Thomas Wilburn Posted December 31, 2003 Share Posted December 31, 2003 DaveBrownBass: From frivolity to philosophy in 9.4 seconds. Four String Riot the myspaces, we hates it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebrownbass Posted January 1, 2004 Share Posted January 1, 2004 Thanks for the kind words, Thomas. "Let's raise the level of this conversation" -- Jeremy Cohen, in the Picasso Thread. Still spendin' that political capital far faster than I can earn it...stretched way out on a limb here and looking for a better interest rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassdrummer Posted January 1, 2004 Share Posted January 1, 2004 Originally posted by davebrownbass: "All the world is a Stage", Wm. Shakespeare "All the World's indeed a stage, and we are merely players, performers and portrayers...each another's audience outside the gilded cage," Limelight, by Rush The bard said it best; we show the world who we want them to see, and not always who we are. "Who, who are you?" Who Are You, Pete Townshend I believe the point of these comments is that we are all actors because we fear the answer to the question that Pete posed, and fear that, once uncovered, our real, wounded self would be subject to open attack. I now make the point that we are all musicians. Every born one of us. And this is not an act, but a statement of being. Consider: "I believe that music can be an inspirational force in all our lives--that its eloquence and the depth of its meaning are all-important and that all personal considerations concerning musicians and public are relatively unimportant--that music comes from the heart and returns to the heart -- that music is a spontaneous impulsive expression -- that its range is without limit--that music is forever growing - and that music can be one element to help us build a new conception of life in which the madness and cruelty of wars will be replaced by a simple understanding of the brotherhood of man." Leopold Stoskowski Isn't this not merely the heart's desire of all humans and not the sole refuge of some trained musician? We come into the world; unschooled singers sing us to bed...untrained drummers pat our cakes...musical illiterates celebrate the sound in the world to us, and the sounds we make. Our entire lives are wrapped up in the ritual of music. This is because music is not only the breath of God, it is the blood and sinew as well. (And unseemly performers can take this power and wield great evil with it.) What we tend to call musicians are those who take their native skills and begin to hone them...a process that never ends. And as these skills are honed, something ungodly sometimes comes in...pride of performance, envy, exclusivity. The best musicians tame this lion. But don't rob the power of making music from everyone. A little child's banging on a toy xylophone may not make the Grammy committee proud, but it is music. Celebrate that.Now THAT is a teacher talking, everyone! Now after Christmas break, when I go back to teaching my third grade class, I will remember dbb and apply his philosophy . . . all humans are . . . readers! All humans are . . . writers! All humans are . . . mathematicians! So you can all do it, kids! YOU CAN DO IT! Maybe I'll get flamed by my third graders! "All the world's indeed a stage, and we are merely players..." --Rush, "Limelight" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebrownbass Posted January 1, 2004 Share Posted January 1, 2004 Thank you, bassdrummer. Actually, if you look at education in this way...we are all native born writers, mathmeticians, spellers then you can seperate the person from the skill level. The worst singer I know, when he really tries, really tries. When he's not making fun of himself, he is exercising precisely the same passion producing horrible noise that great singers do. And he really wants to move people with his unskilled voice. Ya know, fear of failure causes many people to never try hard. And a third grader who believes he won't "get it" often doesn't. Of course, YOU know that, drummer, 'cause you are there all the time. "Let's raise the level of this conversation" -- Jeremy Cohen, in the Picasso Thread. Still spendin' that political capital far faster than I can earn it...stretched way out on a limb here and looking for a better interest rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomD Posted January 1, 2004 Share Posted January 1, 2004 dbb, truly inspiring... thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted January 1, 2004 Share Posted January 1, 2004 I'm not a person that believes you have to have formal training to be considered a musician. Neither do you have to be able to read sheet music. In my mind, it's all about creativity. I play bass mostly, but I am also a fair rythym- and lead-guitarist and singer. I have never had formal training in any of these. I can create music, though, using just about anything as an instrument. I don't know what you guys think about the group 'Stomp' that was featured on TV a couple of years ago. You know, the guys that take brooms and trash cans and stuff and make music with them. I'm almost POSITIVE that none of them have been formally trained on how to play a trash-can lid. They are musicians to me just the same, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibescotty Posted January 1, 2004 Share Posted January 1, 2004 I'm really not concerned with what other people think about me or my band. We think we are musician's and we get paid for our performances. Who's to say we're wrong. If you wanna be a musician feel free to call yourself one and you will be one. No permit required. DBB should give himself post of the day honors. Truly inspiring. Double Posting since March 2002 Random Post Generator #26797 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Capasso Posted January 2, 2004 Share Posted January 2, 2004 DBB - whew - nice work. Shouldn't some of that be on a poster in your department somewhere? As to DJs that play records (not make sounds) - I probably wouldn't call them musicians. But I've a) been at fun weddings and parties b) had to make up a set list. I have some respect for the ones that can do it right. Tom www.stoneflyrocks.com Acoustic Color Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba upright Posted January 3, 2004 Share Posted January 3, 2004 Glad I was wearing my asbestos undies. "Study, study, study...or BONK BONK bad kids!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Guy Posted January 3, 2004 Share Posted January 3, 2004 A musician is anyone who can create an emotion with an audible source. The origional tribal drum beats caused people to do anything from celebrate peace to go to war; a symphony can cause people to be happy, calm or crazy. A heavy metal guitar can cause anything from angst to sympathy; a jazz saxaphone can created an atmosphere of serenity; a punk rock harmony can cause jubilation; a dj beat can make people get up and dance. All this is music because it uses sound - sound not noise - to encourage and create a specific emotion in the people who hear it. Saw a band last night that was just strait up, standard punk: no origionality from song to song, no differential in the beat or chord progression. However, to many people there, this 'music' meant something, and affected their lives. Therefore, these unskilled, unimaginative punk rockers succeeded in being musicians. On the same note, to define someone as a good musician, based on this definition of music and musicianship, would simply require them to create a stronger emotion or have a better effect. Even if a musician is not the most skilled player, if his music creates that emotion or makes that effect on people, he is a better musician than the guy who can slash and cut mad solos, groove a slap line and/or play Coltrane changes at 100bpm, if the skilled player fails to impact his audience. My two cents. Rock on. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebrownbass Posted January 5, 2004 Share Posted January 5, 2004 Thanks Tom and all, and nope...not in my department anywhere. "Let's raise the level of this conversation" -- Jeremy Cohen, in the Picasso Thread. Still spendin' that political capital far faster than I can earn it...stretched way out on a limb here and looking for a better interest rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cup Posted January 5, 2004 Author Share Posted January 5, 2004 A lot of thought put into your answers folks, cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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