Is individuality selfish? Is self-expression personal? Is there a difference between individuality and personality? I used to have difficulty in answering these questions.
Then when I was a student I began to play the violin in the university orchestra. I found that within this framework there was still room for individual expression. No two instruments are ever identical; no two players ever sound exactly the same. Every orchestra has its own distinctiveness. Even in the scoring of orchestral music, the notes for one group of instruments aren't right for another.
The musician has to conform to the rules of music with meticulous precision, but this doesn't make his playing lifeless, or without distinctness. And his self-expression isn't personal unless he thinks of himself as the personal author of his talent. The whole object is to do justice to the music.
