If you read my first post (and who would start on the third one?) then you might recall I said I felt I had a reason to start a blog. Obviously it's so I can explain my position on the importance of treating all music equally. As I've said, all music has value to someone and I think that should be respected.
Does that mean all music is equal? Not necessarily. It's possible for things to be equally important without being equal. Any parent with more than one child will tell you they love their children equally (okay, any decent parent will), but that doesn't mean the kids are all the same. One might excel at sports while one more musical in nature. But if the coach of the athletic child tells the parent their other child is worthless because they're not into sports, what do you think will happen? The parent will be pretty annoyed with the coach (well, a decent parent will anyway).
Let's talk about movies for a minute. Are you a fan of comedies or dramas? Science fiction or love stories? If you are sitting around with a group of friends and someone says their favourite (Canadian spelling, remember?) movie is <insert name of movie you hate here>, you will probably tell them you hate that movie. You may tell them about a movie you like more, and explain what's so great about it. It may turn out that they liked your favourite movie as well, or you two might find some other flick you both like. I'm pretty sure your opinion of that person is not tied to the fact that they liked a movie you hated.
If we translate those two scenarios above into music, the outcome can be quite different. You say you like a certain song, and suddenly another person in the room passes a value judgement on both the song, and also on you. "That song sucks! How can you like that? Ugh!". The words may not come out exactly like that, but someone will likely be thinking along those lines. Maybe you're the one who has done that to someone else. Obviously nothing is so black-and-white as these situations, but I'm trying to say that it seems okay to almost everybody to criticize a piece of music without thinking about how that might bother the fans of the song.
That's not to say that I like all music equally myself. I'm no different from anyone with regards to having an opinion about certain songs or artists. The big difference is that I don't believe it's okay for us to judge a song, and I see it happen all the time. That's the reason I've avoided naming any particular songs (or movies in today's examples). I'm trying to avoid your immediate reaction to a title because you might love the thing while somebody else reading this blog might hate it.
In the coming weeks, this blog will be less and less about making my main point (I think I've established it pretty well with these first three), and will move into talking about music in many ways. I will get more specific and mention particular song titles, and particular artists. I'll encourage you to listen to some of my favourite songs, and explain why I think it's worth your time to do so. You might even suggest a song to me in the comments. Hopefully the other readers will resist criticizing, give it a listen, and maybe find more great music to put on their iPods. (Well, the decent ones will anyway).
Wednesday 27 June 2012
Monday 25 June 2012
A university-trained, bass-playing saxophone player...
I guess before we really get into this blogger/audience relationship I should tell you a bit about myself. Well, about my musical self at least.
I clearly remember the first time I could play a melody and recognize it. The feeling that it was ME that created the music I heard was addictive. It's that love of creating that led me to pursue a music career professionally. I received my Bachelor of Music / Bachelor of Music Education degree in 1987, with a major in saxophone. That first melody I played was on a clarinet way back when I was in Grade 5. When I switched to saxophone in Grade 7, I initially played the baritone sax. As I got more serious about entering university, I moved to tenor and then alto. That switch made me miss playing all the low parts of the band, so I bought a bass guitar and have been playing that for almost 30 years as well.
What musical roads does a university-trained bass-playing saxophone player follow? Plenty of them. I've played both sax and bass in small jazz combos, full sized jazz bands, rock bands and concert bands. I've even sat in with an orchestra playing some Gershwin. I've sung in a few choirs, and routinely sing harmony vocals in any rock band I've been in. I've written for jazz bands, concert bands, and choirs, and I've programmed some mixes on the computer. I teach music to Junior High and High School students and direct several bands now. I like to think my range is wide.
Please understand that I'm not saying this list of things in a bragging way. In fact, you might be asking if it means I'm good at lots of things but not great at any of them! That may be so, but I think there's a lot of perspective that can be gained from my approach. I know too many classically trained musicians who frown on rock music because of its simplicity from a harmonic or melodic standpoint. I know jazz musicians who think everything except jazz is unworthy of their attention. I know rock musicians who won't even try to listen to anything else. I think they're all wrong. Every style has its own strengths. Being closed-minded about a style of music is just plain wrong.
Let me quickly go back to the word "perspective". Think quickly about your favourite song or composition. Got it in your head? There's somebody else somewhere in the world who loves that song as much as you, and I don't mean just the writer. Every piece of music has fans. Think about a piece of music you don't like. Maybe it's one of those songs people make fun of, or it's something your parents liked and made you listen to when you were younger. Maybe it's something your kids like today. There's somebody else somewhere in the world who loves that song. As much as you think it's stupid, they love it (even if it is just the writer). Who's right about the song? Both of you. Our opinion is our own. Love it, hate it, feel indifferent about it, whatever. Just don't start trying to figure out if it's a good song or a bad song. There's no such thing, as long as somebody out there thinks the song is worthy. Musical beauty really is in the ear of the beholder.
Don't worry, I'll get around to telling you what compositions and bands I like soon enough. But for now, stop reading and go listen to something you like. I'll be back.
I clearly remember the first time I could play a melody and recognize it. The feeling that it was ME that created the music I heard was addictive. It's that love of creating that led me to pursue a music career professionally. I received my Bachelor of Music / Bachelor of Music Education degree in 1987, with a major in saxophone. That first melody I played was on a clarinet way back when I was in Grade 5. When I switched to saxophone in Grade 7, I initially played the baritone sax. As I got more serious about entering university, I moved to tenor and then alto. That switch made me miss playing all the low parts of the band, so I bought a bass guitar and have been playing that for almost 30 years as well.
What musical roads does a university-trained bass-playing saxophone player follow? Plenty of them. I've played both sax and bass in small jazz combos, full sized jazz bands, rock bands and concert bands. I've even sat in with an orchestra playing some Gershwin. I've sung in a few choirs, and routinely sing harmony vocals in any rock band I've been in. I've written for jazz bands, concert bands, and choirs, and I've programmed some mixes on the computer. I teach music to Junior High and High School students and direct several bands now. I like to think my range is wide.
Please understand that I'm not saying this list of things in a bragging way. In fact, you might be asking if it means I'm good at lots of things but not great at any of them! That may be so, but I think there's a lot of perspective that can be gained from my approach. I know too many classically trained musicians who frown on rock music because of its simplicity from a harmonic or melodic standpoint. I know jazz musicians who think everything except jazz is unworthy of their attention. I know rock musicians who won't even try to listen to anything else. I think they're all wrong. Every style has its own strengths. Being closed-minded about a style of music is just plain wrong.
Let me quickly go back to the word "perspective". Think quickly about your favourite song or composition. Got it in your head? There's somebody else somewhere in the world who loves that song as much as you, and I don't mean just the writer. Every piece of music has fans. Think about a piece of music you don't like. Maybe it's one of those songs people make fun of, or it's something your parents liked and made you listen to when you were younger. Maybe it's something your kids like today. There's somebody else somewhere in the world who loves that song. As much as you think it's stupid, they love it (even if it is just the writer). Who's right about the song? Both of you. Our opinion is our own. Love it, hate it, feel indifferent about it, whatever. Just don't start trying to figure out if it's a good song or a bad song. There's no such thing, as long as somebody out there thinks the song is worthy. Musical beauty really is in the ear of the beholder.
Don't worry, I'll get around to telling you what compositions and bands I like soon enough. But for now, stop reading and go listen to something you like. I'll be back.
Tuesday 19 June 2012
Music and French Fries? Let me explain...
I've been around the Web ever since it was just the Internet, and I've read a few blogs here and there. I never figured I'd write one because I just didn't feel like I had anything all that unique to say. That's changed recently, and I've decided to use this space to discuss that most temporary of art forms... music. I'll get to the french fries later.
I'll introduce myself a little more fully in a future blog posting. For now, I'm an active musician and music teacher, with a University degree in music and music education, and a masters of education. I play saxophone and bass, and my name is Ron. I'd rather use the bulk of today's post to explain why I've started this thing and tell you what you can expect. (Don't worry, I'm not forgetting the fries.)
Recently I've noticed how often people take an elitist approach to telling others what music they like, as if your choice of what gets played on your iPod somehow makes them better than someone else because of their music choice. Even worse, some people will claim to be die-hard fans of a band or singer, not because that singer is popular, but because they're not popular. You like Top 40? You have no taste. You like (insert obscure band name here)? You are so totally cool.
I think people should just listen to music they like, and not worry about whether someone else likes that music too. In fact, most people probably have a song or two in their collection that they don't talk about, the "guilty pleasure" track. You listen to it in your car by yourself, right? Maybe I'll tell you mine someday, but we need to get to know each other a little first. See, I don't really worry about what's "good" music or not, because I'm not really sure I'm qualified to judge that. Scratch that. I know I'm not qualified. I'm certainly qualified to tell you what I like and don't like, but not what is objectively "good" or "bad". Music is too personal for that. It has the ability to bypass your brain and go straight to your heart, or your feet, or your hips. Who cares if anyone else likes it? Do you? Yes? Then celebrate! Stop listening with your head.
I think I'll need many posts to explain that idea right, but it's a start. Let's move on to the french fries, shall we?
I teach music to junior high students. Sometimes I'll play a piece of music that's outside their normal musical diet. I actually think that's an important part of my job, to expose them to more than just the music they are force fed on Top 40 radio (not that there's anything wrong with those songs, of course). Whenever I play something really different, like East Indian music, or something classical, or something really experimental, they all resist. That's when I ask them the big question. My hook. "Do you like french fries?"
They stare at me blankly, the sudden shift in topic throwing them off. "If you like french fries, put up your hand." It's over 90% of every single class (but you already knew that). Then I ask who likes another food, maybe lasagna or lettuce, bacon or broccoli. The number of hands in the air changes with each item. And nobody judges anyone else for their food tastes. If a student asks another "You really like broccoli?", the answer is usually a shrug, like it's no big deal. I remind them that most of them like french fries, and ask if they would like to eat only french fries for the rest of their lives. They answer no, they want other foods too. So I say "Think of Top 40 music as french fries. I'm just introducing you to some other flavours*, and who knows, you might like a few of them. Later you can choose what you want to listen to all on your own. (*Canadian spelling, get used to it).
TL;DR Yeah, right. Go read it. I'd love to hear your feedback, as long as it's not just about some song you think is stupid.
I'll introduce myself a little more fully in a future blog posting. For now, I'm an active musician and music teacher, with a University degree in music and music education, and a masters of education. I play saxophone and bass, and my name is Ron. I'd rather use the bulk of today's post to explain why I've started this thing and tell you what you can expect. (Don't worry, I'm not forgetting the fries.)
Recently I've noticed how often people take an elitist approach to telling others what music they like, as if your choice of what gets played on your iPod somehow makes them better than someone else because of their music choice. Even worse, some people will claim to be die-hard fans of a band or singer, not because that singer is popular, but because they're not popular. You like Top 40? You have no taste. You like (insert obscure band name here)? You are so totally cool.
I think people should just listen to music they like, and not worry about whether someone else likes that music too. In fact, most people probably have a song or two in their collection that they don't talk about, the "guilty pleasure" track. You listen to it in your car by yourself, right? Maybe I'll tell you mine someday, but we need to get to know each other a little first. See, I don't really worry about what's "good" music or not, because I'm not really sure I'm qualified to judge that. Scratch that. I know I'm not qualified. I'm certainly qualified to tell you what I like and don't like, but not what is objectively "good" or "bad". Music is too personal for that. It has the ability to bypass your brain and go straight to your heart, or your feet, or your hips. Who cares if anyone else likes it? Do you? Yes? Then celebrate! Stop listening with your head.
I think I'll need many posts to explain that idea right, but it's a start. Let's move on to the french fries, shall we?
I teach music to junior high students. Sometimes I'll play a piece of music that's outside their normal musical diet. I actually think that's an important part of my job, to expose them to more than just the music they are force fed on Top 40 radio (not that there's anything wrong with those songs, of course). Whenever I play something really different, like East Indian music, or something classical, or something really experimental, they all resist. That's when I ask them the big question. My hook. "Do you like french fries?"
They stare at me blankly, the sudden shift in topic throwing them off. "If you like french fries, put up your hand." It's over 90% of every single class (but you already knew that). Then I ask who likes another food, maybe lasagna or lettuce, bacon or broccoli. The number of hands in the air changes with each item. And nobody judges anyone else for their food tastes. If a student asks another "You really like broccoli?", the answer is usually a shrug, like it's no big deal. I remind them that most of them like french fries, and ask if they would like to eat only french fries for the rest of their lives. They answer no, they want other foods too. So I say "Think of Top 40 music as french fries. I'm just introducing you to some other flavours*, and who knows, you might like a few of them. Later you can choose what you want to listen to all on your own. (*Canadian spelling, get used to it).
TL;DR Yeah, right. Go read it. I'd love to hear your feedback, as long as it's not just about some song you think is stupid.
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