Tips and Question for Students

The artist who has reached the stage of creation does not think very much while creating. The thinking has already been done, whether years earlier or moments before. The following questions are offered as companions to the student throughout the learning process.

Hač mēnōg ī xrat

pursēt dānāk haĉ mēnōg ī xrat ku xrat vēh ēvap hunar ēvap vēhīh. Mēnōg ī xrat pasaxv kart ku xrat kē-š vēhīh nē apāk pat xrat nē dār u hunar kē-š xrat nē apāk pat hunar nē dār

The sage asked the Spirit of Wisdom:

“Which is better: wisdom, skill, or goodness?”

The Spirit of Wisdom replied:

“Wisdom without goodness is not wisdom, and skill without wisdom is not skill.”

—from the cherished book Minoy Kherad (The Spirit of Wisdom), written in Sasanian Pahlavi.

Although the word hunar in this passage is usually understood in the sense of “skill” rather than “art,” the saying remains meaningful in both senses. Wisdom without goodness is not wisdom; skill without wisdom is not skill. The same may be said of art.

What is the difference between things? For example, what is the difference between a Mercedes and a Peykan? The difference lies in amounts.

The difference between two musicians, or between the music they play—as with the difference between other things in the world—lies in amounts. Musical training, from its very foundations, involves working with amounts. Understanding and organizing these amounts is a complex task.

The correct shape of the hand always follows from, and results from, the freedom of the hand, which is essential to every act of creation.

Creating beauty involves confining something—whether color, smell, taste, or anything else—within specific limits and dimensions. In other words, creating beauty means restraining something that exists in freedom and disorder and is not yet beautiful, like an uncut piece of stone.

It can therefore be said that unlimited freedom leads to ugliness, while beauty is achieved through constraint. The crucial point, however, is that in order to be constrained, one must first be free. The narrower and more demanding the constraint, the greater the need for freedom.

A painter or calligrapher, for example, needs a hand that is comfortable and unrestricted enough to create delicate calligraphy or draw graceful lines and curves.

This point may seem obvious, yet the meaning of freedom is often elusive and difficult to grasp.

The dark days of Dastgahi music education have made it difficult for students to understand the difference between "playing the Dastgah" and "creating the atmosphere of the Dastgah." It feels as though the essence of Dastgahi music, its beauty, depth, meaning, and the world it encompasses, has been completely forgotten, leaving musicians devoid of these concepts.

ریز با روان چه میکند؟

Education is a reward.

Indeed, what is the purpose of playing the setar?

It appears that many contemporary Iranian musicians, particularly in the Dastgahi tradition, have neglected to consider the influence of music on the listener. Their education seems to have focused primarily on music theory, with little deeper reflection.