On Becoming Musical

"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.

Our duty is to encourage everyone in his struggle to live up to his own highest idea, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the Truth. - Swami Vivekananda