There is a lot of music out there. Probably millions of tunes through the ages. Last week we talked about the joys of learning by ear, which are many.
But for all the lovely tunes available out there, if you’re going to learn them by ear, you have to find a source from which to learn. And that’s not always a possibility. You might live in the hinterlands. Your SpotiTube could be clogged. You might have eaten your Apple tunes. It might be that no one has thought to record the tune. Or possibly that no one remembers it?
And this is where writing music down is so helpful. I’m sure even the most amazing of harper bards of old would have been hard pressed to learn, know, and use all the tunes available – then or now. So, I hope we can agree that writing the music down is a helpful thing – if only to try to keep track of (at least a little corner of) the universe of tunes. Ah, Paper.
This is true for any type of music. Don’t be fooled – even the hallowed classical music is not meant to be played strictly as written. Mozart made his stock and trade writing and performing his music. And when he performed – his shtick was improvisation – that is not found in the writing! And he is just one example.
There is an easy trap in believing that the printed music is better than aurally transmitted tunes. It absolves one of all need to really internalize the music. And unquestioning devotion to the dots (the notes) excuses us from putting in the effort to make the music our own.
Written music is simply a tool. It can serve as a memory aid or it can act as a framework from which to pull the music. But it isn’t unassailable, nor does it require strict adherence. Ick.
As a tool it has myriad uses including keeping a record of a tune for later use, holding a tune for others not present when it’s being played, and for memory keeping. Writing it down allows one to capture of ideas, snippets, measures (and other stuff), even if they’re not “interesting” just now (not everything is popular all the time – but eventually the wheel turns).
Like any tool, the written music has limitations. For instance, it can’t capture all the feeling or the interestingness with which individual players imbue a tune. It will, with time, lose parts of its meaning, leaving future generations to conjecture (ok, just guess) what was meant by what was written, how it was played and what it was for. Don’t think that’s true? Look at the Song of Seikilos (found on a grave marker) – I’m pretty sure they thought they were capturing that for posterity*….
Which highlights another limitation – the written music can’t really capture the “à la mode” or “dépêche mode” (like how I did that?!) for the tune – you’ll get the bones but not the juicy cultural meat – you have to research (or guess) what the tune might have meant. You can have dogmatic discussions all day long but, in the end, you’re going to play it the way you hear it in your head – because that’s all you can do with the dots.
But most importantly, the dots can serve another function – that is helpful in the concrete, rather than in the abstract. This visual representation of the music makes music more accessible to those who are not good at hearing (don’t process auditory information well). When you look at the dots you have another avenue to getting at the tune – the relationships between the notes are spaced in the plane of the staff rather than over time (as in auditory representation). Some people can better understand the relationships of pitch and rhythm when looking at them than when listening to them.
Perhaps the most important point is that there is no “better” – learning the tune by ear has many benefits and some drawbacks. Learning from the paper also has many benefits and some drawbacks. These benefits and drawbacks maybe different, but they point to a potential strength – using both!
Using both auditory learning (learning by ear) and visual learning (learning by reading) may help you learn even more faster and more better (yes, I meant to say it that way). Just like learning by ear, the more you read, the better you’ll get at it.
Ah paper, a wonderful tool!
* If you’re not familiar with the Song of the Seikilos, it is the oldest surviving musical composition, believed to be from the 1st or 2nd century. The composition was found on an ancient Greek grave marker https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/latest/oldest-song-in-the-world/
Very interesting history. The music was beautiful. Thank you!
Jen, thank you so much for referencing the Song of Seikilos. It is especially meaningful for me at this moment in time. The text translates as:
As long as you live, shine
Let nothing grieve you beyond measure
For your life is short, and time will claim its toll.
or
While you live, shine
have no grief at all
life exists only for a short while
and Time demands his due.
Wikipedia has a few different modern day interpretations of the score, and scholarly discussion that is way over my head.
I’m so glad – it really is a brilliant work – I’m curious to see what you’ll have done to it when I see you next (hint hint).
Forgot to say I got my second Moderna shot yesterday- plan for a day of rest the next day if you can. I woke up with chills, a slight temperature, sore joints and a really sore arm….don’t care- it had to be done!
I like learning from ear but I agree that paper afterwards is important to retain the tune. At Somerset and OSAS we learn so many tunes- for me the paper is the only way to bring them into my repertoire.
The Greek tune was so beautiful- thank you for that Jen!
Robin
It’s my little cultural cross over! Glad you enjoyed it!
Well, I learned something new! I knew the ancient Greeks wrote the first music, but did not know the Song of Seikilos was the first complete composition. I listened to the link – lovely!
My veterinarian sister hides a smile whenever I mention being “paper trained.”
As a kid, I learned everything by ear, after years of hearing my sister play from the same books. My exasperated piano teacher forced me to read, write, decipher before playing my pieces in new books in order to break me from the “habit,” and now I find it frustrating to learn by ear. However, when I get a tune auditorily, in stages the traditional way, they really do stick!
I get what you mean about the soul of the music. I refer to paper dots as the bones, but a player really needs to flesh out a tune with the feeling of the lyrics, culture, history, etc. I’ve heard performances, back to back, of technically “correct” playing-right from the page-with someone who simplified the dots, only to give a superior performance, one with real soul.
Great topic…one I’ll be sharing!
Thanks Beth!
I have been to SO MANY Celtic workshops that only teach tunes by ear. I play by ear, so you wouldn’t think that this would be a problem. But in a fast-paced group workshop, where you play A1A2 B1and then truly A3, it gets confusing. As a public school music teacher, it was driven in through countless staff development workshops that we should be delivering content for different learning styles, so Celtic workshop leaders that refuse to hand out printed music ‘til the workshop is over are driving away possible participants but not valuing all learning styles. Historic teaching by ear is wonderful, but not for everyone.
You have a good point about different learning styles and strengths. Celtic workshops focus on ear training because it is the traditional method and is a more satisfying way to share the music. I agree – as a student – that it can be frustrating when the pace and the noise in the room make the music difficult to acquire. As a teacher i struggle to assure that everyone’s “getting it”. I typically wait until the end of the session to pass out the music for the same reason so many lecturers don’t hand out the slides – I have found that students with the paper don’t pay attention as closely to the aural training because (just like in a lecture) they begin to “read ahead” – then they miss the points I really want to make – about tradition, history, musicality, rhythm, etc. And they often begin to noodle which creates that same noise that inhibits others’ learning. Sometimes I do relent and hand it out early – when i sense that students’ frustration is impeding their learning anything!
yes- i can Read! paper is always there “for later”. the Ear tunes get lost, scrambled, blended…. what WAS that neat sounding chord? etc.
i used to believe i had to play every dot on the page- have recently learned that i can modify (as long as i’m solo). thanks for “permitting” me to use that paper!
Happy to oblige 🙂