This Christmas I was very fortunate to be given a copy of "This Is Your Brain On Music" by my wife Beth. That is to say, the gift is from my wife. The book is by a musician/producer turned neuroscience Pd.D Daniel J. Levitin. It's a great read, and I recommend it for anybody with the ability to hear.
The book is about what music is, and what is known about what happens in our brain when we listen to and make music. It takes what could be mundane scientific minutia, or elitist academic terminology about music theory, and avoids both of those pitfalls. Did you know that some of the oldest found human artifacts are musical instruments? Flutes and drums are particularly common relics.
A few of the points Dr. Levitin stresses are very much in step with assumptions I've had about music. Talent for example. I personally think talent is completely overrated. All aspects of making music can be learned and practiced. Some people will pick parts of it up faster than others, and not everybody will show the same balance of strengths if exposed to the same influences. However, there is a path to follow for anybody who desires to make music. Talent is sometimes called a "gift." Discipline and persistence are not gifts; they are not shortcuts. They are sure bets, though. Talent or no talent - if you put the time in, you will improve. If you follow the right steps, you can play music.
Another topic the book spends time on is the gap between musicians and listeners. Many cultures throughout history experienced music as a communal practice. It wasn't left up to an elite few. I see people who want to try playing an instrument but are afraid they'll be no good at it. What's to fear? Of course you'll be no good at it. Not at first! The sooner you get cracking, the sooner you'll connect the dots and start making things happen on the instrument of your choice. The idea that one either "makes it" or is a failure seems unique to music. People don't go asking their favorite schoolteachers how come they never made it big. It's a curious anomaly, resulting from the recording industry's marketing might, which is a pretty recent thing in the big picture. Once I dreamed about being able to hold a guitar and make sense of it. Now I can play with some proficiency. I guess I've made it!
Quite candidly, if I have a gift, it's that I was signed up for lessons at an age when I didn't have much of an ego to bruise. Being a beginner drum student at ten years of age was not a humiliating experience, because I was a beginner at much of life. And since I didn't have a zillion other things going on, I had plenty of time to practice away. By the time I was in high school, it was a matter of pride to continue developing my craft.
I'm always pleased to see parents starting their kids on music. Over the last weeks we got to see many such instances, and I hope for each one of them it leads to a lifetime of making music their own. It's really not hard to do! As long as you practice...
No comments:
Post a Comment