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bee Group: Members Posts: 1227 Joined: Jan. 2004 Posted: Aug. 22 2006, 18:16 Do you think it makes any difference to your success/talent as a musician if you are self taught as I believe Mike was? In other words would he have been as great a musician had he had lots & lots of formal music lessons as a youngster? Does being taught hold you back in a way, inhibiting artistic discovery? Good teachers do encourage students to explore their talents, but will they always leave a detectable imprint of their own style? I guess musicians always learn a lot from each other throughout their careers & at whatever level, so it's all a part of what they do. I suppose this question all boils down to the difference between sheer technical ability - learning things repeatedly to perfection and true artistry - where the artist is making something original. I'm thinking of the group Sky, with some marvelous people involved, making perfect music, but it did lack a bit of soul ( can't think what else to call it ). I quite liked Sky but it always lacked something. I'll have to dig out the old LPs again & have another listen. I think Mike's sound is so unique because he's been able to be so free early on in his career. And in having such a strong & individual sort of character it has deepened this. He once said, not that long ago, that he loves taking mechanical things apart & seeing how they work, so this shows a natural curiosity too and this, more than a lot of things for me, comes through in his music. It's all about being interested in life and what's around us. WDYT? -------------- ....second to the right and straight on till morning.... You heard me before Yet you hear me again Then I die Till I call me again Back to top

BOOsTER Group: Musicians Posts: 1024 Joined: Jan. 2003 Posted: Aug. 23 2006, 08:33 I think, being a self-taught musician myself, going this way is much better, you don't feel like in the handcuffs of musical rules and so on...That makes it easier to break them for you! But also...some things you just have to learn, you can learn easier when someone tells you how this or that works...this somehow reminds of question if scales have any use heh... Well both ways are good but I believe classically trained musicians might have a little bigger fear when it comes to breaking the rules and experimenting a little bit more. Being a self-taught musician makes your mind free and actually you can choose what you want/need to learn. If you decide that learning how scales work isn't for you? Well just don't learn them...it will make your work harder if you don't know them...but you can still choose the path of trial and error... For example...trance music :-)) hehe I wonder if a classicaly trained musician would come up with such silly thing as the supersaw! etc... there's many examples, many pros and cons... definitely it's great to have someone who you can ask, when you're lost in theory, thanks to internet and thanks to helpful friends I never had problem ... :-) P.S.: Sorry if this doesn't make too much sense, I'm just thinking aloud! -------------- http://www.djbooster.net Back to top

Piltdownboy on horseback 22 Group: Members Posts: 1548 Joined: Sep. 2005 Posted: Aug. 23 2006, 09:02 Good topic... Yes, there are pros and cons... I think I'm a self taught musician too, because I've been having music lessons between my 16th and 18th, but I think I learned more after that. (even though I'm happy for learning some beginnings at the music school). The best way to learn how to play for me is just to reahearse with some guys in a garage. Not reading notes and minding every little mistake, but just try to learn some chord and get a feel for music. I always hear my neighbour practising it from her book, and it sounds maybe good, but not spontanious in any way, and there's not so much feel in it. Of course if you think you lack knowledge at some point it's good to grab a book or ask someone and learn it. Then make it your own. For myself, I don't really feel the urge to become more of a technically player, I just like to keep it simple, but at the same time practise on getting it tighter, and making it smoother. If those are correct discriptions... so, ok...   -------------- "And now we're going to play Platinum!" Back to top

Moz Group: Musicians Posts: 600 Joined: July 2005 Posted: Aug. 25 2006, 07:40 Well, for starters, I think that you need to have proper lessons or be disciplined enough to teach yourself in a way that shows you the basics, but in a way that suits you. A rhythm guitar player basically needs to learn chords (at least that's where most people start).  There are a number of ways to play each chord.  These usually vary depending on the sequence of chords that you're playing through the piece.  Somehow you need to get to the point where you know all the chords that you'll ever need to play, or just the ones required for the pieces you play.  How you play them, e.g. strumming, plucking, or using a pick, is down to you and again it varies depending on what you're playing. Formal tuition is great for learning the important stuff.  Reading music is something that can be taught, but to get good at it you need to study and practise.  You get better at playing by practising, too.  However, you can't tell someone which technique is best for them.  You can't really teach people how to be a composer.  There are things you need to develop yourself. Being a self-taught musician does not necessarily create a better or worse musician in the long run.  Playing other people's music exactly as they do is not creating anything new - you're just reproducing the same thing.  Adding variation, doing a remix or writing an entirely new track is where the creative side comes out.  Improvising is very creative - spontaneously adding extra bits to a piece of music you're already playing. I don't think you can learn to be creative.  You have to apply what you know in a variety of different ways. -------------- Twitter: @benbarden Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: Aug. 25 2006, 14:47 My opinion matches what Moz said pretty much. To the final listener, I don't think the musician's background makes any difference. Just as Mike Oldfield might be a good example of a self-taught musician making good music, an equally good example of disciplined musicians making good music is the Mothers of Invention - say, check out "Roxy & Elsewhere" and tell me that classically trained musicians lack "soul". -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

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