Playing louder or softer because it felt right. Taking more or less time because it seemed to make sense.
That served me pretty well for a while, until one day I had to learn an unfamiliar piece of music for which there existed no recording, and I struggled.
For once, it seemed that simply feeling the music and going with whatever naturally came out wouldn’t get me to where I wanted to go.
I wondered…had I reached the limits of my musical intuition?
4 comments:
This is a valuable post in that it draws focus to the need for artists to hone their craft outside of natural skill or talent. In order to be truly extraordinary, one must be willing to learn how people have done things in the past and the theory of why that is true so that they can take that knowledge and apply it to a new scenario. I firmly believe that this theory can be broadened to almost all disciplines. It is important to be well versed in the technical aspects of how to do a job, have experience and knowledge that can give you a step-by-step way to approach the end, but at the end of the day, does anyone follow those steps exactly? The answer is probably no. People use instinct and intuition to tell them how to progress and what to do because they have the knowledge of the technical to back it up. The balance of the two is what makes someone skilled at their profession.
This article is so important. One of my cousins took piano classes since he was young and one day when he was ten years old, he quit and proclaimed that he had learned everything there was to know and he didn't see it being worth it to continue his lessons. His proclamation confused me because I knew for a fact that he wasn't a prodigy so it was quite obvious that his announcement was completely false. This article shows just how important it is to focus beyond the skills and really go deeper and attempt to understand why the music is that way. This is so unbelievably important when it comes to theater. So many people in the SoD complain unendingly about how boring or useless theater history or similar subjects are. When it actuality its the most important thing you can ever know. It is so important to know why you are designing what you are designing and why the show is what it is, and instead of researching each show individually, it is so much better to have a basic knowledge of theater history in general than to be in the dark when a director comes up with a concept. Having a better understanding of the theory behind what you do gives you a much better appreciation for the art.
I am speaking as a former musician who used to attend music school and use to have the exact same question to my music theory teacher, "Why do we have to study music theory and ear training?" is the question every single music student (unless if you are composers or music education students) asks.
Here's what my music theory replied: "You have a guitar, you can definitely learn how to play guitar by yourself anyone can make sound out of that thing. But Have you notice the difference between those self-learner guitar players and professional guitarists? a guitar player can play beautifully from the heart and it may sounds beautiful, but he can't read music, he does not know notes. He can't go far. How can he become Paul McCartney and performs at the world's biggest stage? No he can't. Because those backup musicians knows music theory and they will take Paul McCartney comments because he knows the language, he knows what we talks about, rather than just throwing feelings. Those are from the knowledge of theory and ear training. Without that, his music is empty, there's no sold ground, there's fundamental part there. An instrument player who does not know music theory is not an artist.
I think it reflects the previous article when we talk about Feelings and Behavior. It's the same thing. intuition and feelings when interpret music can take you to some level, but without dept, you got stuck.
the key to mastering any skill is by learning the basics. Even when the basics seem tedious, they are what sets you on the path for creativity. Picasso was classically trained in painting before taking what he knew and making something innovative out of it. You can't start creating greatness, or breaking down conventions until you know the ins and outs of the conventions themselves. In terms of music theory, it is fundamental. I played piano and performed in a chamber choir for many years. And by knowing the ins and outs of what is on the page truly makes you a better musician.
A composer indicates exactly what his music should sound like with what is written on the page. And if a musician doesn't understand half of what he is looking at, the true meaning and what the artist can do with the intended meaning are lost.
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