Be a Musician, not a Technician

[dr doofie]

If that’s the case, then how did the fictional character - who was dismissed by the master character as being a mere technician - ever able to become a musician and play with the character of the master if “a technician will always be a technician and nothing more” hmm?

Your premise doesn’t follow.

Maybe the producers of the film wrote themselves into a corner? Couldn’t backpedal out? Deadlines and what not?

 

[dr doofie]

Invigorating to say the least, from my limited experience I define the difference between technician and musician in one word, Rubato.

Stolen time baby
Like time I’ll never get back reading these posts I’m too stoopid to understand

 

[longfinger]

Those clips from the movie show people being dour and gloomy, living with a scarcity mindset, and showing substantial regret for actions not taken.

What not to do!

How much better would they all have been if they chose to be more joyful, grateful, and generous, while living with an abundance mindset?

A completely different era and culture for sure...

 

[SactoBass]

This thread is what it's all about. And if one works hard enough and has the discipline to completely devote themself, technique and musicianship converge to give us truly amazing results. This is, of course, exemplified from 0:25 to 0:30 in the well-known vid below where the bassist on the left of the screen and the rhythm guitarist on the right of the screen are windmilling clockwise in sync, whereas the drummer is doing it counterclockwise. This is the convergence of technique and musicianship that I'm talking about. It's a level that most of us will never reach.

 

[PennyroyalWe]

I wish I’d heard this when I was 15.

 

[bolophonic]

I had a roommate once who asked me if he could play my piano. “Of course,” I said.

He returned with some sheet music and proceeded to rock out on some Rachmaninov. It was the densest, most complicated music I had ever seen.

Afterwards, I asked him if he ever jammed out on his own tunes and he said, “what do you mean?”

“You know... writing your own stuff. Composing things that you hear in your head.”

It turns out, he had never, ever attempted to put two notes of his own together in twenty years of playing. I was in awe of his technical skills, but there was zero for us to bond over when it came to creativity.

 

[Vinny_G]

I had a roommate once who asked me if he could play my piano. “Of course,” I said.

He returned with some sheet music and proceeded to rock out on some Rachmaninov. It was the densest, most complicated music I had ever seen.

Afterwards, I asked him if he ever jammed out on his own tunes and he said, “what do you mean?”

“You know... writing your own stuff. Composing things that you hear in your head.”

It turns out, he had never, ever attempted to put two notes of his own together in twenty years of playing. I was in awe of his technical skills, but there was zero for us to bond over when it came to creativity.

Creativity can be expressed in different ways. The way you interpret a song requires a certain form of creativity. Your roommate has probably been creative in ways other than you that you weren't sensitive to. It is the usual misunderstanding that exists between classical musicians and jazz musicians.

 

[SteveCS]

I had a roommate once who asked me if he could play my piano. “Of course,” I said.

He returned with some sheet music and proceeded to rock out on some Rachmaninov. It was the densest, most complicated music I had ever seen.

Afterwards, I asked him if he ever jammed out on his own tunes and he said, “what do you mean?”

“You know... writing your own stuff. Composing things that you hear in your head.”

It turns out, he had never, ever attempted to put two notes of his own together in twenty years of playing. I was in awe of his technical skills, but there was zero for us to bond over when it came to creativity.

Did his performance move you (beyond being in awe of the skills), or were you left cold?

 

[Spidey2112]

Did not see that coming and it made my day!!!

People helping people.

 

[JRA]

deep stuff.


watch your step.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Do whatever makes you happy in life. There isn’t a single path to a single goal to achieve level 10 enlightenment.

 

[OptimalOptimus]

I also think you have to abuse whatever technic or riff or whatever until it is yours. It may sounds robotic or forced to the listener but it is a normal part of evolving in your musical journey.
You juge the player by saying he is technician and nothing more but you don’t know where he is in his journey nor where he is coming from. He could floor you with his way of playing another piece of music but at this point he discovered this technic and he uses it too much... but in a month or so he would replay that piece of music and it would be like seeing God for the first time...

Also in classical music it is very strict and heart crushing ... they will tear you a new one if they feel like it and it will either motivate you to do better or to stop pursuing this dream. The shaged up part is what sounded technical and robotic to one Master will sound emotional to another Master ... so yeah it is ********

 

[SteveCS]

IME technique and musicianship evolve along inter-dependent paths, each feeding the other out of necessity and led by the music itself. Technique addresses the demands of the music, and musicianship expands through the application of technique. This expanding musicianship leads to deeper understanding of the music which increases the demand on technique. Rinse and Repeat.

IMHO this process is driven not by the complexity/difficulty of the music but by the 'quality' of the music. IME, music with high technical demands but of little musical merit will always sound suspect no matter how well it is played. And 'good' music, even poorly executed (within reason), will always connect on some level. One cannot make a silk purse from a sow's ear, and even the most highly polished turd is still a turd.

YMMV

 

[dr doofie]

Yes. All persons have limitations. Recognizing those limitations and using them as a tool to transcend into artistic expression is another aspect of transcending the technical to the art. For example, Ringo is the first person to admit he really can't play a drum roll well, and is left-handed on a right-handed drum set. But he took those limitations, including his innate sense of tempo and what to not play as much as what to play, turned them into his style through practice of the fundamentals, and, well, the rest is history.

He could've just switched the crash and ride cymbals around, like I do as a lefty...

 

[iiipopes]

Well, well, well!!! Four pages and counting. Now that this thread has a life of its own, I leave all of you to it. Just remember, both for those who agree with me and expound on what I have posted, and for those of you questioning my parentage and heritage, even my sanity, that the point of this thread is to encourage everyone to be the best they can be, to explore new and different artistic directions, and think about approaching music in new or different ways, leaving cliche'd phrases and patterns behind. With four pages of posts, I believe I have succeeded.

I am honored and flattered that so many of you actually considered my thread worth the time and effort to post, especially those who disagreed with me or tried to poke holes in any "logic" or "reasoning," which really was never the point, as I did not start the thread with any pedagogical goal in mind. This thread will probably never be as long as my 29 page thread on the Rickenbacker factory forum about wiring modifications, but that is fine.

I just hope that all who made long posts, especially those who disagreed with me, will expend at least that much time and effort helping children become musicians, as they did in reading, thinking, and posting on this thread. In the meantime, everyone stay safe from COVID-19; self-quarantine is not conducive to practice, and even the best musicians can get rusty without places to practice, rehearse and perform.

Thanks.

 

[SactoBass]

Do whatever makes you happy in life.

^^^THIS!

And we must always remind ourselves that what makes one person happy in life may not be what makes others happy. Be glad of that! It's the *diversity* that makes life worth living!

 

[Bob_Ross]

be the musician, yes, but realize that being a technician is not the antithesis of being a musician. They're two different things and can (and should!) coexist.

I'll take it a step further: The distinction between those two "different things" is an artificial construct...and an illusion.