"I can teach a monkey to play the right notes! Right
notes don't make music..."
I have never heard a computer produced composition that
brought tears to my eyes, but I have heard musicians with a lot less skill then
I produce beautiful music. Of course a computer can play the "right"
notes faster and more mathematically accurate then a human, but is that what we
call music. What does it mean to be musical?
The word "musical", in the context I'm
referring to, could be defined as "the act of making rhythmic, harmonic,
melodic, dynamic and articulation choices, that enhance or lift up the
performance of music while also infusing it with self expression and passion".
It’s the x factor that can’t be taught, only encouraged and nurtured in the
student, then given adequate food, water and sunlight, once it begins to grow.
Through the many stages in the development of the music
student, the goal of the teacher and student should always be to become more musical.
You should practice technique to develop the ability to control the elements of
rhythm, harmony, melody, dynamics and articulation so that you can bend and
shape sound into music. You should study music theory to better understand how the
elements of music work together and to develop the ability to read, write and
discuss sound in a concise way. You should practice playing music together to learn to
join your voices in a way that produces a sound that is greater than the sum of
its parts. All of these are not ends in themselves, but simply a means to the
end of becoming musical.
The so called “talented" music student attempts to
do this right from the very start of their learning, even though they possess only
the most rudimentary of knowledge. These students gift is that they hear music
and feel it in their soul. They are merely in need of a vehicle, such as the
guitar or the accordion, through which they can express it. As soon as they get
a few notes or chords under their fingers, they are trying to make the music
they hear and express the feelings that they feel. This makes all the
difference.
Students that struggle to produce music, tend to struggle
because they become fixated on the actions of their hands instead of the sound
that they want to produce. They put all of their attention on how their fingers
move, what fret the next chords are on and which string to pick, but they do
not connect music and feelings with these actions; they only see the means, not
the end. They may hear music and feel music deeply, but there is a disconnect between
their ears, heart and hands.
Both paths are hard. For the student that is considered talented
the struggle is to not take shortcuts in technique and the development of the
musical mind in an effort to get right to the music. These students need to be
reeled in and taught to discipline themselves. It’s a matter of learning to
control their gift, not to simply let it run wild. In this way they can develop
it and bring their talent to fruition.
For the student with the disconnect or who struggles to
produce music for some other reason, they must be encouraged in all things to
strive to be musical. It doesn’t matter whether they are performing a C Major
Scale, an arpeggio exercise, or well known piece of music, they should always
be striving to express emotion and to produce music. This should be discussed
constantly and focus put on it in every lesson from the very start.
In the end however, some students never really make music
beyond correct notes at the correct time. Some professional musicians, if you
ask me, don’t really make music either. For many people, correct notes and correct
rhythm is enough to satisfy them. For others, becoming musical is paramount, they know the difference and want
more. Either way, the struggle is well worth it, whether you succeed or not, it
is often only through struggle that we learn about ourselves and others. Also
remember, if it was something everyone could do, the ability to do it would not
be so highly prized.
