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THE MOST IMPORTANT THING

#41
Russell L said:
Most of the harmony we use in Western Civilization comes from classical music. When I was a kid I would get out mama's classical records and listen with my eyes closed, and imagine. It would take me places. I don't like it all, but works like these would really take me away:

Adagio For Strings, Samuel Barber
From the New World, Antonin Dvorak
Scheherazade, Rimsky-Korsakov
The Firebird Suite, Igor Stravinsky

And more. Adagio For Strings is the very slow music used in the movie, Platoon. Ever really listened to the Nutcracker, by Tchaikovsky, when you were young?

Try listening sometime. The beautiful stuff from the Romantic Period can touch your heart.
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If you saw my classical music collection both on vinyl and CD you would wonder how I can't love classical. I own all of the titles you mentioned. And many, many more. I think I have roughly 5000 vinyl records alone (of various genres). I have no idea how many CD's I have. I recently gave my guitarist a huge Beethoven vinyl collection I had. I hadn't listened to it in 30 years and I don't have time to listen to it now.

The fact is, I just lost the taste for it. Simple as that. I'm into what's happening now. However, I don't begrudge anyone else's love for it. Funny, how if somebody say they hated jazz, no one would bat an eye. Including myself.

I can't bring myself to get all wrapped around the axle about peoples personal choices. Humans spend way too much time trying to convince everyone else that how they feel about something is the "correct" and proper thing. I find that somewhat bizarre...
 
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#43
Russell L said:
Not saying my way is the right way. Just sharing my experiences, trying to help. Sorry if it sounded that way. Truly I am.
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Naah you're good. I was just relating my personal experience also. However, there are some others here that have implied that I may not be giving the music the "respect" it deserves. Whatever that is supposed to mean. But I already know that I've explored it as thoroughly as I plan to.

It may not mean anything to anybody else, but I'm pretty dead serious about music...
 
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#45
Spin Doctor said:
A musician with no musical imagination... Having to spend your life playing dead music. Sounds kinda sad.
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It's not at all sad. Classical music has a lot of interpretation involved. It's not all set in stone. There's a ton of imagination involved. You can't exactly go ask Bach how he wanted his music to "feel" when it's played. That's interpreted by the ensemble playing the music in conjunction with a conductor if there is one.
 
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#46
Spin Doctor said:
Personally, I absolutely choose to dismiss classical music. And I'm not apologizing for it whatsoever. 300 years with nothing new to say is way too long. And in my opinion, the interpretation aspect is so subtle as to be nonexistent.

I studied classical piano for awhile, before I came to the realization that I had no interest in playing the same notes to create the same song every time I wanted to play it.

As far as I was concerned, it was dead to me. That's why I play jazz. However, this is my life. If someone wants to love classical, they can feel free. Makes zero difference to me.
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So... Bach is the same as Mozart who was the same as Stravinsky?? I don't think so, man. Jazz has just as many rules as classical. They're just different rules. If you can't hear the difference between how different orchestras interpret the same piece of music... well, I just can't imagine not being able to hear those differences. I'm not saying you should love classical music. I don't, but I respect it 100%.
 
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#48
Clef_de_fa said:
you know that many classical musicians never commit to memory ... I've played classical musique and never put the music into my memory, I read the the music in front of me so, I only need to remember some cue or the first bar when we have to turn pages.

People says classical musicians can't improvise and this is because they are used to play complex harmonies and not use their aural imagination at all. it is a different skills sets for sure.
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I can't get classical tunes I played as a kid in high school band out of my head, actually, even for parts I never played on my instrument. Trying to transcribe them from memory, actually (cheated and bought some scores too though). And classical music is not without improvisation either...
 
#50
Clef_de_fa said:
I reread the OP and, it depends the player I guess. I'm the one that will play the same song the same way everytime and I can remember the way I played it. I also can read music so if I don,t remember something, I just take out the score and !Bam! I can play it again ...

I'm also very into Dream Theater and other complex music that are ... written because it is very complex and hard. It also open the doors to arrangement which can't really be done when the music is improvised.
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There are folks who can improvise over incredibly complex arrangements (thinking of Fripp and King Crimson, for example), and I am in awe of them, but a whole lot of the arrangement is strictly as rehearsed, of course - has to be.
 
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