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ecarroll · 08-13-2005, 12:51 PM

Please bear with me as I fumble to make a point...

In spite of my monthly commute(s) to work, I greatly dislike airplanes. For me, air travel is simple, boring, annoying, and every moment of turbulence is a cause for anxiety. It's like being at the dentist's office. Even the chairs are the same. Whenever I'm in a plane and suffering the white noise and airlessness peculiar to the beast I always suspect that the land we are overflying is rich and that I'm missing it all (I see the Grand Canyon twice per month, weather permitting) (Las Vegas too) (Beauty and the Beast). The greatest satisfaction in travel comes with discovery; the private thrill of putting the pieces together or seeing them in a new way.

Flying for me is like a practicing a trumpet part without having access to the score, or tackling a difficult new piece without spending an hour just looking at it first.

I admire intelligent, knowledgeable, literate, score-carrying musicians. Anyone who knows one scale from another, one composer's signature from another, or can sense the codes as they are passed back and forth between us. A musical landscape looks different when you know the names of things and can hear them--and, conversely, can look and sound exceedingly inhospitable and alien when things are nameless and inaudible. These simple bits of musical knowledge intensify the feeling of discovery. Every jazz musician knows this. Every composer/performer does as well. Many classically trained instrumentalists try to get by without. I know that for many years I did. I'd buy new stuff instead and have boxes of weird mouthpieces to show for it.

How many of you know, or are practicing, your scales (the building blocks of music)? If not, you might start with Rob Roy McGregor's Daily Scale Builder (Balquidder BQ-59). . . and no, I don't have any financial consideration in this. Only concern for our collective musical souls!

Your thoughts?

EC

"Music creates order out of chaos; for rhythm imposes unanimity upon the divergent, melody imposes continuity upon the disjointed, and harmony imposes compatibility upon the incongruous."
-Sir Yehudi Menuhin

08-13-2005, 12:51 PM	#1 (permalink)
ecarroll Artist in Residence Forte User Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: NH/CA/PQ Posts: 1,401	A Little Travel Rant Please bear with me as I fumble to make a point... In spite of my monthly commute(s) to work, I greatly dislike airplanes. For me, air travel is simple, boring, annoying, and every moment of turbulence is a cause for anxiety. It's like being at the dentist's office. Even the chairs are the same. Whenever I'm in a plane and suffering the white noise and airlessness peculiar to the beast I always suspect that the land we are overflying is rich and that I'm missing it all (I see the Grand Canyon twice per month, weather permitting) (Las Vegas too) (Beauty and the Beast). The greatest satisfaction in travel comes with discovery; the private thrill of putting the pieces together or seeing them in a new way. Flying for me is like a practicing a trumpet part without having access to the score, or tackling a difficult new piece without spending an hour just looking at it first. I admire intelligent, knowledgeable, literate, score-carrying musicians. Anyone who knows one scale from another, one composer's signature from another, or can sense the codes as they are passed back and forth between us. A musical landscape looks different when you know the names of things and can hear them--and, conversely, can look and sound exceedingly inhospitable and alien when things are nameless and inaudible. These simple bits of musical knowledge intensify the feeling of discovery. Every jazz musician knows this. Every composer/performer does as well. Many classically trained instrumentalists try to get by without. I know that for many years I did. I'd buy new stuff instead and have boxes of weird mouthpieces to show for it. How many of you know, or are practicing, your scales (the building blocks of music)? If not, you might start with Rob Roy McGregor's Daily Scale Builder (Balquidder BQ-59). . . and no, I don't have any financial consideration in this. Only concern for our collective musical souls! Your thoughts? EC "Music creates order out of chaos; for rhythm imposes unanimity upon the divergent, melody imposes continuity upon the disjointed, and harmony imposes compatibility upon the incongruous." -Sir Yehudi Menuhin