Mary, Joe, Bo,
After a few years of observation (I'm slow.), a realization started to dawn on me, 'Oh, so that's how you learn to play the guitar: practice, practice practice.'. I started classical guitar lessons that very month. I would get up at 3:00 or 4:00am every day to practice for a few hours before going to work. I was so very happy to do so. Being the curious sort, I also studied some music theory. I can read music, at least the top bar (Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge & FACE), and I learned a little about harmony, melody, intervals and building chords (the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, the major lift...) but mostly I loved to practice some of the wonderful little studies I found. I don't have the stuff to be a performer, but I could lose myself in practice (think of the cello player in the movie 'The Witches of Eastwick'; it was love and lust.) There came a point where I could see my playing was causing my husband harm, and I stopped. I think those years were when I was between 35 and 40 years old. I am still find the guitar thrilling. Marsha On Jan 4, 2010, at 1:04 PM, [email protected] wrote: > Marsha, Mary, Joe, All. > > Marsha >> I stopped drinking many decades ago. I've stopped smoking. I never did >> dangerous drugs, but I have on occasion played with "non-dangerous" drugs >> (marijuana). In the end came a realization that even the non-dan gerous >> drugs might interfere with clear awareness, so I stopped that too. I >> still have addictions: books, laughter, marzipan, music, coffee,,, This >> was not social pressure, but a hearts desire. > > Joe : >>> When I fly by the seat of my pants, I like to have a model or >>> direction-finder for where I am going. As a singer, I prefer the md odel >>> of the musical octave Do, Re, Mi_Fa, Sol, La, Ti_Do for evolution. The >>> thing about the octave is that there are two naturally occurring >>> intervals Mi_Fa, Ti_Do, at which any mechanical schema breaks down. If >>> a pitch is going to double in vibrations the last note of seven is >>> shocked, and looks to the mi_fa interval for support. > > Mary >>> I am fascinated by this. Daddy bought a cheap Yamaha guitar from Sears >>> & Roebuck sometime in the late 1960's and started teaching himself to >>> play. He drove us crazy (Mother and me) playing "Wildwood Flower" over >>> and over again for years. I think he worked on it so hard because it >>> required you to learn pulling off and hammering on. Anyway, when I was >>> about 10 he showed me 3 chords (you know you can play any >>> country-western song ever written in 3 chords), and I was off and >>> running. Later on he showed me the circle of fifths. I don't >>> understand why it works, but I do know you can use it to transpose a >>> song from one chord to another. > > This "seat of the pants" phenomenon regarding flying and/or music I > will apply to painting as well and wonder if not Marsha will agree? I > can't for the life of me tell "how to" paint, I mean I have no particular > opening, but like Joe I need a direction-finder (AKA "inspiration"). Mary > seems to regret not being able to read music and I too am a bit > ashamed that I can't "read paint" if such a comparison is possible? I > once had a school class visiting my exhibition - had promised to say > something about my paintings - but this became too difficult and I think > the kids sensed how embarrassed I was. I can tell about "literary" > connotations of a painting, if one of my "sail & steam" pieces I may > imagine some competition over the same woman from the two > skippers that leads to reckless behavior, but that's not what people > expect, as with music they think that a person who can read the notes > can play like Hayfetz and if you know "how to paint" out comes > Rembrants. My solace is William Turner, as head of the Royal > Academy he was supposed to give a talk on painting once a year, and > these were totally inscrutable mumblings. > > OK, this was not Mary's point her story was great art in itself, and her > questions and observation on music's foundations most interesting. It > somewhat pertains to what I have been on to lately about "logic itself" > that along with some musical basics can't be violated without > everything dissolving. There was the philosopher who wrote about the > harmony of the spheres, i.e. that certain proportions must be > maintained for the universe to work. I agree with Mary about the 12- > tone scale music, if Schönberg is a representative here it's horrible > and an offense to my ears regardless how much the pundits hammers > on this just being a custom. I'm out of my depth regarding music, but I > know that when one comes to Greece one hears the more Eastern > "twang" the shifting of notes in some gliding fashion, but I believe the > basic harmony prevails > > BTW regarding flying - and if Joe really flies? - there are the new > "unstable" fighter aircrafts, the F-16 f.ex, that are dependent on > computers to stay in the air, if these fail no pilot regardless skill will be > able to fly it. How does this apply to music, painting and art generally? I > know that computers can imitate composers' style. If they can imitate > painters I haven't heard of, but perhaps, at least regarding modernistic > painting no one can see if it is done by a monkey, a computer or > human. If some harmonies have to be present? At least there are > some disharmonies that will spoil a painting and that adds up to the > same. > > Bodvar > > PS: > > Mary again: >>> In a previous post I alluded to the fact that I used serious drugs for a >>> number of years. Tomorrow (January 3rd) is the 3rd anniversary of my >>> disuse. I have had the time since to ponder the nature of this. I am >>> of the opinion that drug use is maligned in our culture because it is >>> akin to cheating. I agree. Using mind-altering drugs to attain a >>> different state is CHEATING. This, I believe, is why most straight >>> people's unexamined gut reaction is negative. We should use the >>> equipment we've got, and not attempt to enhance it. I would love to >>> know what the MoQ has to say about that. > > I'm impressed by Mary's candor and agree with her conclusions, yet > there are drugs and drugs, I don't know if alcohol is regarded one, but > there is (almost) no culture on earth that don't have this in some form > or other and as social lubricant it has a purpose, but to intoxicate > oneself for intoxications own sake is not for me. At least not when > painting. . The MOQ implications I leave here. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >>> My problem with music is that I was a smart-ass. I absolutely do not >>> have perfect pitch. I can't tell you a true C from a true G to this >>> day. Perhaps a lot of that has to do with the fact that I never had >>> anything to tune my guitar to. But I can sure tune it to itself. All I >>> strive for is to get the strings to not be too tight or too loose, then >>> go from there. E A D G B E, or so they tell me. >>> >>> When I was 6 my mother started me in piano lessons. Ha. I never did >>> learn to read music, but if I heard something once or twice I could pick >>> it out. No problem. This is also known I believe as cheating. Same >>> with Clarinet. I was in the band at school and spent a lot of time >>> vieing with this other girl, whose name I can't remember, for first >>> chair. Thing is, I couldn't read music then either. I'd just pretend >>> to play through the first cold run-through of anything new, then pick it >>> up for real on the next go-around. >>> >>> I guess my point is (and I hope it's not on the top of my head :) ) that >>> I have had a life-long love of singing and playing guitar, but have no >>> understanding at all of what I am doing. I just hear music and it is >>> right or it is wrong. Is this evidence of Mary having a Dynamic Quality >>> experience? Same with rhythm. The drums are so easy as to be >>> ridiculous. I once remember being in a drumming circle with some other >>> heathen women friends of mine. I brought the whole thing to a halt. >>> Each woman would take turns drumming whatever she felt. When it got to >>> me I took off on some kind of jazz-like thing with extreme syncopation >>> (which to me is emphasizing the counter-beat, but I could be totally >>> wrong about what syncopation actually means). Anyway, I was off into >>> some frenzied drumming that was so - I don't know - complicated??? it >>> brought the whole thing to a halt. So what's with that? Where on Earth >>> does this come from? To this day I can't stand to listen to a certain >>> Aerosmith live album because they are off beat on certain songs. I >>> think they are either too drunk or too high to stay with it. IMHO. >>> >>> After this long tirade (can you tell you've struck a "chord" so to >>> speak?), the question I wanted to ask you is I've heard that the 8 note >>> octave we westerners use is not the only one. I haven't Googled this >>> yet, but I seem to recall that some Asian or Indian music uses a 12 (?) >>> note scale. Is this true? What on Earth? I can't even imagine what >>> that would sound like. Do they have notes that don't exist in Western >>> music? This profoundly bothers me because I can't imagine any music >>> with any other notes between the ones I know of. I mean, when I'm >>> having a bad day and singing off key, those are other notes, but that >>> just means I'm not in control of my voice, and they are BAD. Can you >>> explain this? >>> >>> I have no idea how any of this relates to the MoQ, but you brought it >>> up, after all, and I'm beginning to think that is DOES. Why do we see >>> Quality in music constructed using the Western octave? Is this a >>> learned response or a fundamental TRUTH of the Universe? What's up with >>> music anyway? Why do we respond so profoundly to it? Where did it come >>> from? Is it something of the Biological Level? I think it must be >>> because it is so universal; but, if so, what's the deal with these >>> different scales? Why are there scales at all? Why does a certain >>> chord progression evoke such an emotional response in us, but not other >>> chord progressions? They say music is mathematics. Yes, even my gut >>> level understanding of music agrees with that. Is music the language of >>> the Universe? If so, what scale does it use? 8 notes or 12? Is a >>> Sitar player more in tune with the Universe than me? And do you notice >>> how we use the phrase "in tune"? There is much wisdom in language that >>> goes unnoticed. I have a book somewhere about word origins. It is >>> fascinating. Those that came before us were not dumb. >>> >>> In a previous post I alluded to the fact that I used serious drugs for a >>> number of years. Tomorrow (January 3rd) is the 3rd anniversary of my >>> disuse. I have had the time since to ponder the nature of this. I am >>> of the opinion that drug use is maligned in our culture because it is >>> akin to cheating. I agree. Using mind-altering drugs to attain a >>> different state is CHEATING. This, I believe, is why most straight >>> people's unexamined gut reaction is negative. We should use the >>> equipment we've got, and not attempt to enhance it. I would love to >>> know what the MoQ has to say about that. >>> >>> >>> Mary >>> >>> The most important thing you will ever make is a realization. >>> Moq_Discuss mailing list >>> Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. >>> http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org >>> Archives: >>> http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ >>> http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/ >> >> >> _______________________________________________________________________ >> >> Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars... >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> ------ >> >> >> Previous message: [MD] Music and the Moq >> Next message: [MD] Where does logic itself belong inside the MOQ? >> Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ] >> >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> ------ More information about the Moq_Discuss mailing list > > Moq_Discuss mailing list > Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. > http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org > Archives: > http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ > http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/ _______________________________________________________________________ Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars... 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