John Jensen on mon 23 sep 96
The musician who practices scales often is one who performs music composed by
another person. I have met musicians who cannot play anything but scales unless
there is sheet music in front of them. I suppose there are dancers who can only
dance what is choreographed for them, dancers certainly spend huge amounts of
time doing exercises and warming up. Painters often keep a discipline of
drawing the human figure, never intending to show the work.
But I feel that for the most creative artists of all forms, the exercise of the
rudiments is incorporated seamlessly within their actual work. Did Mozart spend
any time practicing his scales? Did Picasso or Rembrant draw the figure just to
be drawing the figure?
One big difference between the other fine arts and pottery is that (as Hamada
pointed out) even a bad pot has a use, where as a bad painting is worthless.
Making mugs can be a mature expression or a warm up excercise, but in either
case you can drink out of the result.
Rambling, John Jensen in Annapolis
Bill Aycock on mon 23 sep 96
At 09:22 AM 9/23/96 EDT, you (john Jensen) wrote: *** in part ***
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>The musician who practices scales often is one who performs music composed by
>another person.
>
John- your example is so wrong it hurts-- most really creative musicians
practice scales at great length, so that the structure of a given key is
thoroghly imbedded in their muscle and mental structure.
Just as a golfer practices at various distances to make the stroke
automatic, and the dancer goes to "class" to keep the muscles automatic in
their assumption of a desired motion, the musician uses scales in various
forms and keys to remove the need to think about the "fit" of the notes that
go together.
What does a potter do? I have seen a superb potter sit down and throw a
gross of cups and fifty teapots after a spell of abstinance. He said " I
have to retune my muscles".
Bill- who was a (quite poor and mechanical) musician once, now safe on
Persimmon Hill.
>
>
Bill Aycock --- Persimmon Hill --- Woodville, Alabama, USA --- (in
the N.E. corner of the State)
also-- W4BSG -- Grid EM64
chull@startext.net on mon 23 sep 96
> One big difference between the other fine arts and pottery is that (as Hamada
> pointed out) even a bad pot has a use, where as a bad painting is worthless.
> Making mugs can be a mature expression or a warm up excercise, but in either
> case you can drink out of the result.
>
> Rambling, John Jensen in Annapolis
Hmmmm.... I would say that a bad painting is not finished. I do find
clay and stone work to be the more unforgiving of medias though.
Cynthia
TX
Dannon Rhudy on mon 23 sep 96
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>At 09:22 AM 9/23/96 EDT, you (john Jensen) wrote: *** in part ***
>>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>>The musician who practices scales often is one who performs music composed by
>>another person.
>>
>John- your example is so wrong it hurts-- most really creative musicians
>practice scales at great length, so that the structure of a given key is
>thoroghly imbedded in their muscle and mental structure.
>
Bill,
Your observation is a good one. I agree that most who are really creative
have absorbed the requisite information so thoroughly that they need not
think about it much, it is just there, available when needed. One needs to
be ABLE to produce what they can conceive of producing. Laboriousness of
thought or process finds its way into what we make, is easily visible to
viewer (or in the case of music, listener).
Sharon Miranda on tue 24 sep 96
John: re practicing scales...you better believe Mozart did it! I'm sure he
learned them like any old genius, that is lightning fast, but I'm also sure
he practiced them, played them for years. Just because some musicians need
music to read from doesn't mean they are any less creative. It's a worthy
and creative endeavor to Interpret, as well as to create from scratch. Of
course without performers who do this how would we hear, in such sublime
renditions, always so new, all the wonders of Schubert and Mozart...
It's true you can always drink from a bad mug. On the other hand, a bad
performance dissipates in moments, a bad painting eventually decays, but a
bad mug....
Sharon, practicing scales and mugs diligently
Oberlin, Ohio
John Jensen on fri 27 sep 96
---------- Forwarded Message ----------
From: John Jensen, INTERNET:76053.1462@CompuServe.COM
TO: vanagon type2, INTERNET:TYPE2@PRIMENET.COM
DATE: 9/26/96 10:22 AM
RE: Rudiments of art/scales
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From: John Jensen <76053.1462@CompuServe.COM>
To: vanagon type2
Subject: Rudiments of art/scales
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Sorry to cause pain with my wrongness. I tend to agree with those who disagree
with my recent statements. I sort of still feel that there should be a
seamless incorporation of rudiments in the work of the master. I understand
that Mozart (and others) at some point had to learn and pratice scales, and
everyone has to warm up (whether for minutes or weeks or days); but wouldn'tt
such a person eventually own these things and go on to spend time in more
expressive exercises?
I guess what I am experiencing here is the contradictions inherent in drawing
analogies between the disciplines. I spent years (even wrote an unpublished
book) trying to draw analogies between colour and music. There is just so far
one can go down this path before falling into a kind of obsessive mania.
John Jensen in Annapolis
Dannon Rhudy on fri 27 sep 96
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
John,
The " analogies between colour and music" is interesting. I have a friend
who is a mathmatician and part time musician who told me once that when
he listens to certain classical composers, especially Mozart and Bach,
that he "sees" the music as shifting colour compositions. Don't think it
got as far as obsession or mania....
Dannon Rhudy
dannon@koyote.com
>I guess what I am experiencing here is the contradictions inherent in drawing
>analogies between the disciplines. I spent years (even wrote an unpublished
>book) trying to draw analogies between colour and music. There is just so far
>one can go down this path before falling into a kind of obsessive mania.
>
>John Jensen in Annapolis
>
>
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