RE: Formal Musicians

[cbullard@HiWAAY.net (Len Bullard)]

[Violet]

>I know several musicians who HAVE studied and are wonderfully precise 
>when it comes to playing Mozart or Chopin, but when it comes to expressing 
>themselves, they can't do it.  They also can't write their own music to save 
>their lives.  Creativity has been "taught out of them."

Anyone remember the old MASH episode where Charles has
a patient whose hand was amputated, and in fact, was
a concert pianist?  Charles tells him, (paraphrased),
"I studied and trained and I can play the notes, but the
music is not in me to come out whereas you with only
one hand can still bring the notes to life...."  I did not
*train* until I entered college and it was a bit late
in life for it.  During the day, I was the "stupid one"
who had to take theory twice.  At night, I was the "one in the papers"
whose professional solo gigs were all the chatter
for awhile.  I made money.  It was good.  I was
asked by the dean, "why did you take theory twice?
You passed the first time?"  I told him, "because
i want to compose, so I actually have to use this stuff."

The girls who taught piano told their students that
"blues" were not something a serious musician
should study.  At one point, an old black composer
came to our school and asked them, "Do you teach
your students popular music?"  They all told him
in unison, "certainly not!"  He then asked them
how many of their students would be "classical
concert pianists".  They giggled and said, "very
few." "Well, then," he continued, "don't you think
it would help if they could at least be working
musicians?"  Some of these teachers were
wonderful sight readers and understood every
aspect of theory.  If, however, the sheet music were
taken away, they could not improvise.   One reason
was they were taught not to look at their hands
but to follow the notes on the page at least
two bars ahead of the passage being played.

Geometric memory is a handy thing.  It's
a key to pattern recognition.

Sitting in theory class one day, our wind ensemble
professor began to rail against rock musicians
whom he claimed "only know three chords but
make all the money...".  For those of us in the
room who did the bars at night, this became
quite an irritant.  One day after a stint of this,
I raised my hand and asked, "Sir, what is
the peak wattage of a Marshall amplifier?"
He looked at me incredulously and said,
"who cares?"  I turned to the bass player
behind me and asked, "Chris, what is
the peak wattage of a Marshall amplifier?"
Chris gave me a dirty look but answered, "
Starts at 50 watts, might be as much
as 200 depending on the cabinets,
the instrument..." and he went on for
about two minutes.  I then turned to the
professor and said, "Until you do it,
you really don't know do you?"  He
never bothered us again.

So you aren't the best technician.. ffffft!
If you think your world falls apart because
you muff a note in front of people, you missed
the whole point.  It isn't about you.  It's
about them... the audience.  They
like what they like, they need what they need.
Give it to them and be adored... mistakes and all.
Music isn't priestcraft or sport.  Preachers and
athletes do that.   Music is the language of 
emotion and it is given to all.  "God Gave
Rock 'n roll to you, gave rock 'n roll to you,
put it in the soul of everyone...."

Imagination is key.  Without it a composition
is just notes.  Knowledge is key.  Without it,
one just monkeys about until they hit a good note.
Experience is key.  Without it, it's hard to know
what a good note sounds like.  But most of
all, emotion is key.  Without it, one has nothing to say
to those who desperately want to hear.
A tree that falls in the forest without someone
to hear may make a sound... but it is irrelevant.

For all the good it has done us, for all the fame
and wealth it brought her, I think the biggest
tragedy in the life of Kate Bush was that she
was discovered young, became famous, and
retired from the stage.  A few more years in 
the KT Bush Band would have done her good,
I think.  She would know more about people,
and be less self-centered, maybe a little less
tyrannical... maybe a little wiser.  Who knows,
but just a little more HonkyTonk Woman might
not have been so bad after all.  The eyes must
see beyond the books for the imagination to thrive.
There is, after all, a certain urgency to mortality.

So perhaps they train it out of them, but I think,
there has to be something there to begin with,
and the will and deep desire to make something
of that.  I have achieved little in music which 
satisfies me and it has cost a lot of time, money,
relationships, and some deep pain.
OTH, I have seen people fall in love
while I sang to them, I have seen people cry
and laugh, I have seen audiences stomp and
cheer.  None of this is for me.  It is for my music.
That has made it the best achievement of my life
except for my children, because that is life.

and life is very satisfying.

len