- Please join me in welcoming Mr. Wynton Marsalis.
(Crowd applauding)
- [Wynton Marsalis] Thank y'all very much.
Thank you so much.
Such a pleasure to be here this morning.
I promised Weston that I was gonna go
for at least 45 minutes,
(crowd laughter)
but I think I will do an hour
President Woetzel, Provost Meyer, Dean and Director
Sprott, Artistic Director McGillan,
distinguished teachers, family, guest, and friends,
I wanna congratulate you all class of 2022.
It's been a tough time.
You all are gonna go on and do so many unimaginable things.
Some are gonna be in music and some not, but I want you all,
as Weston said, I don't want you to ever forget
that you are musicians and you will always be.
You've invested a lot
into learning this most sacred of all arts.
And it has also invested a lot in you.
It has taught you a lot.
Now let's take a moment on the precipice of this transition
to higher learning and to exciting new experiences to
reconsider the things that music has taught
each and every one of you.
And each of these lessons can be related to life itself.
But because music herself is a symbolic language,
I'm gonna leave it to you all to accept some
of this advice and to complete some of the metaphors.
The things I'm gonna tell you, some of them
you could apply directly to human beings.
I want y'all to lighten up
because I'm not here to be very serious.
These are serious times. We know that
But sometimes in the most serious of times,
levity is needed.
When you have things to do.
I remember I was
on a plane that almost crashed in 1986-85 Eastern Airline.
And the entire cabin was in complete disarray.
The plane had dropped from 35,000 feet to below 10,000
in a time that you had no idea an aircraft could do.
It did a maneuver you actually did not know a plane could.
So everybody in the state of absolute panic
pandemonium, hollering, and screaming.
The captain got on the microphone.
And the first thing he said was he was a Southerner.
He said, "I bet y'all didn't know that a jumbo jet
could do it, It just did."
(crowd laughter)
We started laughing just like you're doing.
We went from terror to at least a glimmer of hope.
These are 40 pieces of advice.
Silence is the beginning and ending of every peace.
I want y'all to respect the complexities of silence.
You know how your instrument looks has absolutely
nothing to do with how good you make it sound.
How good you look has nothing to do with how good you sound.
If every day you play with absolute dedication,
that becomes the only way you play every day.
If you wanna be less nervous in public, face each rehearsal
as if it is your most important concert.
We were talking a little earlier about something.
Please remember, being in tune is not staying in tune.
And when you're playing a concert,
things may sound terrible to you,
but they may sound fantastic in the room.
Or, they may feel fantastic to you
but sound horrendous in the room.
When performing, concentrate on playing with
spirit, soul, and absolute feeling.
Evaluate things later.
Very important point.
How you feel about your audience affects how you play.
If you don't like me, I don't like you.
Love who loves you.
If you can survive early painful tribulations,
playing a very difficult thing in front of
people can actually be fun.
There was just a major study done
including the all-knowing voice of AI.
And they discovered that practicing makes
things sound better.
The better you get, the better you know that
you need to get better.
You can play every note perfectly
and still make mediocre music
because the very best music is much deeper than the notes.
To play deeper, mind your thoughts, intentions,
dreams, emotion, fears and memories.
It's all down there.
Dynamics and instructions.
Foreign words on any given piece of music.
Always remember, these indications are
like the fine print of a contract;
The things you don't understand are the things that get you.
You know, playing loud,
louder and being the loudest is absolutely fun.
And a decrescendo is just not fun.
It may not even be possible at this point.
It's very difficult to decrescendo and not slow down.
If you want to hear what other people are playing,
play softer.
Being on time does not mean that you are in time.
But if you have to choose between the two, pick both.
Playing music has taught you how to follow
and how to lead, how to closely follow graphic instructions
and how to follow conductors who are not.
Sometimes you rest.
Sometimes you rest for a very long time.
And sometimes you don't even have a part to play at all.
And things sound just fine without you.
I want y'all to know that how generously
you listen is most often much more important
than how you actually play.
Never, ever, be the only person in your section
that can't play a part correctly.
That's like being the person who takes the last piece
of anything off a table.
And I don't want you to ever think that because
there are more than ten of y'all playing the same part,
Your voice is unheard.
Messing up always stands out.
And when you really mess up an important part,
forget it immediately.
We are still playing and we need you.
Sometimes being right can be wrong.
And sometimes being wrong can be right.
But most of the times, being right is right.
Soft things must be played with intensity.
Loud things must be played with focus and control.
If you really wanna learn something, teach somebody.
As long as you all live, seek to have meaningful students
and teachers.
Weston said I was his mentor,
I called him and get a lot of advice from him.
David Crouse was just playing. Made me tear up.
If you know how David's mama would call me
when he was a little kid, 13
or 14 for trumpet lessons.
I'd go to the met and hear all that trumpet he's playing.
I can't believe it.
He's son graduated yesterday.
I saw his mother. I wanted just hug her.
I say you "have no idea what I learned from just
the way you wanted me to teach your son
All those years ago."
Always be in that cycle.
Young people need older teachers and old people
need younger teachers.
Let me tell y'all one thing I know you know.
Louder percussion is never the answer.
More trumpet is always appropriate.
(crowd laughter)
If you can sing your part, I will guarantee you
you're gonna play it better.
If you get lost, don't be too proud.
Ask your neighbor.
But if you actually learn the music, your neighbor
will ask you.
C-natural is the fifth and F.
The minor-third at A.
The flat-13 and E.
The major-7th in D-flat.
The flat-9 and D.
B-sharp is also C-natural and so is D-double-flat.
You see?
People can be many things and still be themselves.
So can you.
Every time you play, you're making yourself
into the player you want to be.
And every day you are making yourself into you.
Even today and how you receive this ceremony.
All you are is what you love
and you love to do and love to be.
Get off your cell phone.
Make sure when this time comes,
to always play with your kids
or just with kids, is gonna bring you together.
I can't tell you how far I would drive
on the road to play with an elementary school band.
Seven o'clock in the morning.
I'd be playing my part.
Little kid next to me would be saying,
- "hey, you pretty good. How long have you been playing?"
- "For 50 years"
- "Are you joking?"
- Every time you play
to the end of your days
you are thanking your parents.
And my last piece of advice to you,
know when it's time to stop.
Thank you very much.
(crowd applauding)