Music Banter - View Single Post - Can you be a music lover if you don't play an instrument?

VeggieLover · 08-13-2009, 03:56 PM

As I was reading the conversation up til now, I've noticed a descrepancy between the ideas of "Music as emotion/expression" and "Music as a technical science". The truth is, music is both. It is such an integral part of human society because it manages to combine these two very different parts of us. The truely great artists of history have succeeded in producing something that can be loved and appreciated at the basic human levels by utalizing their talented ears and their technical abilities. It is impossible to separate these two aspects and still have music.

Take for instance, the stars. Most of us, if we take the time, feel a sense of awe when gazing into the night sky. For one thing, they're pretty, and for another thing there are just so many! But if someone takes the time to learn about the stars, the fact that there are ____ number of stars all burning massivly large amounts of gases ______ lightyears away at ______ temperatures, the way the ancient greeks used the stars to tell stories...all of that can produce one of the two effects:
A: by reducing it to a mechanical school project we loose the passion, we assume that we know all there is to know and in that assumption all wonder is lost
OR
B: By learning a little bit we become aware of the vast knowledge that humans cannot possibly access in a lifetime. We therefore increase our wonder and increase our respect for our fellow "scientists," their theories and ideas, by listening to them, we can learn what we otherwise couldn't in our own time

The same happens with music. As a musician, it is possible to achieve a more acute and learned appreciation, and therefore love, of music. If we allow ourselves to realize our relative niavety, we can continue to learn and love at an increased level. By understanding the technicalities our fellow musicians deal in, we can appreciate their emotional and labourous contributions to the more subjective side of music rather than simply listening to something "pretty".

got it?

08-13-2009, 03:56 PM	#37 (permalink)
VeggieLover Music?! Lets boogie! Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: CO Posts: 215	As I was reading the conversation up til now, I've noticed a descrepancy between the ideas of "Music as emotion/expression" and "Music as a technical science". The truth is, music is both. It is such an integral part of human society because it manages to combine these two very different parts of us. The truely great artists of history have succeeded in producing something that can be loved and appreciated at the basic human levels by utalizing their talented ears and their technical abilities. It is impossible to separate these two aspects and still have music. Take for instance, the stars. Most of us, if we take the time, feel a sense of awe when gazing into the night sky. For one thing, they're pretty, and for another thing there are just so many! But if someone takes the time to learn about the stars, the fact that there are ____ number of stars all burning massivly large amounts of gases ______ lightyears away at ______ temperatures, the way the ancient greeks used the stars to tell stories...all of that can produce one of the two effects: A: by reducing it to a mechanical school project we loose the passion, we assume that we know all there is to know and in that assumption all wonder is lost OR B: By learning a little bit we become aware of the vast knowledge that humans cannot possibly access in a lifetime. We therefore increase our wonder and increase our respect for our fellow "scientists," their theories and ideas, by listening to them, we can learn what we otherwise couldn't in our own time The same happens with music. As a musician, it is possible to achieve a more acute and learned appreciation, and therefore love, of music. If we allow ourselves to realize our relative niavety, we can continue to learn and love at an increased level. By understanding the technicalities our fellow musicians deal in, we can appreciate their emotional and labourous contributions to the more subjective side of music rather than simply listening to something "pretty". got it? __________________ "Not remotely! Because iocaine comes from Australia, as everyone knows. And Australia is entirely peopled with criminals. And criminals are used to having people not trust them as you are not trusted by me, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you."