music advice

johnsopao · 26-04-2020, 06:48 PM

As much as many musicians groan an hate the idea of them, the foundations of theory, aural skills, and history are, to me, necessary to become a better musician. To me, it isn't enough to simply hone one's technique. As musicians we need to understand why our music is the way it is and in what context the music we're playing exists in. If someone tries to perform Bach the same way as Beethoven the same was as Stravinsky, you're gonna have a bad time. Our music doesn't exist in a vacuum, it has history and context surrounding it.
In addition, theory and aural skills are just necessary to understanding the mechanics of music, and key in developing technique and expression. As a musician (unless you play something which you have no control over like a piano), you use your aural skills constantly to tune and to adjust. And theory helps us to figure out what is going on in the music. Is it gaining tension? Are we landing on a dominant-functioning harmony? How does that then affect how we perform it?
If you're looking for resources to practice theory and aural skills, I cannot recommend Paul Hindemith's Elementary Training for Musicians enough. It's full of examples and "drills" that range from relatively easy to extremely difficult. And as far as history, just listen!

music advice

Submitted by johnsopao, 26-04-2020, 06:48 PM, Thread ID: 169075