Warning this movie review contains spoilers!
I recently watched the award winning critically acclaimed movie Whiplash and as a musician it was a fascinating movie to watch. While overall it was a good movie there were a few things within that didn’t sit quite right with me from a musicians and music teacher’s perspective. However on the other hand it also made me review some issues that it raised regarding music education, practice and being a musician itself.
The main character in Whiplash is an aspiring jazz drummer Andrew. Attending a prestigious music school he gets chosen by respected but aggressive and intimidating professor/band conductor Terence Fletcher as the drummer for his highly rated big band. As a music student Andrew is pushed by the professor and himself to be one of “the greats” of jazz like saxophonist Charlie Parker or drummer Buddy Rich.
Music Practice
It is necessary for all musicians to practice their craft to improve and even just maintain their skills. However Andrew has an obsession with practice to the point of pain. There is one over the top scene where he his trying to play a fast beat on the drum kit for hours until his hands are dripping with blood despite applying multiple band-aids. Just like professional sports people musician’s should be resting if injured to prevent further problems developing from overworking torn muscles, ligaments or in Andrew’s case bleeding torn hands! However there are examples of musicians practicing to the point of pain. Allegedly George Harrison used to practice until his fingers bled when he was teenager.
An obsession with practice is not only bad for your physical but can also be bad for your mental health.
Musicians including Charlie Parker, Jaco Pastorius and David Helfgott all practiced non stop when younger and all became unhinged later in life. Did this excessive practice result in burn out for them as they got older? On the other hand there are many other virtuoso musicians such as shred rock guitarists Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and prog rock drummer Virgil Donati who have spent countless hours practicing and are healthy well rounded individuals. Maybe they found a balance that allowed for intense practice but still be normal stable people.
Andrew in Whiplash is so obsessive about practice and wanting to be great that he even breaks it off with his would be girlfriend. He believes that she wouldn’t be able to handle the lack of attention and quality time that they would spend together. Jazz saxophone legend John Coltrane was so obsessed that he would practice in between sets at a gig and even in the garage when he came home afterwards. His wife would often find him asleep with the sax in his mouth! The fact that his first wife left him was highly likely due to her being unable to deal with his incessant practice. Being a musician and a person should be about a creating balance between practice and having a regular social life.
Ultimately practice is not necessarily about how much time you spend but how you use that time. The number one rule of practice is to practice what you suck at otherwise you aren’t practicing but you’re playing. Practice should sound ugly!
How Not To Teach Music
Terence Fletcher is the perfect example of how not to teach music or encourage greatness out of players unless you want them to be an angry musician like Buddy Rich! Just check out his rants to his band for “clamming” (missing) notes after his gigs. On a side note these crazy rants were used by Jerry Seinfeld in his TV show.
While Fletcher’s reason for being aggressive and domineering is to push students to work hard he takes it much too far. It may be good to push some students to work harder on their craft but if it’s not enjoyable ultimately they will drop out or in the extreme example in the movie his ex-protégé commits suicide to his high level of stress probably caused Fletcher.
A music teacher should be supportive and encouraging. At this higher level he may be able to be more critical in comparison to dealing with beginners but he should also inspire and encourage players to work harder and play better by providing a relaxed and creative environment. A tense musician will find it hard to make the music flow on whatever instrument their playing. It’s very hard to get into the feel or groove of the piece while being threatened with the fear of immediately losing your spot in the band if you make a mistake.
Appreciating Music
In Fletcher’s big band rehearsals and gigs the pressure he places on the players is so great that they’re too frightened and tense to really appreciate the music their playing. While they should be serious and focused for them to play at a high level it shouldn’t be to the point that they’re too frightened to own up about being out of tune or out of time. The “not my tempo” assault on Andrew at band rehearsal is a bit silly but I suppose it adds drama and gives Fletcher an excuse to through a chair at Andrew! The analogy here is that its just like the cymbal that was thrown at Charlie Parker which according to legend inspired him to practice until he became a great player.
The band members they are so competitive with each other that they are not supporting each other with encouragement, sharing tips or appreciating the music together. While it is good to foster some competition to help drive the band to greater heights it would be more beneficial to create a more positive atmosphere to create the right expression for the music. After all music should be fun and enjoyed by the musicians and the audience.
In the movie there is also no jamming between the musicians. Apart from individual practice an important part of developing yourself as a jazz (or rock, blues and many other styles) musician is to be playing or jamming with others. In Whiplash the uptight competitive environment in the big band with Fletcher seems to discourage players hanging out and jamming. Of course it might just be Andrew who is not jamming with others as he does say that he has no friends. If he was jamming with other musicians he may have seen that Fletchers big band is not the only music project to enable him to become great or be discovered. If so he wouldn’t be do desperate to make the gig after crashing the car while running late to the gig.
Another small thing I noticed in the movie was a poster that Andrew had stating “Don’t forget to practice otherwise you’ll end up playing in a rock band”. While this was amusing it does demonstrate a music elitist attitude that I call the “jazz snob”. While it is true that most jazz players are technically more accomplished than you’re average rock player technical ability is not what music is about. Consider the great music from bands like the Beatles or singer/songwriters such as Neil Young who while not being the most accomplished players have created some amazing beautiful music. If you’re only going to listen to virtuosic technical music whether it be jazz, rock or classical you’re missing out on the real artistic point of music.
Finally on this topic of music appreciation Andrew is frustrated by the lack of appreciation of how much work he puts into his drumming in comparison to the others in his family who are reasonably successful at football. This is a true situation for may musician and especially jazz ones. In general people tend to relate more to sport as most have played some form of sport in school. Plus it is easier to see a sports person succeeding by running faster or scoring more goals etc. in comparison to appreciating an amazing guitar solo over an average one as this can be more subjective.
The Conclusion
The conclusion of Whiplash a bit odd as Fletcher is redeemed by pushing Andrew to succeed. At the final concert Fletcher first tells him that “he knows” that Andrew got him fired from the music school just before they start playing and then by embarrasses him by calling a tune that he’s never played with no chart.
From a musician’s standpoint the messy drumming that Andrew plays for that unrehearsed piece really wouldn’t have been that bad. He should’ve been able to keep time verses being all over the shop. The drumming was made to be so obviously out of time for the movie’s audience whereas in reality he would simply be missing accents and cues.
After this terrible performance Andrew storms off the stage but then re-enters to take control with a spectacular drum dominated version of Duke Ellington’s Caravan. Does this then validate Fletcher’s philosophy of pushing the music student to their physical and mental limit to become great? Would this lead to Andrew becoming another aggressive musician yelling at and intimidating his band members like Terence Fletcher and Buddy Rich? What are your thoughts on the movie’s ending and the movie itself? Let me know below.