On NOT being musical

It's well-known among my social circle that I was declared irredeemably UNmusical at the age of 5.  Glue-ear, with only about 40% of my hearing might have had something to do with that.

Now I've taken another test that shows the same thing.

So I guess it's a pity I'm a music teacher, eh?  

Here's what the test said.  It was on the internet, so it must be true ;0)

Your result for Howard Gardner's Eight Types of Intelligence Test...

Linguistic

18% Logical, 41% Spatial, 61% Linguistic, 37% Intrapersonal, 37% Interpersonal, 4% Musical, 8% Bodily-Kinesthetic and 37% Naturalistic!

"Verbal-linguistic intelligence has to do with words, spoken or written. People with verbal-linguistic intelligence display a facility with words and languages. They are typically good at reading, writing, telling stories and memorizing words and dates. They tend to learn best by reading, taking notes, listening to lectures, and via discussion and debate. They are also frequently skilled at explaining, teaching and oration or persuasive speaking. Those with verbal-linguistic intelligence learn foreign languages very easily as they have high verbal memory and recall, and an ability to understand and manipulate syntax and structure.

Careers which suit those with this intelligence include writers, lawyers, philosophers, journalists, politicians and teachers." (Wikipedia)

Take Howard Gardner's Eight Types of Intelligence Test at HelloQuizzy

Reading thrillers can increase your understanding of Bach

I've found a new thriller writer, Lee Child.  Imagine my surprise when I found a great passage about playing music in the midst of his fourth book, The Visitor.

The fifth of Bach’s three-part inventions was labelled BWV 791 by scholars and was one of the hardest in the canon, but it was Rita Scimeca’s favourite piece in all the world. It depended entirely on tone, which came from the mind, down through the shoulders and the arms and the hands and the fingers. The tone had to be whimsical, but confident. The whole piece was a confection of nonsense, and the tone had to confess to that but simultaneously it had to sound utterly serious for the effect to develop properly. It had to sound polished, but insane. Secretly, she was sure Bach was crazy.

Her piano helped. It’s sound was big enough to be sonorous, but delicate enough to be nimble. She played the piece all the way through twice, half-speed, and she was reasonably pleased with what she heard…. (p.428)
To play this thing properly, you needed to be in some kind of a trance….She sat down and played it through again, a dozen times, fifteen, twenty, all the way from the first measure to the last. She was note-perfect, but that was nothing. Was the meaning there? Was there emotion in the sound? Thought? On the whole she reckoned there was. She played it again, once, then twice. She smiled to herself…She was making progress. Now all she had to do was bring the speed up. But not too much speed. She preferred Bach played slowly. Too much speed trivialized it. Although it was fundamentally trivial music. But that was all part of Bach’s mind-game, she thought. He deliberately wrote trivial music that just begged to be played with great ceremony. (p.432-433)

Want to hear it?  

So, inspiration is where you find it.  The books are great too, if you like thrillers with a renegade but decent hero.

Cheating with Chords

I love cheating when it comes to music.  Chord progressions are a great way to get a lot of "bang" for your practice "buck".   My students and I are always amazed when we hear a fun song and realise it's just:  C F G Am (I-IV-V-VIm if you feel like transposing into another key)

Who would have guessed that The Beatles' "Let It Be", Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", and Five For Fighting's "Superman" used the same four chords?

Today I came across a great article by Roger Bourland about the development of the classic progression using the song "Heart & Soul".  

Apparently we can blame it on the popularity of "Blue Moon".

Here's a great video of the amazing variety of 4 chord songs out there:  A History of Music

Hawthorn Music Studio will soon be offering a short course unveiling the mystery of chords and how to cheat with them.  Perfect for weekend pianists and pianist-wannabes.