Klarinet Archive - Posting 000897.txt from 2003/02

From: b1rite@-----. Rite)
Subj: Re: [kl] Technical or Expression?
Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 22:08:40 -0500

<><> Hong=A0Xianwei wrote:
I've recently been told that playing as a musician, irregardless of
which instrument played, it is not the technical aspect of playing which
is important, but rather the expression of the music.

Another metaphor which may be useful (imo) is how a building is
constructed.

First you need to bring all the materials and tools to the work site ---
bricks, lumber, nails, mortar, extension cords, hand tools, trash cans,
your midday meal, and so forth.

But the completed building will look ugly if the architect designed an
ugly building in the first place. Since the blueprints (sheet music)
can't say everything, you are --- in part --- an architect.

Doing the labor --- using the materials and tools --- is where the two
activities blend. Part of this is physical skill. How straight can
you cut? how many times do you miss the nail's head and put a dent in
the cabinet instead? The other part of this is the ambiguous area to
which we give names such as 'understanding' and 'sense of beauty' and
'musicality' and so forth.

Making a list of materials & tools is a less ambiguous task than
creating a beautiful design. Some people dislike making lists and try
to avoid this part of the job. Others take pleasure in it, but they
struggle with the 'creative' part which is impossible to define
completely or even to agree with others upon.

Is your teacher advising you to shift your focus from one part of the
total process to another?

Cheers,
Bill

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