It might be one of the most appreciated and underappreciated character attributes of the day. About half of Americans believe the people they elect to office, that is the politicians who are elected to serve us, lie to us on a regular basis. That might not the actual percentage but we certainly see enough fabrication to understand the truth, that there is an awful lot of that lying. It has gotten so blatant that honesty is now one of the top three characteristics in an elected leader that Americans are looking for.
Ain’t no such thing as lying on the bandstand. You can’t hide the truth. Either you make music that connects with your audience, or if don’t, they will know it and you will lose them. It’s not so much how good you play, how accomplished you are, but whether you are committed, putting all you have into your music. If not, your lack of interest or effort will be evident. Playing without caring about what and how you play is dishonest and the audience can tell. You won’t have an audience long if your not honest with with yourself and your music.
So honesty is one of those attributes or life lessons that learning to play and perform music teaches. When we say “fake it till you make it,” we’re talking about recovering from mistakes, and that might be one of the most honest efforts of all. Committing to a song or a solo is using your skill and knowledge to deliver the best performance you can, and what is more honest than that. And if you can be honest playing music, you surely will appreciate the value of being honest in everything else you do in life.
Honesty is the best policy, on and off the bandstand.