I thought you could be being flip, but I'm kind of simple about it. I know when people I know are taking the piss but otherwise I tend to take things at face value.
The guy with the Villa Lobos Prelude in E minor looked a bit tense. He probably thought he had pretty much nailed it. I'm a fish out of water on a forum like this because I always heard about my deficiencies, I always expected to think I have a lot of work to do. From around 12 or 13 I was thrown in with adults that didn't have time for me particularly.
I went at this classical guitar routine for almost five years if memory serves. The universe threw up a stop sign. I had one quasi-servicable instrument which was worth more than we paid for it, and we in the guitar dept were assigned locker mates. Mine failed to close it one day and my guitar was gone. I never quite replaced it and after a little while the whole thing dawned on me, I had no business trying to make a real go of it, you need an infrastructure for it going in I never had, the luck wasn't coming in and I got the message. Actually my professor at CCM told me to be a Lee Ritenour rather than this, like I didn't have the temperament for classical or something. What it was is I started too late.
Julian Bream Master Class
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 4584 posts since 21 Sep, 2005
jancivil wrote:I thought you could be being flip, but I'm kind of simple about it. I know when people I know are taking the piss but otherwise I tend to take things at face value.
The guy with the Villa Lobos Prelude in E minor looked a bit tense. He probably thought he had pretty much nailed it. I'm a fish out of water on a forum like this because I always heard about my deficiencies, I always expected to think I have a lot of work to do. I kind of got over 'feelings hurt' from around 13, I was around adults that didn't have time for me particularly.
I went at this classical guitar routine for almost five years if memory serves. The universe threw up a stop sign. I had one quasi-servicable instrument which was worth more than we paid for it, and we in the guitar dept were assigned locker mates. Mine failed to close it one day and my guitar was gone. I never quite replaced it and after a little while the whole thing dawned on me, I had no business trying to make a real go of it, you need an infrastructure for it going in I never had, the luck wasn't coming in and I got the message. Actually my professor at CCM told me to be a Lee Ritenour rather than this, like I didn't have the temperament for classical or something. What it was is I started too late.
Sounds like you have some excellent credentials. For today. And now. Maybe not for then. Jesus. Who did? Did you see how fierce those guys played?
I mean, it isn't like you are going to get a spot with the Berlin Philarmonix is it?
This is what I am trying to get at. Is there no place people can take these skills and do somtething with them? I don't really care about it. I bastardised the form a long time ago. I took it. I robbed it. It was terrible what I did to it. But still no one was interested. But they will be again. They will not recognize it. But that is good. Less royalties for them. Everyone will think it is new and I am a genius. They will only be half wrong.
Music, today, as it ever was, is all about the game. How much do you want to play?
Those that want to be movers and shakers, without talent, will get laughed at. Those that can provide a little movement and shake it all up a bit, will get a bit of recognition.
It's all good. Too many egos. I'm afraid it is a case of divided we fall. Oh well. It is heartbreaking to me, but what can I do about it. No one else wants to go along for the ride. And so it shall be.
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- KVRAF
- 26033 posts since 20 Oct, 2007 from gonesville
I don't miss it much today, it's a very high maintenance way of life. And I knew at like 20 years old that here is, at best an interpretive art rather than creative. My teacher was always irritated that I would noodle rather than sit still, I think the kinds of things I played made her think of fusion players; so as career guidance 'Lee Ritenour'. I didn't have Lee Ritenour chops, NB. Nor was I a fan particularly.
The whole thing was me proving something to myself I think. & I didn't want to get a job and I saw people that eked out a survival touring. I was the best at that school for a minute.
I went on to other things. There are people that regard me highly on 'guitar' (I'm not that invested in it), but I learned long ago to feature my strengths, and to cut my losses. A means to an end, as you allude to.
The whole thing was me proving something to myself I think. & I didn't want to get a job and I saw people that eked out a survival touring. I was the best at that school for a minute.
I went on to other things. There are people that regard me highly on 'guitar' (I'm not that invested in it), but I learned long ago to feature my strengths, and to cut my losses. A means to an end, as you allude to.
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 4584 posts since 21 Sep, 2005
jancivil wrote:I don't miss it much today, it's a very high maintenance way of life. And I knew at like 20 years old that here is, at best an interpretive art rather than creative. My teacher was always irritated that I would noodle rather than sit still, I think the kinds of things I played made her think of fusion players; so as career guidance 'Lee Ritenour'. I didn't have Lee Ritenour chops, NB. Nor was I a fan particularly.
The whole thing was me proving something to myself I think. & I didn't want to get a job and I saw people that eked out a survival touring. I was the best at that school for a minute.
I went on to other things. There are people that regard me highly on 'guitar' (I'm not that invested in it), but I learned long ago to feature my strengths, and to cut my losses. A means to an end, as you allude to.
Now who is the flippant one?
The hardest thing for me was realising I was quite mediocre, well, mediocre for 8 hours a day, six days a week, for years and years. I should have been shit hot. I should have realised I was not as good as I should have been and quit while I was ahead. Granted this was just Rock bollox and nothing as high brow as Classical. It was a form of delusion really, to waste so much life.
But then again, there are crackers that devote themselves to the art of reverse engineering and get quite far, only to realise, ten years later, that they have never stepped outside to smell the flowers. They regret this and change their ways, never looking back. This was just another form of this (OCD/Autism).
I love to make up Classical stuff though and play sometimes at parties. Just my own shit. I'm ham fisted still, but, it fools the drunks and gives me a lot of pleasure.
It is actually rare to hear someone good on guitar. Julian had such a deft touch. I do envy him and anyone that can play that well, but, that boat has sailed for me, though I can do some very interesting stuff guitar wise anyway. I played semi-professionally for a while and got paid. But I was a fraud. You either got it or you don't.
None of this takes away from the fact that it is still the best fun you can have apart from sex, and that is debatable. And I always enjoy jamming with other musos. I'm pretty good with the musical empathy. Maybe more than the other musical psychopaths that can play Bach. But maybe that is just me trying to justify things to myself, that I am not that good at the end of the day.
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- KVRAF
- 26033 posts since 20 Oct, 2007 from gonesville
Having thought it over for a bit, I guess a couple of things I say there are breezy-to-flip. But I'm being candid and sincere in overall intent.
People that think a lot of my guitar playing like the feeling, it's convincing musically, or that it's some of it beyond idiom, no one sounds like me.
I recognize that most people you'd go on about are quite more accomplished. I'm not invested in a reputation, I mean I'm interested in other things and I cut my losses as a 'virtuoso'. I'm old and slow anyway. I'm very jealous of for instance Michael Landau, but I can do other things.
In the video itself, I have to say FTR I'm not really as wowed by the playing as you, everybody has to perform competently like that or they're not in that master class. I reckon your milieu is different than where I came from, which was pretty competitive.
You have to bring a number of things to it to pursue a career; including being more musically adept, which Bream is showing them, as well as charisma and stage presence. I think Calahan was spot-on with her assessment of my viability as a classical guitarist. She told my mother I could do anything at all I wanted to and I suppose she didn't think I wanted that so badly as to reform. And it's too high-maintenance for something with practically zero creative outlet, I was already restless in my early 20s. That isn't an excuse for not measuring up, which is a simple fact.
"Is there no place people can take these skills and do something with them?" - if all you know is performing these, other people's compositions, not so much. It's all or nothing and 99.999% are not going far. At first I went back to classical training in order to be playing music with more depth, and to gain skills such as playing bass, chords, and melody on an instrument, lacking a piano background. et cetera. Then I progressed quickly and for a moment became a little full of myself, but soon bumped into the wall of reality in all kinds of ways.
People that think a lot of my guitar playing like the feeling, it's convincing musically, or that it's some of it beyond idiom, no one sounds like me.
I recognize that most people you'd go on about are quite more accomplished. I'm not invested in a reputation, I mean I'm interested in other things and I cut my losses as a 'virtuoso'. I'm old and slow anyway. I'm very jealous of for instance Michael Landau, but I can do other things.
In the video itself, I have to say FTR I'm not really as wowed by the playing as you, everybody has to perform competently like that or they're not in that master class. I reckon your milieu is different than where I came from, which was pretty competitive.
You have to bring a number of things to it to pursue a career; including being more musically adept, which Bream is showing them, as well as charisma and stage presence. I think Calahan was spot-on with her assessment of my viability as a classical guitarist. She told my mother I could do anything at all I wanted to and I suppose she didn't think I wanted that so badly as to reform. And it's too high-maintenance for something with practically zero creative outlet, I was already restless in my early 20s. That isn't an excuse for not measuring up, which is a simple fact.
"Is there no place people can take these skills and do something with them?" - if all you know is performing these, other people's compositions, not so much. It's all or nothing and 99.999% are not going far. At first I went back to classical training in order to be playing music with more depth, and to gain skills such as playing bass, chords, and melody on an instrument, lacking a piano background. et cetera. Then I progressed quickly and for a moment became a little full of myself, but soon bumped into the wall of reality in all kinds of ways.
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- KVRist
- 195 posts since 29 Nov, 2004
Paco Pena interviewed by Julian Bream.
Julian meets God.
Julian Bream: 'I'm a better musician now than when I was 70'
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/s ... usician-70
Never knew he's got a dog called Django.
beauchamp
Julian meets God.
Julian Bream: 'I'm a better musician now than when I was 70'
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/s ... usician-70
Never knew he's got a dog called Django.
beauchamp