?

-Why is it Melancholy and Perfectionism mostly affects classical musicians?

-Is there any way to tame the Melancholy inside of us?

-How closely related are Perfectionism and musical giftedness? If so , is it a blessing or a curse?

It's quite freaky to know that extreme perfectionism can lead to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder(Just imagine Howard Huges weird mental disorder in the movie "The Aviator") .... 8O

 

[Cheez]

Well, I think I can input something here since I train and lead sessions on temperaments often.

Firstly, it's not as simple as that. Although our temperaments are inherited (one from each parents - and therefore usually a mix of 2), our upbringing and experiences adds more variety to the mix. It's the old argument of nature vs nurture.

First layer - temperament. That's inherited.
Second layer - character. That depends on your experiences, how you were brought up, ideologies, beliefs etc. If you're a sangiune (talkative and outgoing type) but your parents never allowed you to speak more than 2 words each time during your childhood, that will shape you.
Third layer - personality. That's your outer shell and how you let other see you. That can again be different. Depending on how honest you are, you can show a different personality from who you are inside and let others see a different side of you.

Musicians do tend to have the melancholic trait, but not always. Melancholics tend to be gifted and emotional, hence why music is a form of expression of it. You're right, one of the issues is perfectionism. That can be a good thing or bad. I wouldn't necessary see it as a bad thing, although overly high expectations can cause a lot of problems. They tend to put these expectations on others (which they can never measure up) and then become judgmental and critical of others. The standard they place on themselves also tend to be high - in fact so high that often they don't measure up either. That's why they tend to go into depression if not careful. However, they are very analytical and faithful (most loyal temperament), although they don't tend to have too many close friends. Other problem - they are pessismists.

So back to music and your questions. Melacholics are not just classical musicians. They don't even have to be musicians. And not all musicians are melancholics either. One note - all temperaments have weaknesses and strengths. There's no perfect temperament. That's how we are made and created. As for changing temperaments - that's not an easy topic, and also off-topic.

I know musicians of all temperaments - most Melacholics, quite a number of Sanguines, a few Cholerics and Plegmatics. Don't forget you are usually a mix of 2 and in different percentages. So don't worry too much - just keep playing and writing music!

Oh, and yes. I'm a melancholic too (more than 90%).

 

[Cheez]

Forgot to add. Temperament testing is one of the less accurate ones, but easiest to understand. There are other similar variations like DISC etc. The one usually used (more extensive and complicated one) is the Myer-Briggs.

 

[ShredCow]

Does sitting down for 2 hours to figure out & compose a 45-second solo make me a perfectionist?

I like this thread... good read. but... gotta work now...

 

[DoubleBlade]

Yes it can take me an hour to practice 1-2 bars of notes.... :?

Obsessive compulsive disorder you say? :lol:

A mixture of Melancholic (dominant trait) and Phlegmatic (sub-dominant trait) equates to a perfectionist.

Yeah I think the DISC theory does indeed speak much about the 4 temprements in a very generalised way.

 

[Crawldaddy]

Hmm.

Haha I think I'm kinda perfectionist... 25+ takes for one solo, and I'm still not happy with it.

What to do? Must be swee swee what.

 

[soft]

interesting. i live life in a pretty easy way. not because i have no worries or pressure. but i somehow translate these elements to something that is not bothering me.

instead of being perfect to be a perfectionist, i do only 99% so that i know that i can be perfect but choose not to be.

the key here is "I choose".

If you cannot choose, how can it be perfect?

* lotus position, back straight, palm facing up. Oohhmmm........

 

[DoubleBlade]

Crawldaddy : Well at least you don't smash your guitar out of frustration right? :lol:

I think I'm of the direct opposite as what a normal musician would do and I don't think anyone would want to know what I usually do to my piano during my practice sessions....

I mean there are successful perfectionistic musicians and unsuccessful perfectionistic musicians. Yoshiki Hayashi (drummer/pianist of legend Jrock ban X Japan) and Yngwie Malmsteen being the more successful perfectionistic ones....

Yoshiki's symtoms of melancholy is much more scary! He still gets depressed and suffers from mental breakdowns over the death of Hide 9 years ago but heck he creates masterpieces! The work of Melancholy one might say? :roll:

 

[Crawldaddy]

Hmm.

I'm not perfectionist to the point of going crazy and smashing my $450 investment (yah yah $450 quite small for an "investment").

But then again, I guess I have a rather huge tank of something called 'patience'.