Interesting emails

Filed in Thoughts on February 19, 2009



Someone wrote me an email this weekend that was pretty blunt in pointing out how poor a musician I am.  She wrote that the free arrangements I have available on this site have "tons of mistakes"  and that she would never buy anything from me because of that.  That peaked my curiosity.  I am sure there are a few errors in those, but tons?  I asked her to clarify.

A day or so later, she sent me many screenshots of my "mistakes."  All of them involved little things that she considered sloppy--things like notes being positioned too close together on the score.  I breathed a sigh of relief.  Apparently, most of the things that actually matter in those arrangements are OK and you can play them without the piano blowing up.

A lot of musicians tend to be like that person and focus on things that do not matter.  Unfortunately, that is all too true in Christian circles, and especially conservative Christian circles.  Don't be like that; rather, focus on the things that matter.

So what matters about music?  Coincidently, someone else sent me a great quote this week by Herbie Hancock, who happens to be one of the greatest composers and musicians alive today.  This quote is the response to a question about whether he felt like he still needed to learn technical skills.

I decided some time ago that I was no longer interested in being a virtuoso of the piano. I just want to play the music; the technique is a tool. I’m not going for speed just to be fancy. I’m looking for more about what the music feels like. The sound that’s happening, the sound being the vehicle, the message, the emotion and the drama is what’s carried through the medium. That’s what I’m primarily interested in.

Whether you like his work or not, Herbie Hancock understands what matters about music. 



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Ryan Mc.
2/20/2009 5:40:54 PM

Interesting thoughts. You talk about that a lot, which is one of the main reasons I like to read you. More important, I hear it in your music.

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Leeanne Graf
2/20/2009 6:54:13 PM

You're right. This attitude is far too common in our "circles". Rather than encourage each other and lift one another up we tear down. It's easy, with a little success, to get a haughty spirit, but, "Take heed when you think you stand, lest you fall." If we'll always remember who gave us our talents and abilities then it will be easy to glorify Him with them.

I think you do an outstanding job. Keep up the good work.

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