Veteran musician Prof. Victor Uwaifo says that “good and real
musicians” must be able to play at least three musical instruments to
be classified as musicians.
Uwaifo, a professor of arts, made the assertion when a delegation of
the National Council of Arts and Culture visited his Revelation
Tourists Palazzo Museum on Saturday in Benin.
The visit was part of activities to commemorate the 2019 edition of
the National Festival of Arts and Culture.
Uwaifo said that a musician’s ability to play at least three musical
instruments would distinguish such a musician in his music profession.
He said that due to technological advancements, some musicians only
made use of computer facilities for musical production.
According to him, the dictionary defines a musician as someone who can
play one or two musical instruments.
“I have always said this, if a musician is not able to study and play
at least three musical instruments, there is a problem somewhere.
“I play a lot of musical instruments like guitar, xylophone, sax,
keyboard and more. In fact, I make guitars. Years back, I made
double-necked and revolving guitars.
“The younger musicians want to make money the easy way and they use
computers for music production. Computer music is no music, playing
life is the real one.
“When musicians with no academic background of music play music and
they go off the line, they use the computer to re-align themselves. It
is not proper.
“Musicians are to study music and take it seriously, they are not
supposed to be carried away with technological advancements in making
music. They need to learn the rudiments of music and arts.”
