6243jae@whuts.UUCP (ELKINS) (05/21/85)
*To Jeff Winslow: I have to agree with you, Jeff. Music theory and Form and Analysis have their place, and yet many people come out of music schools with little idea of what they can do with it all anyway. I had a composition instructor who told me once, "Listen, kid, you've got great control of orchestration and a wonderful feel for counterpoint. It's a year from graduation, so what are you gonna do with it?" Analysis is useful to us mortals who need to understand tonal relationships through named structures. That is the only way we can communicate about how things sound. I have encountered a number of musicians in my life who don't know what the hell I'm talking about if I am discussing things in theory lingo, but if you play some chords or riffs or something really complex, they can respond with identical or improved versions of what I play. It indicates a deep understanding of musical relationships without the tags attached to the sounds. I could not have learned music in this manner, but there are many who do, and some of them (Django Rheinhart, etc.) are brilliant. Many people never learn to appreciate music from a simple listener's standpoint, perhaps because they need to impress others with their knowledge and use music as a means to get ego food, or perhaps because they just forgot what it is like to just listen to something great and appreciate it without analyzing. I think it is this element that frustrates those who are not equipped with a theoy background, and I have to agree with them (even though it's taken me years to do that). Sorry to go on like this, but I get wound up easily. Jay Elkins whuts!6243jae ** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE ***
mfs@mhuxr.UUCP (SIMON) (05/22/85)
> To Jay Elkins
Your point is well taken. Another aspect from the argument comes when
you want to communicate your enthusiasm (or lack thereof) to someone
else. How can you convey the essence of what pleases you ablut a piece
without lapsing into incoherence? I agree that advanced degrees in the
language of music are unnecessary. But it can help to zero in on
the parts of the music that are most attractive and attempt to
describe them. You instantly have "analysis."
Marcel Simon