The Importance of Technical Skill

Anteater · 10-03-2010, 07:10 PM

Poor fritter...you got totally raped here. This is why it's not good to generalize things you don't know much about.

As for whether or not technicality is really important to music...I suppose it depends on what you want to do in music. There are musicians out there who have been playing 40+ years or more and still can't produce a whole lot of interesting or memorable music, while there are people who start off from nothing who manage to do some rather interesting stuff. It can work both ways!

To put it another way, technical skill can give you the means to innovate a genre or make some rather ear-catching ideas a reality, especially if have experience in actually writing songs. On the other hand, many skilled and unskilled musicians alike are content to stick to their pleasant and well-tread singer/songwriter fare and leave it at that, and listeners don't seem to care either way.

Hence, whether or not technicality is important depends entirely on the music itself, and needs to be treated on a case-by-case kind of basis. You wouldn't want to try covering something like Yes's Siberian Khatru when the only song you know how to play on guitar is Smoke on the Water right?

A song with thirty time changes and twenty minutes to burn can be just as interesting and meaningful as your favorite Smiths song, and that's the simple truth of the matter.

Jonny Redshirt · 10-03-2010, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anteater

Hence, whether or not technicality is important depends entirely on the music itself, and needs to be treated on a case-by-case kind of basis. You wouldn't want to try covering something like Yes's Siberian Khatru when the only song you know how to play on guitar is Smoke on the Water right?

Quoted for truth. I couldn't have said it better myself.

Queen Boo · 10-03-2010, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anteater

Poor fritter...you got totally raped here. This is why it's not good to generalize things you don't know much about.

"Rape" implies that Fritter was not totally asking for it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anteater

Hence, whether or not technicality is important depends entirely on the music itself, and needs to be treated on a case-by-case kind of basis.

QFT +2

DevonWilliams · 10-03-2010, 07:35 PM

But you were fighting it. A naked bimbo wouldn't be fighting it because she is expecting it haha.

Queen Boo · 10-03-2010, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fritter

No "rape" implies I didn't want it. I was probably asking for it the way a naked bimbo wandering around a back alley in a dangerous city would be asking to get raped.

Fair enough because even if I was an attractive, mentally deficient, and naked woman, that would not justify someone having uninvited sex with me......

OctaneHugo · 10-03-2010, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anteater

A song with thirty time changes and twenty minutes to burn can be just as interesting and meaningful as your favorite Smiths song, and that's the simple truth of the matter.

Ahh Christ I love "Khatru" and this is the best closing statement I've seen in this thread. Probably the best post, too, since it summarizes pretty much everything correct about this situation.

In short: you don't need technical skill to make excellent music, stuff that has meaning or cultural value etc. Having a large amount of skill can help and hurt. It all depends on what you do with your skillset, what you're good at, what you're striving for and so on.

Quote:

Fact of the matter is, proper technique helps, but no matter how you chose to learn, they're all just roads to the same place.

I think this is a pretty excellent statement, too. There are countless self-taught musicians with a great deal of technical skill, just like there are "classically trained" musicians who are great as well. Then you have the so-called-good out of there, people who create excellent music that actually has some sort of worth.

fritter · 10-03-2010, 07:42 PM

for anyone looking at this, I deleted the post about the naked bimbo without knowing other people had already referred to it or noticed it. but I did say it, I just deleted it because I wanted to keep the discussion on technicality in music and not on me and my ignorant statements. And by that bimbo comparison I meant it was justified I got raped. so yeah back to the discussion topic.

Husky McDump · 10-04-2010, 11:54 AM

Talent is talent. It depends how you display talent and what your ascetic is for talent. The Michel Angelo Batio example was a good one to show an over the top display of talent. I like extremely talented musicians that are reserved in showing it. Lyrics are an example of talent that isn't exactly about how complex and fast you can make the words. And overall songwriting ability is what draws me in. Talent is important but it is not music in itself.

music_phantom13 · 10-05-2010, 12:59 AM

Keep in mind this is getting a little off topic. Technical skill of the musicians on an album has nothing to do with how you're trained... Self taught or trained , you can be just as good a musician either way. Also, in my opinion, as far as technicality works there's the ability to play your instrument well but also technical skill in terms of understanding sound and how it works and how to make it with your instrument (like Thurston Moore). To answer the question, both are important to me, but I think I can listen to a lack of technical skill much easier than a lack of good songwriting. A lot of punk and hardcore musicians would be a good example.

P A N · 10-11-2010, 11:29 AM

dearest mr dave... i like the way you think and am wondering if you have some music of your own that i could find somewhere on the net.

10-03-2010, 07:35 PM	#4 (permalink)
DevonWilliams Music Addict Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 110	But you were fighting it. A naked bimbo wouldn't be fighting it because she is expecting it haha. __________________ The hood is a lie

10-03-2010, 07:42 PM	#7 (permalink)
fritter Music Addict Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 86	for anyone looking at this, I deleted the post about the naked bimbo without knowing other people had already referred to it or noticed it. but I did say it, I just deleted it because I wanted to keep the discussion on technicality in music and not on me and my ignorant statements. And by that bimbo comparison I meant it was justified I got raped. so yeah back to the discussion topic. __________________ (that weird meatball-looking thing in my avatar is an apple fritter) Some songs I made: Yo Mama Tom-Toms Last edited by fritter; 10-03-2010 at 07:49 PM.

10-04-2010, 11:54 AM	#8 (permalink)
Husky McDump No Shirt Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 442	Talent is talent. It depends how you display talent and what your ascetic is for talent. The Michel Angelo Batio example was a good one to show an over the top display of talent. I like extremely talented musicians that are reserved in showing it. Lyrics are an example of talent that isn't exactly about how complex and fast you can make the words. And overall songwriting ability is what draws me in. Talent is important but it is not music in itself. __________________ not everyone can make it to the pros, some rise to the top, others down low.

10-05-2010, 12:59 AM	#9 (permalink)
music_phantom13 Music Addict Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 942	Keep in mind this is getting a little off topic. Technical skill of the musicians on an album has nothing to do with how you're trained... Self taught or trained , you can be just as good a musician either way. Also, in my opinion, as far as technicality works there's the ability to play your instrument well but also technical skill in terms of understanding sound and how it works and how to make it with your instrument (like Thurston Moore). To answer the question, both are important to me, but I think I can listen to a lack of technical skill much easier than a lack of good songwriting. A lot of punk and hardcore musicians would be a good example.

10-11-2010, 11:29 AM	#10 (permalink)
P A N DO LIKE YOU. Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 629	dearest mr dave... i like the way you think and am wondering if you have some music of your own that i could find somewhere on the net.