I'm wondering if members have thought about how an individual's playing style, choice of material, maybe even that of an instrument is a reflection of his/her personality. I'm not talking about playing ability here-- there are many extremely confident and aggressive players who aren't that great and just as many excellent musicians who are more reserved and laid back. I would regard myself as a more reserved type of player(whose playing isn't that great, incidentally) and would agree (and have been told) that this is my personality outwith the music. Of course, there are many tunes that I know very well but I tend to play them with a "quiet confidence" rather than with an "in your face" attitude.
I'm not criticising more confident or aggressive styles. They're great to listen to as well, by the right players. However, I have noticed that many "laid back" musicians have a similar approach to their playing e.g Martin Hayes, Kevin Burke etc.
Or, maybe, I'm generalising too much? Perhaps, some musicians express a hidden part of themselves when playing music. i.e express themselves more confidently or vice versa than in their normal business. What do you think?
As regards choice of instuments, I tend to imagine that Highland pipers and piano accordian players are more likely to be aggressive and confident (Though, not necessarily in a bad way) than some of the rest of us. Again, though, that's probably another misconception and I'm generalising again.
It stands to reason that a person who is gentle and / or laid back in one aspect of their life is likely to be the same. After all, it's only the same person doing a different activity.
Likewise a "curmudgeonly huffer" is likely to be the same when driving / working / playing etc.
It seems a lot of players can only, really express themselves through their music. Many only become alive when in a session or concert situation. They can be reserved and quiet until the case is opened and then - rock and roll starts. I've heard a couple very credible fiddlers tell me that the music (if it's a good session) can feel like dancing on clouds.
It seems that the same people can express Session Rage if they are having a bad day. I've left a few sessions when that occurred.
I don't believe that choice of instrument has any bearing on personality - I myself play the piano accordion but could never be described as aggressive or particularly confident. likewise- I have friends who play the flute and could quite easily drown out a few accordions in a session Besides, the instruments we play are not always a "choice" as such- especially if you start to play as a child and our we are all bound to change a little in the course of a lifetime!
I do however agree that personality is reflected through style of playing- I have yet to meet a sensitive player who doesn not have a laid-back personality. Maybe it is playing music in this style which helps them to be calm outside of music- I know it works for me when I'm stressed!
I agree, I don't think the instrument has so much to do with it, but I can definately see where music is an expression of the player of course.
One of my good friends is a Highland Piper and he's one of the quietest, laid back people you'd ever meet, but get him decked out in kilt and pipes, and he can fire those babies up, puff out his chest, lower his brow a bit, march down the path and you'd think he could part an army! Then, when the parade or march is over, he can really rip into those pipes and pull off some nifty jigs and reels that really become his laid back, fun nature too. So there you have it.
I tend to play aggressively. But I'm a really laid back person. I think it's because I play flute and I'm overcompensating. Need to get a bigger flute.
Of course you are your musical personality. So much so that if someone asks, "Why is it that your playing is so jolly and yet you're such a grumpy twat?" it means that you must actually be a jolly person stuck inside a false grumpy persona
I would consider myself to be pretty laid back and quiet, but when i'm on stage with a fiddle i'm TOtally aggressive! I just love it and i'm really loud and i speak loads and loads of junk to the audience and its great. I break half the hairs on my bow in one gig. which isn't so good i suppose. but the music just totally gets to me and if the audience like it to i cant help jigging aboot and thrashing the fiddle to pieces.
Shakey egg and spoons players are always highly intellectually gifted, suave, supremely noble, modest to a fault, yet rigorously dedicated to their craft and of a kind, considerate, saintly disposition.
You often hear things like, "Well, of course he took up the pipes, he such a piper personality!" or some such. I don't know what that means, every piper I know is a very different kind of personality!
I suppose that I play loud and am a loud personality -- but I think the reason I play loud is because I play with a piper with a very loud set of pipes -- a few years of that and anybody would play fairly loudly fairly automatically...
And it all puts me in mind of something one of my adult students said last Saturday. She studied clarinet in college. Last week I was working with her on a step and told her that she tended to do a combination of moves, then another combination and then another combination, and I wanted her to smooth them out and think of the entire step as one long thing rather than bits of things put together, flowing from one thing into the next.
She looked at me for a few seconds, and then laughed and said, "that must be a personality thing, because my clarinet teacher used to say that to me all the time!"
I think my musical personality involves making a lot of scratchy noises with my fiddle. I don't like these noises and I practice to try and get rid of them in order to become a Martin Hayes-esque player. But whenever I'm just playing for the joy of it, the scratchy noises come back and I end up scraping away with delight.
Too funny, suky... I'm pretty reserved in general, but I play pretty aggressively, and my preferred repertoire is fairly high energy. There's definitely something about playing that makes one less guarded about expressing oneself. I haven't quite rationalized that one yet. I find that singing is still too personal for me, much more exposed and so I still tend to be guarded there. Generally I only sing joke songs / happy songs in public.
The tunes I choose have a lot to do with my mood, low growly grindy A minor / D minor tunes are really wonderful when you're pissed off at something. Bright A major tunes for higher spirits...
bit off the subject, but some people say age can change the feel you get in music, with age comes a certain mellowness, so i reckon its probably the same with personality. You could try asking a bunch of people to watch sum1 they dont know, but u do know, play and ask them their opiniones and find out to see if music can be used to find personality.
is martin hayes good suky? i found some mp3 clips on amazong but there not very big. and he has nothing on his website which is poor. anyone know where i could download an mp3 or two of his? and can he do bowed triplets?
Yes, he's quite good, Mike, although some people don't care for some of his recordings. He can do bowed triplets, yes, both up and down. Worth taking a listen. He's on a great many of the Tulla Ceili Band's recordings as well, along with his father, PJoe Hayes (rest his soul).
i was looking at some old discussions to find out what you meant by up and down zina, i thought you meant fingered but i gather you mean up down up or down up down. i never even thought about this before and haven't come across a tune that you need to be able to do it for but will said there are some. maybe i'll start practicing the up down up now! i wonder if Winifred can do them. How are your triplets doing?
Hey Mike, Martin Hayes is one of my favorites. His style doesn't involve too many bowed triplets but he uses a lot of other cool ornamentation devices. His album "The Lonesome Touch" is, I believe, a must for every fiddle players collection. Check it out--I believe you can listen to it on RealPlayer if you go to the Green Linnet website. (Please don't start bashing Green Linnet right now: I'm just suggesting the RealPlayer link!) Hope you like it!
-suky
Your musical personality
Your musical personality
I'm wondering if members have thought about how an individual's playing style, choice of material, maybe even that of an instrument is a reflection of his/her personality. I'm not talking about playing ability here-- there are many extremely confident and aggressive players who aren't that great and just as many excellent musicians who are more reserved and laid back. I would regard myself as a more reserved type of player(whose playing isn't that great, incidentally) and would agree (and have been told) that this is my personality outwith the music. Of course, there are many tunes that I know very well but I tend to play them with a "quiet confidence" rather than with an "in your face" attitude.
I'm not criticising more confident or aggressive styles. They're great to listen to as well, by the right players. However, I have noticed that many "laid back" musicians have a similar approach to their playing e.g Martin Hayes, Kevin Burke etc.
Or, maybe, I'm generalising too much? Perhaps, some musicians express a hidden part of themselves when playing music. i.e express themselves more confidently or vice versa than in their normal business. What do you think?
As regards choice of instuments, I tend to imagine that Highland pipers and piano accordian players are more likely to be aggressive and confident (Though, not necessarily in a bad way) than some of the rest of us. Again, though, that's probably another misconception and I'm generalising again.
John
# Posted on February 12th 2004 by Johannes J
Re: Your musical personality
It stands to reason that a person who is gentle and / or laid back in one aspect of their life is likely to be the same. After all, it's only the same person doing a different activity.
Likewise a "curmudgeonly huffer" is likely to be the same when driving / working / playing etc.
Dave
# Posted on February 12th 2004 by showaddydadito
Re: Your musical personality - or lack of ...
It seems a lot of players can only, really express themselves through their music. Many only become alive when in a session or concert situation. They can be reserved and quiet until the case is opened and then - rock and roll starts. I've heard a couple very credible fiddlers tell me that the music (if it's a good session) can feel like dancing on clouds.
It seems that the same people can express Session Rage if they are having a bad day. I've left a few sessions when that occurred.
# Posted on February 12th 2004 by 2situla
Re: Your musical personality
I don't believe that choice of instrument has any bearing on personality - I myself play the piano accordion but could never be described as aggressive or particularly confident. likewise- I have friends who play the flute and could quite easily drown out a few accordions in a session
Besides, the instruments we play are not always a "choice" as such- especially if you start to play as a child and our we are all bound to change a little in the course of a lifetime!
I do however agree that personality is reflected through style of playing- I have yet to meet a sensitive player who doesn not have a laid-back personality. Maybe it is playing music in this style which helps them to be calm outside of music- I know it works for me when I'm stressed!
Melodeeee***
# Posted on February 12th 2004 by melodeeee
Re: Your musical personality
I play PA and Jeffries anglo - suppose that makes me loud and fast with strong biceps.
# Posted on February 12th 2004 by geoffwright
Re: Your musical personality
Flute players tend to be devastatingly handsome, of course.
# Posted on February 13th 2004 by Ottery
Re: Your musical personality
I agree, I don't think the instrument has so much to do with it, but I can definately see where music is an expression of the player of course.
One of my good friends is a Highland Piper and he's one of the quietest, laid back people you'd ever meet, but get him decked out in kilt and pipes, and he can fire those babies up, puff out his chest, lower his brow a bit, march down the path and you'd think he could part an army!
Then, when the parade or march is over, he can really rip into those pipes and pull off some nifty jigs and reels that really become his laid back, fun nature too. So there you have it.
Take care,
John
# Posted on February 13th 2004 by McHaffie
Re: Your musical personality
Oh yeah, I'm just generally goofy and I like whistles. Ask anyone who knows me... perfect explanation and instrumental fit.
# Posted on February 13th 2004 by McHaffie
Re: Your musical personality
I tend to play aggressively. But I'm a really laid back person. I think it's because I play flute and I'm overcompensating. Need to get a bigger flute.
# Posted on February 13th 2004 by jerball
Re: Your musical personality
That's why I like my whistles... I can always whip out the Low D if necessary. ;)
# Posted on February 13th 2004 by McHaffie
Re: Your musical personality
Of course you are your musical personality. So much so that if someone asks, "Why is it that your playing is so jolly and yet you're such a grumpy twat?" it means that you must actually be a jolly person stuck inside a false grumpy persona
# Posted on February 13th 2004 by llig leahcim
Re: Your musical personality
ROFLMTO Michael - really LMTO.
Thank you. Made my day.
Dave ;o)
# Posted on February 13th 2004 by showaddydadito
Re: Your musical personality
By the way Michael - have you ever encountered such a person?
Pray do tell us.
Dave
# Posted on February 13th 2004 by showaddydadito
Re: Your musical personality
I would consider myself to be pretty laid back and quiet, but when i'm on stage with a fiddle i'm TOtally aggressive! I just love it and i'm really loud and i speak loads and loads of junk to the audience and its great. I break half the hairs on my bow in one gig. which isn't so good i suppose. but the music just totally gets to me and if the audience like it to i cant help jigging aboot and thrashing the fiddle to pieces.
# Posted on February 13th 2004 by Mike.Vass
Re: Your musical personality
Shakey egg and spoons players are always highly intellectually gifted, suave, supremely noble, modest to a fault, yet rigorously dedicated to their craft and of a kind, considerate, saintly disposition.
How else can the phenomenon be explained?
# Posted on February 13th 2004 by Key Maniac Lad
Re: Your musical personality
You often hear things like, "Well, of course he took up the pipes, he such a piper personality!" or some such. I don't know what that means, every piper I know is a very different kind of personality!
I suppose that I play loud and am a loud personality -- but I think the reason I play loud is because I play with a piper with a very loud set of pipes -- a few years of that and anybody would play fairly loudly fairly automatically...
# Posted on February 13th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: Your musical personality
And it all puts me in mind of something one of my adult students said last Saturday. She studied clarinet in college. Last week I was working with her on a step and told her that she tended to do a combination of moves, then another combination and then another combination, and I wanted her to smooth them out and think of the entire step as one long thing rather than bits of things put together, flowing from one thing into the next.
She looked at me for a few seconds, and then laughed and said, "that must be a personality thing, because my clarinet teacher used to say that to me all the time!"
So there's likely something to it all, John....
# Posted on February 13th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: Your musical personality
I try to let my music do my talking.
# Posted on February 13th 2004 by Hanley
Re: Your musical personality
I think my musical personality involves making a lot of scratchy noises with my fiddle. I don't like these noises and I practice to try and get rid of them in order to become a Martin Hayes-esque player. But whenever I'm just playing for the joy of it, the scratchy noises come back and I end up scraping away with delight.
# Posted on February 13th 2004 by suky
Re: Your musical personality
Too funny, suky... I'm pretty reserved in general, but I play pretty aggressively, and my preferred repertoire is fairly high energy. There's definitely something about playing that makes one less guarded about expressing oneself. I haven't quite rationalized that one yet. I find that singing is still too personal for me, much more exposed and so I still tend to be guarded there. Generally I only sing joke songs / happy songs in public.
The tunes I choose have a lot to do with my mood, low growly grindy A minor / D minor tunes are really wonderful when you're pissed off at something. Bright A major tunes for higher spirits...
# Posted on February 13th 2004 by HighlandSun
Re: Your musical personality
bit off the subject, but some people say age can change the feel you get in music, with age comes a certain mellowness, so i reckon its probably the same with personality. You could try asking a bunch of people to watch sum1 they dont know, but u do know, play and ask them their opiniones and find out to see if music can be used to find personality.
# Posted on February 14th 2004 by scottyboy
Re: Your musical personality
is martin hayes good suky? i found some mp3 clips on amazong but there not very big. and he has nothing on his website which is poor. anyone know where i could download an mp3 or two of his? and can he do bowed triplets?
# Posted on February 15th 2004 by Mike.Vass
Re: Your musical personality
Yes, he's quite good, Mike, although some people don't care for some of his recordings. He can do bowed triplets, yes, both up and down. Worth taking a listen. He's on a great many of the Tulla Ceili Band's recordings as well, along with his father, PJoe Hayes (rest his soul).
# Posted on February 15th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: Your musical personality
i was looking at some old discussions to find out what you meant by up and down zina, i thought you meant fingered but i gather you mean up down up or down up down. i never even thought about this before and haven't come across a tune that you need to be able to do it for but will said there are some. maybe i'll start practicing the up down up now! i wonder if Winifred can do them. How are your triplets doing?
# Posted on February 15th 2004 by Mike.Vass
Off subject, sorry!
Hey Mike, Martin Hayes is one of my favorites. His style doesn't involve too many bowed triplets but he uses a lot of other cool ornamentation devices. His album "The Lonesome Touch" is, I believe, a must for every fiddle players collection. Check it out--I believe you can listen to it on RealPlayer if you go to the Green Linnet website. (Please don't start bashing Green Linnet right now: I'm just suggesting the RealPlayer link!) Hope you like it!
-suky
# Posted on February 16th 2004 by suky