Above is A Picture of a Delightful Time. It could also be entitled One of My Favourite Ways to Spend an Evening, or Learning Made Fun, or How to Lose Track of Time and Stay Up Far Later Than You Intended.
But it always comes down to the same thing: lots of instruments brought out, music until the wee small hours, and ever so much fun. There are few things so heartwarming as a long line of guitars leaning against the wall to be used during the evening; and few things quite so charming as the sight of the one little fiddle among them. There are few things that send thrills through you the way the four-beat countdown to the beginning of the music does. And there are few things I love more.
We have so much technology these days. Little gizmos and gadgets everywhere. I find them fascinating, and I like them, really I do, but I've noticed that without vigilance there's a great temptation to laziness. Why walk down the street to call on a friend when you can drive? Why spend the hour writing a letter to a relative when you can send off a quick email? Why read Pride and Prejudice when you can watch one of the multiple movie versions? And why play music when you can pop a CD into the player?
I'd be the last one to advocate tossing the marvel of recorded song out the window. If I had to face the sad prospect of a world without Frank Sinatra's voice preserved, I'd throw back my head and howl. And I often wonder wistfully how many other great voices and great musicians we could know now if the technology had arrived just a little earlier.
No, I don't want all our albums of great music to go away. But I don't think I could ever find words to adequately express how much I deplore the emptiness that the convenience has caused. These days you gather a group of people around the fireplace on a cold winter evening and when one of them says: "Hey! Let's have some music," it's not instruments they pull out, but all sorts of gizmos to play the albums they've collected.
And it's not like there's anything wrong with that in and of itself. I've sat with my family and friends on cold winter evenings and listened to the lovely sounds coming forth from the CD player in the living room.
But when that's used as a substitute for real music... it's a shame.
It could be that the people who prefer to listen wouldn't play even if they didn't have the convenience of recorded music. Long before the days of our recent technology there were non-musicians. And to the obsessed, possessed, or whatever other term you'd like to use to describe us crazy people who hear music everywhere and in everything, the convencience of recordings isn't going to make any difference... except maybe to make us itch and ache even more to get our hands on the instruments and try ourselves. Nothing stops us.
Being my optmistic self, though, I do sometimes think that there are the people who could be musicians if they had a reason. They love music, even if they're not (currently) obsessed, and their days would be a lot bleaker if they didn't have it. But there's no irresistable longing on their part to do it themselves... they'd only do it if they had to. If they could only have music if they made it themselves, and the necessity would be the motivation they needed to pick up that old guitar or sit down at that old piano and see what they've been missing.
Because they are missing something. If you love music and don't play it, you're missing something. Sure, there are some astounding pieces that will sweep you off your feet even when they're coming at you in a flattened digital way; but if you don't know what I'm talking about you're just going to have to trust me when I say nothing compares. Live music is better than digital music; but playing live music with a group of other musicians takes it to an entirely different level. I've never been able to figure out where... a place where only the lights and the music are left, scary but beautiful.
Be grateful for all the benefits of modern technology; but be aware of the disadvantages, too, and don't miss out on something extraordinary just because it's more convenient. We should be enamoured of the wonder of technology. But if it's slowly pushing wonder and beauty out of our lives, then watch out. Just be wary. Don't miss out. And don't be scared to sit down at that old piano and give it a try. :)
We have so much technology these days. Little gizmos and gadgets everywhere. I find them fascinating, and I like them, really I do, but I've noticed that without vigilance there's a great temptation to laziness. Why walk down the street to call on a friend when you can drive? Why spend the hour writing a letter to a relative when you can send off a quick email? Why read Pride and Prejudice when you can watch one of the multiple movie versions? And why play music when you can pop a CD into the player?
I'd be the last one to advocate tossing the marvel of recorded song out the window. If I had to face the sad prospect of a world without Frank Sinatra's voice preserved, I'd throw back my head and howl. And I often wonder wistfully how many other great voices and great musicians we could know now if the technology had arrived just a little earlier.
No, I don't want all our albums of great music to go away. But I don't think I could ever find words to adequately express how much I deplore the emptiness that the convenience has caused. These days you gather a group of people around the fireplace on a cold winter evening and when one of them says: "Hey! Let's have some music," it's not instruments they pull out, but all sorts of gizmos to play the albums they've collected.
And it's not like there's anything wrong with that in and of itself. I've sat with my family and friends on cold winter evenings and listened to the lovely sounds coming forth from the CD player in the living room.
But when that's used as a substitute for real music... it's a shame.
It could be that the people who prefer to listen wouldn't play even if they didn't have the convenience of recorded music. Long before the days of our recent technology there were non-musicians. And to the obsessed, possessed, or whatever other term you'd like to use to describe us crazy people who hear music everywhere and in everything, the convencience of recordings isn't going to make any difference... except maybe to make us itch and ache even more to get our hands on the instruments and try ourselves. Nothing stops us.
Being my optmistic self, though, I do sometimes think that there are the people who could be musicians if they had a reason. They love music, even if they're not (currently) obsessed, and their days would be a lot bleaker if they didn't have it. But there's no irresistable longing on their part to do it themselves... they'd only do it if they had to. If they could only have music if they made it themselves, and the necessity would be the motivation they needed to pick up that old guitar or sit down at that old piano and see what they've been missing.
Because they are missing something. If you love music and don't play it, you're missing something. Sure, there are some astounding pieces that will sweep you off your feet even when they're coming at you in a flattened digital way; but if you don't know what I'm talking about you're just going to have to trust me when I say nothing compares. Live music is better than digital music; but playing live music with a group of other musicians takes it to an entirely different level. I've never been able to figure out where... a place where only the lights and the music are left, scary but beautiful.
Be grateful for all the benefits of modern technology; but be aware of the disadvantages, too, and don't miss out on something extraordinary just because it's more convenient. We should be enamoured of the wonder of technology. But if it's slowly pushing wonder and beauty out of our lives, then watch out. Just be wary. Don't miss out. And don't be scared to sit down at that old piano and give it a try. :)
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2 comments:
I agree totally. Learning to play some sort of instrument, especially one that can be carried with you, is a great thing. I play autoharp very badly, but if I were pulling it out in the evenings with a group of friends I doubt I would remain totally awful for long. Not that anyone could call me a musician. I am better at singing due to a wonderful voice teacher who took over our choir at Church in my early teens. With only six of us, he turned choir practice into voice practice and we all learned the basics of breath control and good use of voice. What a blessing!!!
A good stereo system for listening to great recordings is one of life's pleasures but it is so true that the most meaningful way to learn to love music is through doing music.
Many happy years of playing!
+JMJ+
I am reminded of the party scene from Meet Me in St. Louis. (Have you ever seen it? It's a wonderful musical and one of my favourite movies of all time!) One of the sisters hosting the party plays the piano, the other sister sings, and they are thrilled when a friend arrives with a violin.
While the reality is that the whole party was backed up by MGM's orchestra and not just the natural talents of three young musicians, the charm of "live" and "natural" music totally fills the scene. It is portrayed as perfectly natural for friends to make music during a celebration.
A few weeks ago, with high hopes in my heart, I brought my guitar to a friend's party. It ended up being unable to compete with her karaoke machine. =P
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