4/27/2008

I can die now

Second time seeing Ben Folds is checked off. It was amazing, for the people who like him. now I am buying some more of his piano books, so maybe i can dream of being as good as him.
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7 comments:

RespectMyAuthorita said...

You can waste your time playing other peoples music, or you can really get good, by being creative and writing your own music. I love metallica, but i only know how to play a few songs of theirs. I write my own stuff, and have learned more that way. most of my drum teachers told me the same. Listen to it, but dont learn everyone elses stuff, it cripples your imagination and thus your skill level.

April 28, 2008 at 8:41 PM
Evan Gunn said...

you are probably right but I don't have much of an imagination to write good songs yet. i have like one written but I definately know its missing something. i just enjoy playing those songs of ben's

April 28, 2008 at 10:40 PM
Lincoln Davis said...

Gunn, I disagree with Jason. The best way to learn how to write your own stuff is to learn what the masters have done first - then you can know how to emulate them, and how to depart from their work. I wish I had spent more time learning Van Halen solos and Rachmaninoff preludes.

April 29, 2008 at 9:42 AM
Evan Gunn said...

I am easily persuaded. I don't have an opinion on the matter yet but I would like to see a good debate between Davis and jason to see who will win my thoughts. Davis is in the lead right now.

April 29, 2008 at 1:19 PM
RespectMyAuthorita said...

I agree with davis in principle but not in application. You do wanna learn from the masters, but not to the extent he speaks. You definitely want to listen to a lot of it to hear how they do things, but you dont need to be able to play "master of puppets" flawlessly to learn from metallica. You hear what kinds of combos they use, song arrangements, riffs, and what not to learn how a master does it. model your own music after these exoskeletons. If you learn to play their work as davis suggests, then you become linear and narrowminded. Not necessarily in general, but musically. You start to not be able to think outside of the "ben folds" box. Because you have learned all the flourishes/riffs/tags that he uses, and you naturally make them your own, and you only are able to write your own music along those guidelines. whereas, if you were to listen to it, not learn or practice much of it, take out what you like in your head, committ what you enjoy to memory, then let it come out of you as your own Instinct allows, this is where the real music will come from.

I believe in music there are 2 minds. Your actual human mind and the mind your fingers obey. If you learn "ben folds" music, then you have committed his music to not only your memory but the memory of your fingers. So when you go to be creative on your own, your fingers only know to do certain things that you learned from practicing a certain style or a certain individuals music. Its possible to not fall into this pit, but unlikely. I started to walk into that trap, but decided to quit learning covers, because it was ruining my creativity.

Take it from me, i am the riffmaster.

April 29, 2008 at 6:24 PM
Lincoln Davis said...

Ok, I more or less agree with Jason now.

April 30, 2008 at 8:32 AM
Evan Gunn said...

I'll do the same davis

April 30, 2008 at 1:13 PM

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