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Be a Musician, not a Technician

#42
40Hz said:
Sorry. Flawed argument on your part. If your premise is that something or someone is “always,” then always it remains. Such are the dangers of invoking absolutes. If you’re going to introduce volition into the equation then you’ll need to qualify and restate your premise.
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Such would be the case if we were in either formal logic class, formal debate class, or solving a Boolean algebra equation. But this is music. Musicianship is about taking the leaps once the technique is mastered. Just listen to any of the great bebop artists, such as Dizzy Gillespie.
Tom Gallo said:
Merriam-Webster:
mu·si·cian | \ myü-ˈzi-shən \
Definition of musician
: a composer, conductor, or performer of music

I play an instrument. I am a musician.

The End.

P.S. I get the distinct impression that OP is looking down their nose at people who don't fit their comically narrow definition of a musician.
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Quite the contrary. My definition of a musician is quite broad. This is a discussion thread. I will overlook the personal affront. Why would you insult someone who is actually trying to get players to expand themselves, whatever genre they play, offering ways of thinking of the music beyond the mere black dots on the page, or the white dots and frets on the instrument, and encourage those just starting to play to aspire, to dream, to one day have the courage to take the instrument out of the bedroom to the public, as we have done with encouragement of others?
 
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#45
iiipopes said:
Such would be the case if we were in either formal logic class, formal debate class, or solving a Boolean algebra equation. But this is music
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If you’re going to make sweeping philosophical pronouncements then it’s best to understand you can expect to be held to the standards of philosophical discourse.

But since you’re saying this is more of a personal ramble on your part, I suppose logical consistency can’t really be expected.

I leave you to it. :)
 
#47
I think a lot of this can be made intuitive, and ironically a lot of long discussions can be avoided, if you just play with the 'speaking a language' analogy. Being verbose and sesquipedalian is not mutually exclusive with being an impactful and inspiring speaker.
 
#48
I really think the OP is too technical in their writing. Boolean? Maybe get back to the groove and get back to being less pedantic.

BTW, it's like everything in life a little of this and a little of that. Music is subjective anyways. He's too technical, he's not fast enough. etc blah blah blah. It's art man.
 
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#49
40Hz said:
If you’re going to make sweeping philosophical pronouncements then it’s best to understand you can expect to be held to the standards of philosophical discourse.

But since you’re saying this is more of a personal ramble on your part, I suppose logical consistency can’t really be expected.

I leave you to it. :)
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Thank you. If you want logical consistency, I will point to my jury trials and appellate briefs I won and wrote in my "prior life." That was then. This is now. I appreciate all the discourse, especially from those who disagree with me, including you. I encourage you to post further, with ways you see as encouraging a person to be a better musician.
 
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#50
kevindahl said:
I really think the OP is too technical in their writing. Boolean? Maybe get back to the groove and get back to being less pedantic.

BTW, it's like everything in life a little of this and a little of that. Music is subjective anyways. He's too technical, he's not fast enough. etc blah blah blah. It's art man.
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The Boolean reference is in response to the prior post accusing me of a "false dichotomy." I agree: it is art. That is why I encourage the discussion. Thank you.
 
#51
Well, it is time to call it a night. We shall resume this invigorating discussion tomorrow. I mean it: I do appreciate all the posts, especially those who do disagree with me. So long as we all keep in mind it is a discussion thread, and the purpose is to encourage bassists to be better musicians, whatever the instrument, genre, ensemble, or situation, then I welcome it all.
 
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#54
iiipopes said:
Some years ago a conductor under which I played a show in Branson, supporting an entire stage full of instrumentalists and vocalists, sent me a video of a boy on a street corner with superlative technical execution as he played technical patterns in a derivative of Larry Graham style. I replied, "Yes, but can he support an ensemble?" Crickets.
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You weren’t wrong in spirit. But, for whatever reason, people are posting doctored videos of children playing instruments as if they were accomplished adults at an alarming rate. Must really draw the clicks, I don’t know. I saw a poorly done one the other day where the “kid’s” hands were hairy. Creepy.
 
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#56
iiipopes said:
I disagree completely. It is not a false dichotomy. As the musician develops, the technique becomes subservient. It is not the dumbing down, it is the rising above. I have been lucky enough to see a significant number of people who as children were mastering their scales on whatever their chosen instrument, who later I attended their master's degree recitals, happy to see the musicians they became. A small little book which demonstrates this better than anything else is Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach. It is one thing to fly better than any other bird. It is quite another to take that ability and do more with it, whether as a single long note or a complex technical passage at whatever technical ability the player may possess. A technician will always be a technician, and nothing more. A musician will be all the technician is, but takes it to the higher plane.

And yes, I do keep playing. Thank you.
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or on another note...it’s more akin to Jonathan Livingston Budgerigar!
 
#58
In my experience, technique serves the song. I have seen the song serve technique more than a few times, which can be stunning, though often soul-less.

And ultimately I've found that what separates the good from the hacks is knowing what to leave out, which parallels my opinion (and experience) that the hardest music to play is slow and simple: Any fool can toot along at a manic metronome pace playing lots and lots of eighths and sixteenths wide open, and if you tag a clam corner, who's gonna notice? Play something big and slow with lots of whole and half-notes, all pedal points, and there's NO place to hide !!

You have to have at least enough technique to play in your world, but it's got to be informed and steered by an innate musicality, and there-in the problem. Spend enough time banging away with the metronome and any method you choose, and over time, your proficiency will rise, even faster with great teaching. But you can't teach someone to be musical, to BRING IT out of thin air. Not everyone can conjure . . . . .

(A Disclaimer: The author has committed EVERY ONE of the mistakes, wrong turns, and dead-ends listed above)
 

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