Anyone play concert instruments? or any instrument at all?

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Anyone play concert instruments? or any instrument at all?

Post by the_music_man » 24 Feb 2011 19:37

I personally play Flute, Bassoon, Alto sax and Tenor sax. (I'm prolly gunna end up going to college for musical composition). Anyone on modified play instruments?
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Post by habitat » 24 Feb 2011 21:34

I play piano/keys, guitar, bass, drums, and ukulele (and sometimes sing, terribly). Playing music is awesome.
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Post by the_music_man » 25 Feb 2011 14:44

That's awesome. I've always wanted to learn piano XD
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Post by sen » 27 Feb 2011 10:54

Currently? No.

In the past?

French Horn
Trombone
Drum Kit
Other Percussion, (Cymbals, bass, tymponies(sp??), snare alone, xylophone, ect, ect
Harmonica
Guitar
And I still sing for fun

As it turns out I may be tone deaf so things like French Horn and Trombone really didn't work out for me. Drums was fun.

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Post by Donovon » 02 Mar 2011 14:05

I play guitar, bass, piano, drums, vocals.
I currently am studying jazz/classical guitar at university.
I also play drums in a "rock" band.
I intend on pursing a career in music therapy.
~Donovon

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Post by the_music_man » 03 Mar 2011 18:33

Nice to know I'm not the only person on modified making music their career!
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Post by habitat » 04 Mar 2011 11:16

Music as a career sounds like some sort of joke to me. I am ignorant here though. What types of *careers* can you get being a musician? Symphony player? Freelance composing? Teaching? (ugghh)
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Post by the_music_man » 04 Mar 2011 14:56

Actually, you named three of the most common XD

Performance majors normally play in professional orchestras or symphonies

Composition majors are usually freelance, be contracted to compose for a project (movie, show, video game), or if you have some tech background they can be sound directors.

And Music education is the most common.
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Post by habitat » 06 Mar 2011 16:36

Do you think these guys have a future career in music?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7aH-CfYfi8[/youtube]
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Post by Zeb Jackson » 06 Mar 2011 21:50

all signs point to no

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Post by the_music_man » 07 Mar 2011 20:28

Zeb Jackson wrote:all signs point to no
All signs including my opinion, point to no XD
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Post by habitat » 08 Mar 2011 11:32

This concludes the test of why making your career in music is bullshit (read:close-mindedness/fixed intelligence)
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Post by the_music_man » 08 Mar 2011 19:03

Now now, you can make a career in music if you're actually good! Or you have an unbridled passion for it. They just plain suck XD Then again, I don't play percussion.
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Post by habitat » 09 Mar 2011 12:36

habitat wrote:(read:close-mindedness/fixed intelligence)
the_music_man wrote:They just plain suck XD
the_music_man wrote:you can make a career in music if you're actually good!
You see how you clearly supported my point? My conclusion still currently stands that when you focus on making music your career, you shrink your capacity to take art as art (music as art) and start thinking in terms of societal (in this case, western harmony) standards of proficiency and also money. Ideas rooted on popular belief or conventions of what is good music and what is not or bad music just aren't appealing to me. Hence, why the idea of having a career in music seems to kill, or at least diminish (hee) the drive to really express one's true self without fear or limitations from said beliefs and conventions.

What does being a "good" musician involve? Going to music school and getting good grades? Having a group of people "like" your music? Getting paid to play music? Playing in front of people? Going to music school generally only allows for classical western harmony and some jazz and almost completely shuts out and discredits pop/rock/folk/etc. So, only these music school students can be good musicians? Obviously, that is not the case. The conclusion that a good musician gets paid (career) to play music doesn't necessarily follow. I think having a good business sense is the logical conclusion to draw from that. Same with having a following. The conclusion most related to that premise would be you have good interpersonal communication skills. Are (arbitrary) school grades or business and interpersonal communication skills necessary to be a "good" musician? I say no. However, they are preconditions to believe for what we currently have been told are qualities of good music.

And when you say unbridled passion for music as to somehow claim that this group Google Earth isn't passionate about music and therefore not good, did you actually watch the video? They just set up a guerilla show with no promotion whatsoever and people stopped and watched because they were fascinated. The looks on their faces when they are playing are seemingly passionate to me. I took it as an interesting, fresh way to express oneself through music. These guys are in about 40 different bands and play all sorts of instruments, but they have no shot at being good or having a "career" because they aren't playing contextual harmony, correct melodies or clean percussion?

The reason pop music and classical music will be around forever is because many people are either obsessed with the present or stuck in the past. Forward thinking artists have almost always been shunned or labeled as a mockery or in this case they "plain suck" (think jazz). It's a pointless way of thinking to me and harms the true expression possible for art like music. I see music as art on a timeline as a progression of one radical expression after another but I suspect most people see it as a way to stay in their comfort zone, obsess with familiarity and tradition, or pass time on the bus on their way to make money at a job they hate to give to corporations for things they don't need. If you like music that is harmonically, melodically, instrumentally, culturally, lyrically the same (most pop) or music that has been OLD for quite some time (classical) that's fine, I do too. But don't say music sucks because it doesn't fit your socially/popularly conceptualized standard of what is good and possibly expand your idea of what is music and why you actually listen or play music yourself and how that applies to the history of music as a whole. I find these questions most interesting.
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Post by the_music_man » 09 Mar 2011 19:09

I see where your coming from. I understand that what I said was pretty ignorant about that group. They did have real passion for what they did! "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." That's how I see music. I personally am not in it for the money, But that group just wasn't my genre of choice. While other people may like that type of music, I don't. I only plan on going to college for it to be able to learn from other musicians on their points of view!

To each his own. I understand what you're getting at. If you think that way, I won't challenge you! Music is an art, not a business. And it never should be!
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Post by Laroche » 10 Mar 2011 13:32

So... anytime someone writes an unpopular piece, they can justify other people not liking it by saying that they just aren't open-minded enough to go beyond what their culture tells them is "Good music?" To be fair you have a valid point but where's the line between not understanding a song and it just not being any good?

Ears don't lie.
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Post by Jeremy » 10 Mar 2011 15:45

I used to play alto sax in school.

As a counter point to James, all I can offer is an anecdote, which is that one of my best friends is a professional musician. He comes from a very musical family but when I talk to him about his career he pretty much only talks about it about how much money he makes, although I concede this could be because I always request he play songs like Wild Thing.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IAemmMlwGU[/youtube]

He also plays footbag occasionally.

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Post by the_music_man » 10 Mar 2011 20:38

The line between an unfavorable piece to you, and just not good... is a relatively large line, mostly because it's always there! There will always be someone that likes a song/piece. But whichever is chosen is chosen by the public. If the majority likes your piece: Then people will say it was "good". While if the majority is against it: It will be deemed "bad"

I know it doesn't quite make sense but that's my take on it. I don't know very much about sociology.
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Post by habitat » 11 Mar 2011 13:31

Laroche wrote:So... anytime someone writes an unpopular piece, they can justify other people not liking it by saying that they just aren't open-minded enough to go beyond what their culture tells them is "Good music?" To be fair you have a valid point but where's the line between not understanding a song and it just not being any good?

Ears don't lie.

How can one begin to make honest (to self) judgements like "good' or "bad" if you don't understand something in it's context? The inability to understand something (music, in this case) in it's context relates to one's social/cultural background. A musician shouldn't need to justify any piece's "goodness" or "badness" to anyone except to self. Music should be an honest expression of self which requires no external affirmation. In this way it will maximize potential.

No one is right and no one is wrong because we all perceive differently. My main point were that just because something is un/popular doesn't necessarily dictate how good/bad the musician or the piece is. I questioned that this and similar lines of thinking lead to division and a possible suffocation of true expression because of (possibly unconscious) fears, cultural pressures and isolation from extracultural influences. It also could lead to a stagnation of the arts due to rigid definitions of what's good or bad. Also, history has shown unpopular, non-profitable forms of music (art) have turned around and become quite popular/profitable, as in my example of jazz.

There is currently no accepted objective standard of art, so why use terms like good or bad to describe it? Even a step further, there is no accepted objective standard of the meanings of the terms good or bad, so why put so much value into these terms at all? Trying to quantify things in this way, I feel, stifle progression. You can only enjoy what you enjoy. I personally encourage everyone to do whatever they like.

Nick, it was not my intention to sound defensive or arrogant by saying, "don't say music sucks because it doesn't fit your socially/popularly conceptualized standard of what is good". I only meant to encourage people to really think about music. I have observed that a majority of people I talk to only listen to music others tell them is good by ways such as magazines, internet, radio, and friends. If these people aren't really thinking about the music, who is? Corporations, large companies that benefit from the consumption of music? It leads me to conclude that the motivations of the majority of music businesses are rooted in money. I personally don't see money as a proper motivator for fulfilling true artistic expression but instead as a external, short-term means to meet needs that neglect and diminsh what I see as stronger internal motivators of self-actualization and transcendence. I want to encourage people to ask questions about their currently accepted realities. What does music mean to you? Do you enjoy/not enjoy the music you listen to? Why or why not?

Ears don't lie because you (and your culture) create your own reality. Doesn't make it correct or incorrect, better or worse, or able to distinguish itself over others.
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Post by Laroche » 11 Mar 2011 13:42

I'm not implying anything on your part, I just always enjoy a good musical discussion. You can apply what you said to just about anything subjective, looks, visual art, etc. but our natural instincts are not to try and understand it or see the culture behind it; Nope, instead our brain likes to shoot billions of electronic signals through our neural network in a way that no one human has ever figured out in order to generate the words "That Sucks!" in our chosen language.

I also judge people who make bad art or who are ugly or fat.

Anyway, keep on makin' tunes, that's what matters!
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