Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Ugh, This irritates me!!

So a while ago, this kid posted on the ICS about learning cello... don't remember the original post much, but a lot of ppl shot him down for trying to teach himself/learn without a teacher (and don't get me wrong, I am always in favor of taking lessons and learning from someone who can play an instrument well)

Anyway, this kid comes back and posts this video (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4GUOLRXsrBY) going "hah, I told you I could learn" and one of the first posts in response calls what he did noise (as opposed to music) & puts him down for not learning the cello ... personally I found that really irritating.

Not only did I think what he did was really cool (musically & technically) ... I'm also not sure I could do the same (probably with a bit of work I can - just need to figure out all the things he did... plus what the source material is)... and finally, just cuz you're not into a certain type of music doesn't give you a right to put down others for doing things different from you... certainly not in a setting like that... I dunno, anyone have thoughts on the video, or the posting??

By the way, Eric Edberg recently posted some improv stuff that I haven't had a chance to check out too much, but if you haven't I suggest you do. He's a very interesting guy. Greg Sandow also has some interesting stuff...

Anyway, school's out, so I'm starting to get back in the swing of things... I saw 3 concerts last week... planning to write those up soon.

5 comments:

gottagopractice said...

I see good musical instincts. He knows what he wants to do, and succeeds in making the sounds he wants to, however he gets there. He has a good sense of pitch, evidenced by his uniform progressions. And though his grip is suboptimal, he has a nicely flowing bow arm; see how even the string crossing is, and how level the bow. He wouldn't be "allowed" to do that in lessons for a considerable time.

Looking at his other videos, and his inspirations, he appears to have a strong drive to play. He'll figure out when he needs help to get where he wants to go in his own time.

While I can't imagine getting where I have gotten to without excellent teachers, the "get a teacher" mantra is starting to sound like a bad religion - submit to my beliefs, or I will smite you. Whatever happened to encouraging the good in people?

Guanaco said...

I don't look at the ICS forums anymore... too many trolls.

cellodonna said...

Ditto. Too much irritation when I go there. I've just about stopped reading those forums. A shame really, because it could be so good.

Mike Lunapiena said...

gottagopractice - I agree re: the "get a teacher" mantra ... I'll be the first person to takl about the benefits of having a teacher (especially to rock players, or people who try to teach themselves from scratch) ... on the other hand, so much of what I've learned has been on my own and without a teacher.

guanaco/cellodonna - I remember a time when the ICS forums were quite different - They're such a large part of the reason why I learned at as quick of a pace as I did. I don't think I'll ever stop looking at them for 2 reasons:

1. There is still much that can be learned, or at least interesting perspectives.

2. To give me a base to work against, to give me something not to become, and to help me develop my ideas.

But yeah, certainly there's much potential for getting burnt out with those forums... I certainly post there much less than I used to... then again, I was in high school when I first discovered them...

Mike Lunapiena said...

by the way, thanks to all of you guys for commenting. It's so nice to get feedback on stuff I post.