Your Forte

Digital Age

Elaine — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 19:44:13 +0000

Stone age; bronze age; iron age. Surely the next ‘age’ to be recognised in human evolution is the ‘digital’ age. As far as music is concerned, the digital age affords seemingly endless opportunities to artists who would never have been heard without the advances in internet technology. On YouTube, for example, there are videos of already well-known musicians but there are also videos made by millions of amateur musicians who would never have been heard by more than a handful of people a few years ago. I like it that young people are so proud of their own musical achievements that they want to post videos of themselves; I like it that musicians can air their own compositions; I like it that we can listen to Bach, Mozart, Pärt, Candy Dulfer, Morricone, and Britney Spears all in one sitting; I like it that people generally leave sensitive comments under videos; I like it that musicians (generally) are assessed on their value as musicians and not on superficialities ; I like it that musicians can find endless ways of self-publicising. Indeed, I think that the music industry can learn a lot by looking at the number of ‘hits’ different types of videos get. Music has never been more accessible; different types of music have never been more accessible.

The Mute Art

Elaine — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 19:11:32 +0000

Next to one of his own compositions on YouTube, Per-Olov Kindgren writes, “Ok, I’m doing it again. Telling my life with music. Sorry. If I was a writer/author, I would write a long story. Now I have to do this instead.” I say back to him, “maybe you would write a long story if you were an author, but how much more moving that you can say it succinctly in this mute, beautiful language that is music.” Music plays only with notes, but how much more directly it communicates with the heart than do words. Of course our lives are lived within language, and I’ve no doubt that music is connected with language in some ineffable way. But truth be said, I’d rather listen to one of Kindgren’s 3 minute compositions than read his life through a 220 page novel or biography. His potential book may well be interesting, but the beauty of his music touches me in a way no words could. There are some aspects of our selves that can only be captured in this voiceless art; in music we have no words but more expression.

Music and Human Beings

Elaine — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 19:24:13 +0000

For the last few days I’ve been transfixed by the videos of precocious young children playing piano music by Mozart, Haydn, Chopin, Debussy, etc, on YouTube. There are always comments under these videos remarking that the child in question is too young to understand such music, that there is a lack of expression, etc. But it seems to me that these young children do indeed understand the music and that there is hardly ever a lack of appropriate expression.It strikes me that music speaks to human beings in a mysterious way. I don’t think these children are any more emotionally mature than other children – I just think that music speaks to human beings on an intuitive level but by way of mechanisms that we don’t understand. Just as children may be precocious in the maths so too they may be precocious in music. These children can do things with music that it takes the rest of us many years to achieve but this must be because music is essentially to do with the way we are as human beings. Human beings create music but it is created within a language that speaks to other human beings regardless of age.

Film Music

Elaine — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 19:39:39 +0000

It’s always interested me to notice that composers of film music have managed to help people tolerate dissonance in a way in which composers of concert music haven’t. In the case of film music, of course, there is always the film itself to distract someone’s ear from the music but, on the other hand, the music is there to enhance the film and to make emotions – and even thoughts – clearer and more expressive than they would be without the music. So we do indeed hear the music. These days film music is often the only music of the orchestral tradition that we want to hear. Listening to the score in the absence of the film can be a rewarding and enjoyable experience. Contemporary film music, for many people, is occupying a place that can no longer be filled by the music of composers who write solely for the concert hall. Most of us want music that touches our heart, and most contemporary ’serious’ music can no longer do this.

Songwriting and Composing

Elaine — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 09:12:10 +0000

Why is songwriting referred to as a ‘craft’ and yet the composing of a sonata, a string quartet, a symphony or even a lied is called an ‘art’? There seems to be some implication that the former is simply a skill but that the latter has more to do with creativity and expression. But surely the greatest songs, the songs that capture the thoughts and emotions that are shared by millions of people, show as much artistry as, for example, any lied by Schubert. A song that’s written from a songwriter’s heart, and not one that’s written simply to make money, expresses not only his/her deepest emotions but also reaches out to listeners across the generations. My favourite song is Burt Bacharach’s ‘Say a Little Prayer’; I never get sick of it and I find it difficult to believe that there’s anyone who doesn’t like it. This song was written in 1967 but remains as vibrant and touching as it ever was.

Key Sense

Elaine — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:23:16 +0000

I was reading through some posts on the forum of UK Piano and there was a question from someone about the purpose of learning keys. My own pupils often ask me similar questions. And sometimes when I ask a pupil what key a piece of music is in they’ll reply by saying, for example, “two sharps”. Now what is the advantage of knowing that this music is in D major, (or possibly b minor)? Well learning to think in terms of keys makes learning to play tonal music, or to compose it, much easier. It’s not just that you know what sharps or flats are going to appear in the music but you can also anticipate much of the harmonic structure of the piece. If you pursue Grades 4 and 5 theory you will find yourself dealing with the basic chords around which most tonal music is built. If you are familiar with keys then you immediately know what notes are going to be in those chords and what aural effects those chords are going to have. Playing the piano becomes much easier because your fingers automatically find the chords, and composing music becomes much easier because you immediately know how to achieve certain effects without having to grope around for the sounds you want. If you pursue theory beyond Grade 5 then you’ll be dealing with more sophisticated harmony. Understanding these harmonies is interesting in itself but, again, helps with playing the piano and, again, makes composing music easier, more fulfilling and allows for more adventurous musical gestures. Understanding keys means you’re well on your way to understanding harmony, and understanding harmony is one of the most fulfilling aspects of being a musician. Once you can think in terms of keys – rather than in terms of individual sharps or flats – a whole world of music suddenly becomes much more accessible to you.

Artificial Divisions in Music

Elaine — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:27:13 +0000

I’ve just been listening to a classical guitarist on YouTube, well I should say “a man playing music on a classical guitar”. His username is ‘AndanteLargo’ if anyone wants to go and listen. He’s posted some wonderful videos of himself playing Bach and music by other classical composers – and they sound glorious – but he’s also posted videos of himself playing songs by the Beatles and other bands, some folk music, some songs and themes from films, musicals, etc, etc, which all sound equally as glorious. It interests me that his performances on classical guitar seem to put all types of music on an equal footing. It’s easy to become snobbish about music and to assume that there’s some essential difference in aesthetic quality between the music of Bach, Mozart, etc and that of the Beatles, Bernstein, Williams, etc. I’m not saying that all music is of the same quality of course, but when you hear what are normally counted as different types of music all played superbly well on one instrument (especially when that instrument is one that’s normally reserved for performances of classical music) then the divisions we normally perceive to exist between different types of music seem no longer to exist.

What style of music?

Elaine — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 09:24:50 +0000

What style of music should pupils be taught in private lessons and at school? I think it’s the aim of any teacher who enjoys classical music to foster an appreciation of it. But I also think a child (or adult) who likes and wants to be able to play pop music, for example, should be encouraged in their endeavour.Learning to play pop music may be an end in itself or it may be the impetus towards enjoying, playing, and learning about, the music of Bach, Mozart, Brahms, etc. The point of music is to enjoy it. Any music which is stimulating to a pupil can be used to foster a rigorous attitude towards achieving a high standard of performance or to awaken an interest in the means by which music is constructed. Studying the way a pop song is constructed is interesting in itself but it can also be the first steps towards learning more sophisticated harmony and composition.

Private Music Teachers

Elaine — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:24:40 +0000

Should there be some control over who can (or cannot) set up as a private music teacher? I ‘inherit’ a lot of pupils who’ve been so badly taught by ‘teachers’ without any experience or qualifications that any musical ability that pupils may actually possess has been virtually ruined at the outset. I’m not saying that there’s a hidden genius in every child (or adult) but I think everyone who wants to play the piano (or any other instrument in fact) should be given the chance to develop to the best of their own ability. Unqualified people who start teaching just to bring in a few extra pennies should be avoided like the plague.

Honesty

Elaine — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:09:02 +0000

Is pop music more honest than contemporary ’serious’ music in that people want to listen to it and buy it and, unlike a lot of contemporary classical music, doesn’t have to rely on subsidies and grants?I think if contemporary classical music were more accessible (in the sense that the lay person could enjoy it) then the composer could make an honest living. I’m not saying that the quality of contemporary classical music should be compromised, but, after all, Bach, Haydn, Mozart, etc were ‘jobbing’ musicians.