However, just as there are those who aspire only to play their favourite songs, there are also a handful of us who seek to study and perform music at a higher level (by this I mean a more formal music education such as obtaining a degree or studying towards a Conservatoire-type performance diploma). I will address the second point before the first.ĭespite being a musical snob, I do believe that there is a place for playing your favourite music without the use of traditional music notation, YouTube features countless pop songs and soundtrack tutorials, some of which are excellent to assist those who are looking for a more straight-forward way of accessing their favourite piece of music. Sure, we may not be able to tell the difference between the bass and treble clef, but we can play our favourite songs. In the US I have seen children pick up songs through tablature alone. ‘I play the piano through reading letters alone (D/F#, for example), churning out chords as if it were a guitar. (It must be said that Gill was not explicit in her description of music as a recreational activity, but it is implied in her statement):
Children who do not have the resources, or ability, to comprehend it, are written off. This is a cryptic, tricky language – rather like Latin – that can only be read by a small number of people, most of whom have benefited from private education. However, in my opinion it is important to keep in mind that she was (unconsciously) addressing two things: the first was music education being ‘elitist’ due to the technical hindrance caused by music notation:
I have no idea in what context Gill’s article was written. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, I probably practise the piano inside a straw hut, while predators such as lions and leopards huff and puff outside my front door, regardless of my credentials. Sweeping statement perhaps, but there has always been a difference in the reception of the opinions of someone who works in a first-world country and those of someone who works in Africa for all its breath-taking scenery, somehow being a music educator in Cape Town doesn’t carry as much gravitas as being one in Europe. Having read the Charlotte Gill’s original article on music education and the responses that it generated, part of me was tempted not to say anything what difference would my opinion make? I do, after all, live in a country which has recently been downgraded to ‘junk’ status (the result of the South African president’s catastrophic cabinet reshuffle).
#TABLATURES GOOD CHARLOTTE MOTIVATION MOVIE#
Or perhaps I am not a fan of all these because I am just a voyeur, which would possibly explain why I have always have an affinity for Schubert’s Winterreise and an undying love for the movie theatre. The thought of someone meticulously sharpening their proverbial pitch-fork in response to my opinion is almost as terrifying as anticipating the climax of Stanley Kubrick’s Shining, where the psychotic Jack broke through the bathroom to find the terrified Wendy, before shouting the ominous cinematic caption: ‘Here’s Johnny!’ I am also not the biggest fan of text messages and emails, as they can be open to misunderstanding due to the recipient’s frame of mind and emotional state. I have a confession: I don’t like to engage in online debates.
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