Artist Story: Vijay Tellis-Nayak

It’s important to note that all great musicians have “studied” music. The degree to which that “study” has been formal, or qualifies as training, varies from musician to musician and probably matters little in terms of aesthetic effect. I should note that when I say “musician,” I am including not only the standard definition but also engineers, producers and everyone else who is involved in making aesthetic decisions. What every artistically successful musician has in common is that he or she has immersed him or herself in music and have, in their own way, come to understand the way that music is structured; and/or learned to create musical expression in a way that satisfies their aesthetic instincts. In other words, every good musician is ultimately self-taught, whether or not they have had training.

Moreover, every artistically successful musician has had an intense period of study and self-reflection that may or may not have included external guidance. Unlike learning a highly formalized system that you would run across in math and the sciences, systems of musical understanding are extremely diverse and can often follow highly personal logics. That is to say, finding your own voice, the ultimate goal of musical expression, always requires study. This study may not always follow a formalized course or a “tradition” –rather, its more often of a personal nature.

When someone seeks out musical training, ideally, they are seeking insight from an outside party on a musical subject. Rather than reinventing the wheel, they are hoping to gain some knowledge or an ability that they realize they may not have been able to gain on their own, perhaps even faster than they may have been able to achieve on their own. In this way, I think that the issue of formal training only has pertinence in so far as it indicates the degree of complexity that your studies have reached. Also, formal study teaches you a literal language with which one has the ability to more accurately and efficiently communicate musical ideas.

This sheds some light on the benefits of collaborations between two trained artists or between a trained and “untrained” artist. First, as mentioned above, musical training can facilitate communication. Given the nature of limited time and budgets in most recording scenarios being able to communicate efficiently with musicians, engineers and producers is extremely important in making things move along quickly and thus cost-effectively. This is a purely practical outlook concerning time and financial constraints. But the facilitation of creative ideas is also at stake.

One of the most well known examples of this kind of relationship is that of George Martin and The Beatles. Clearly the band had unparalleled talent and creative discipline despite any formal training. When it came to realizing the sonic vision that was achieved on middle and late period records, George Martin’s grasp on symphonic instrumentation and arranging as well as his studied approach to recording technique was key to their artistic success. He was able to materialize the aspect of their creative intention that was often expressed in ambiguous or highly personal terms. A prerequisite to this type of collaboration was their working chemistry. It was because of this relationship that the producer was able to realize his ideal function of translating the artist’s intentions to the recorded medium.

It’s not uncommon to hear a musician voice his opinion about his fears that training will impinge on his creativity. In other words, there is a widespread skepticism about the formality of musical training because of ideas about how the formal structure of training and the ascetic discipline associated with it, seem to run counter to the notion of creative freedom and unencumbered personal expression. That is, training promotes conformity rather that expressive freedom. And while I believe this perception is based on a misunderstanding of the basis of creativity (an enormous subject in its own right), I do feel that musicians with advanced training can be guilty of a certain hubris that impedes open-minded creativity. Whether it stems from a sort of elitism or creative laziness, there is a very real danger of becoming out of touch with more raw musical forms.

I have found many circumstances, however, observing situations around me where the mentality of the “trained professional” musician has gotten in the way of a creative collaboration. It is key especially for a producer to stay in touch with a sense of musical naiveté. It is not the training itself that is the danger but rather bad musical values that get in the way of expression.

In my personal relationships with artists I work with, my musical background and reputation are usually the basis of the collaboration. People understand what their limitations are and seek out a partner whose skills compliment their goals. My personal study of music is an important factor in being able to realize a creative vision. I run into problem-solving situations every day having to do with music and recording which are the basis of this ongoing study and ultimately lead to deeper musical understanding.



Vijay Tellis-Nayak is a jazz pianist, keyboardist, guitarist, producer/engineer and part owner of Transient Sound Studios in Chicago. Vijay’s work in the field of music production has been acknowledged by the New York Times in their Emerging Artists’ Series. Keyboard Magazine has praised Vijay’s piano and keyboard playing in his fusion band Kick The Cat. He received national recognition at the age of ten for winning the Young Composers Competition with fully arranged orchestral compositions three years in a row. He attained a Bachelors in Music Technology in 1997 with partial assistance from the Oak Park Arts Alliance, and his Masters degree and Ph.D. in the field of Rhetoric and Mass-Media Economics from Northwestern University.