RE: "Perspective/Perception Is Nothing" (long)

["Jonathan@full-moon.com" <Jonathan@full-moon.com>]

On Thursday, January 18, 2001 3:46 PM, spaceloop [SMTP:tao@ns.ahoc.net] 
wrote:
> On Thu, 18 Jan 2001, Jonathan@full-moon.com wrote:
>
> >
> > In order to be creative, one needs to learn and practice.
> > Having teachers,
> > and books on the subject, if either are any good, will make this 
easier,
> > not harder. You just haven't found the right books, or teachers.
>
> Creativity can never be taught or learned, it's a gift, it's
> natural....you can learn and be taught techniques and institutions but
> never on "how" to be creative.

I disagree. It can certainly be untaught. However, it is taught rarely, 
and 
rarely well. Creativity is a lot of things, never the same from one 
project 
to another, and never the same from one moment to the next of a project.

But that's beside the point. You don't necessarily go to teachers to learn 
how to be 'creative' - you go to them to learn how to use the tools of 
your 
creativity; music involves as much engineering as pretty much any human   
endeavour; the adherence to self-imposed structures and limits, project 
and 
resource managment (in musical form). You could be making these decisions 
on the fly or sequencing it; it makes no difference.

Since you are generally recombining objects and concept that you have 
already explored, you must be doing some things you have done before, and, 
almost all the time, things someone else has done before. Why not get them 
to show you, and save time and bother for other things? Are you saying 
that 
a couple of hours hanging out with Robert Rich/David 
Torn/Stravinski/insert-your-favourite-musician-here wouldn't at least make 
you a better a better musician? I wager if you asked them for their 
tricks, 
they could probably give you some tricks they use to be more 'creative'. 
Whatever that is to you.

> But I was refering to the way you approach your instrument and creative
> process.....I use a guitar as my main instrument, but I stopped playing
> guitar a long time ago, get what I'm talking about? I regret ever 
learning
> what a power chord is, that has cursed me because it's so easy to fall
> into the trap of traditional instrumentation and technique.

You are making excuses for bad habits.

Rather, habits that you feel aren't conducive to what you are trying to 
accomplish. If you've tried to get round this on your own, and haven't 
then 
perhaps you should talk to someone else, who has. Hell, even if they 
haven't actually dealt with the specific issues that you are experiencing, 
they might still be able to suggest things which help you overcome it; 
it's 
called teaching.

>
> Nobody is "wrong" on this, we all have our own ways of playing music.

I heartily disagree; opinions are what one forms when you don't have 
sufficient information to answer a question. The only real questions that 
don't have a right or wrong answer are illogical either by intent, such as 
Zen Koans, or because the question doesn't take into account the complete 
nature of the fact in question

I'm not pro-school; the sad matter of the fact is that schools are routed 
in reality, and liable to the same problems that any human institution 
has. 
I haven't had many good experiences with the classes I have taken or with 
private teachers I have had. Common sense dictates that anyone who was any 
good at what they do would be out, doing it, and not teaching me. 
Furthermore, the few teachers that I have learnt from who >were< 
accomplished musicians weren't necessarily good teachers, and rarely have 
the time to devote to their students that I have needed (Besides, 
accomplished at what? How many people are doing exactly what I want to do? 
Only one :> ) Add to this my own lack of patience/insight and 
stupidity/laziness, the gaps in my knowledge, the problems innate in 
discussing a non-verbal, non-linguistic commication medium, and the 
limited 
time I have to devote to my evolving my skills as an artist, and you have 
minimal results.

You might want to check out 'Free Play, the power of improvisation in Life 
and the Arts' by Stephen Nachmanovitch. It deals with 'creativity' and 
doesn't do too bad a job.

bIz