On Sep 28, 2012, at 10:16 AM, [email protected] wrote: > it was playing the rhythms perfectly.
One thing you can count on: Finale does the math. > > I agree completely as a fellow professional pianist (and musician in > general) that I'm appalled that anyone would rely on MIDI to learn something; > > we're really and truly lost if that's the case. I forbade my students when > I > was a university professor from listening to recordings while they were > learning pieces lest they just come in and parrot these versions back to me, > and I remember similar sentiments expressed to me by my own teachers, > including the late Marilyn Neeley. I told her once I had been listening to > a > certain recording of the Grieg Concerto, and she quickly snapped at me that > she didn't need a "Philippe Entremont clone" coming into the lesson. If > only more people thought this way and listened to multiple recordings AFTER > learning a piece and not during the formative process...oh well, that's > wishful thinking in a YouTube world, isn't it? This conclusion assumes that notation is music, and that it includes enough to guide an informed performance. This is no more (or less) true than the idea that the script of a play contains the play. The only danger in using existing models (recordings) to inform the learning process is if the student only uses one recording, or if the student is an extraordinarily gifted mimic. The idea of learning music without using examples of other people's performances is as small minded and intellectually flawed as mindless mimicry would be. Where, indeed, do we imagine interpretive ideas come from? Musical personalities arise as an accrual of our listening experiences. How can anyone suggest not listening as a protection from external influence when those influences are the very building blocks of our own personalities? There must be a balance here, and a history of listening precedes the formation of any coherent performance. Chuck Chuck Israels 8831 SE 12th Ave. Portland, OR 97202-7097 land line: (503) 954-2107 cell phone: (360) 201-3434 <www.chuckisraels.com> <www.chuckisraelsjazz.com> _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
