Being Musical, Wishful thinking Options

[crazy cow]

I have phases like that too, they come and go (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) It normally helps me to give it a rest for a while, take back music as a hobby rather than something I have to do and then I learn to love practicing (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) and then I practice more and eventually feel more confident...and then something tiny triggers it all over again... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

*hugs*
Hope you're feeling better soon (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[barry-clari]

I guess I am going through one of my self-doubting phases, which I do from time to time. I am wondering whether I will ever have what it takes, or maybe I should give up deluding myself.

Sorry. This is not very positive sounding, but it's how I am feeling right now.

You sang beautifully at Leicester Amber. You are musical. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[crazy_purple_piano_freak]

To me, being naturally musical is having the natural ability to play a piece of music, nomatter how simple, as MUSIC not just a jumble of notes, which nomatter how rhythmically correct they are, still miss 'something'...hmmm not explained myself very well! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

[sarah-flute]

I agree with what has been said so far but would like to add that being musical for me also includes having a good ear i.e. hearing when someone's sharp/flat or completely out of tune!

How about people who don't have a good sense of pitch but can appreciate/make good music though? You don't have to have excellent pitch to play the piano well... (though I'm sure it helps if you do)... you certainly don't have to to appreciate music (I know people who can't sing for toffee but still know excellently played music from not so good...) - and having a good sense of pitch doesn't guarantee being able to express oneself musically (though it should help...)

CPPF - I thought you explained that really well actually, and I think I probably agree though I'm very tired right now....

[jo.clarinet]

To me, being naturally musical is having the natural ability to play a piece of music, nomatter how simple, as MUSIC not just a jumble of notes, which nomatter how rhythmically correct they are, still miss 'something'...hmmm not explained myself very well! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

An excellent reply, CPPF! Sometimes even a pupil who is still in the early stages of playing will just instinctively shape phrases and play with a beautiful sense of line, while other pupils have to be told how to make a piece sound musical, and only gradually learn how to do it themselves.

[Cyrilla]

I know very many people who are brilliant at music - very intelligent, fantastic players, excellent ear - but who aren't what I call 'musical'. I think what they're lacking is a musical sensitivity...you're right, it's terribly hard to explain but if I had to isolate that one 'musical' quality then I think that would be it.

Oh, and Amber - I only had the pleasure of meeting you and teaching you once - but I would have said you are a VERY musical person!!!

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Patricia]

I think being musical means possessing the ability to communicate through music. Hearing in your head how it should be is one thing, but actually putting it across is another - with all the neccessary expression. Sometimes we think we're doing it, but the listener isn't quite getting it.

[carol*piano]

Sometimes even a pupil who is still in the early stages of playing will just instinctively shape phrases and play with a beautiful sense of line, while other pupils have to be told how to make a piece sound musical, and only gradually learn how to do it themselves.

I totally agree with that - there is just an almost undefinable sense of "musicality" about some of my pupils playing that is very difficult to explain/teach to the ones who haven't got it.

[Amber]

Thank you all for your replies, and for your encouraging comments.

In reflecting on what you have said above, what's coming up for me is a sense of "travelling". That music isn't just a series of one-off notes, but a journey through notes (and rests). I wonder if being musical is about how one travels through the notes? And what that journey image conjours up. Because I am mostly a visual person I find that different music creates different pictures in my mind - it's as though the music I am hearing is the soundtrack to the film I am running in my head. Being able to convey that film to others through my singing is another matter though!

And as I'm saying this I'm also thinking that it's important to have a sense of the overall shape of the piece, not just the moment by moment details. So that you have an idea of where the journey will eventually end up.

Thank you everyone. Your comments have got me thinking about this whole subject in a different way.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Amber
x

PS And what a gorgeous sunny day it is too. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Boo Radley]

Glad you're being more positive (rightly so too (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) ) about your musicality. What you say about conveying it to other people is always tricky because music can mean a lot to someone for sentimental reasons and no matter how beautifully they perform it to others, the listeners will never get the same emotions that motivate the performance in the first place. . . . .if that makes sense! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)

Anyway, when are you going to submit a piece of yourself to YAP's website, I wanna hear you sing! *throws tantrum*

[Jen W]

To me, being naturally musical is having the natural ability to play a piece of music, nomatter how simple, as MUSIC not just a jumble of notes, which nomatter how rhythmically correct they are, still miss 'something'...hmmm not explained myself very well! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

I like this description too! It's so difficult to define, but I relate it to the way I've heard two pianists whom I know play: one doesn't have brilliant technique (by her own admission) and makes frequent mistakes, but has never played me anything without bringing a tear to my eye; the other is brilliant technically, but to my ear that extra something is lacking and I always remain unmoved (whatever the piece), albeit impressed by the technical wizardry. (I'm not saying the technical wizard isn't musical, just illustrating how this struck me quite forcibly!)

[notmusimum]

Hi Amber

Glad you are feeling more positive. Just wanted to say that it seems to me to be totally normal not to recoginse that you are naturally musical. I think it's very hard to measure yourself in artistic fields. Everyone has different opinions of what being naturally musical is. If others think you have this quality then just accept it. Believe in yourself.

[bohemian]

I've heard two pianists whom I know play: one doesn't have brilliant technique (by her own admission) and makes frequent mistakes, but has never played me anything without bringing a tear to my eye; the other is brilliant technically, but to my ear that extra something is lacking and I always remain unmoved (whatever the piece), albeit impressed by the technical wizardry.

I think that's a good way of putting it, if you get 2 people to play the same piece, they will never play it the same way, but musical people will find meaning within it, whereas non-musical people simply play the notes without understanding them. It's weird isn't it, because you can't always find defining features which one player has but another doesn't, and yet you can tell that one is musical and another isn't.