I read a very good Music Aphorism just yesterday, but it is not recent, it’s now slightly more than 10 years old. It probably pertains only to musicians per se:
“Become conversant with harmony by employing the conceit that it doesn’t exist. Discover the appropriate chords by looking at everything as if it were counterpoint.” – Chuck Israels (January 13, 2014)
I am a firm believer in that idea and it’s something I have been practicing often. Especially when working on music for Rain Poems… I would try to forget the chords I know and let my fingers find shapes on the fretboard that sounded good or interesting. I think the fact that my instrument sounded new or different, because I was muting with a sponge or buzzing with a piece of paper, actually made this process easier.
I read a very good Music Aphorism just yesterday, but it is not recent, it’s now slightly more than 10 years old. It probably pertains only to musicians per se:
“Become conversant with harmony by employing the conceit that it doesn’t exist. Discover the appropriate chords by looking at everything as if it were counterpoint.” – Chuck Israels (January 13, 2014)
I found this extremely insightful.
I am a firm believer in that idea and it’s something I have been practicing often. Especially when working on music for Rain Poems… I would try to forget the chords I know and let my fingers find shapes on the fretboard that sounded good or interesting. I think the fact that my instrument sounded new or different, because I was muting with a sponge or buzzing with a piece of paper, actually made this process easier.
Ottmar …
The link below is unrelated to Music Aphorisms but I thought it was very prescient and valuable:
https://kottke.org/24/01/our-grey-swan-climate-crisis-nonlinear