Currently reading "This is Your Brain on Music" by Daniel Levitin. It is interesting to note how we categorize and prototype our musical experiences. Supposedly, the pitch, timbre and rhythm of songs are all locked into our memories, especially these days with access to the world of recorded music. Studies indicate that nonmusicians will recognize and sing songs such as "Hotel California" fairly close to the right tempo and pitch.
After recording myself yesterday, my first impression was "How awful. I thought I sounded better than that!" I had been listening to some online recordings of the Gavotte. According to the book, the brain anticipates and "fills in" missing or misplayed notes especially when we know what something is supposed to sound like. It's sort of a musical "optical illusion". Calibration is another factor. Does one calibrate against fellow students or against professionals? After I listened to another cellist playing the Gavotte on YouTube, I didn't feel so bad.
Now what happens when one learns a piece of music just from a score without having heard it before? That's one way to get some creative interpretation.
3 comments:
I read the book just a few months ago - it was fascinating. I loved reading about the experiments.
Maybe this is why we "play better" after having listened to good cellists? Wasn't there a blog post about that recently? I know I read it somewhere. (Anyone? ... Anyone??)
The book sounds very interesting. I've added it to my reading list.
I enjoyed this blog, having only just listened to your recording. Sounds an interesting read.
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