Making Music - Why Do We Do It?

[Lfalex v1.1]

I really don't know.
Haven't really played much recently as it's all seemed a bit pointless.
Oddly, the time I'd have spent doing that hasn't been reinvested, and I've completely stopped watching TV, using the PlayStation, reading, listening to music.
Nothing is doing it for me right now, so I seem to be sleeping quite a lot instead.

[MiltyG565]

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' timestamp='1367431687' post='2065625']
I really don't know.
Haven't really played much recently as it's all seemed a bit pointless.
Oddly, the time I'd have spent doing that hasn't been reinvested, and I've completely stopped watching TV, using the PlayStation, reading, listening to music.
Nothing is doing it for me right now, so I seem to be sleeping quite a lot instead.
[/quote]

You might be depressed.

[TimR]

I have a recording on tape of a band I was in in 1987. I copied onto CD. It's a piece of my history. I can't recreate that music in any other way. The 'musicians' who made the recording are either pro, semi-pro, or have given up entirely.

I would have to splash out some serious money to get a band to spend time transcribing and learning what are probably half decent songs.

There's thousands of us like that.

How many family photos do you have around?

For £100 you could get someone to multi-track record a gig, take it away and produce a good 'warts an all' recording.

[xilddx]

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1367428475' post='2065583']
Indeed. There's more to fishing than catching fish.


[i]"I fish because I love to; because I love the environs where trout
are found, which are invariably beautiful, and hate the environs
where crowds of people are found, which are invariably ugly; because
of all the television commercials, cocktail parties, and assorted
social posturing I thus escape; because in a world where most men
seem to spend their lives doing things they hate, my fishing is
at once and endless source of delight and a small act of rebellion;
because trout do not lie or cheat and cannot be bought or bribed or
impressed by power, but respond only to quietude and patience; because
I suspect that men are going along this way for the last time and I
don't want to waste the trip; because mercifully there are no telephones
on trout waters; because only in the woods can I find solitude without
loneliness; because bourbon out of an old tin cup always tastes better
out there; because maybe one day I will catch a mermaid; and, finally,
not because I regard fishing as being so terribly important but because
I suspect that so many of the other concerns of men are equally
unimportant--and not nearly so much fun."[/i]

Robert Traver (1903-1991)
[/quote]
That's lovely. When I go fishing the entire atmosphere consumes me, the night before to getting home. Trying to understand the water and what's affecting it, trying to think like a fish. I'm no expert, and neither am I at music, but I apply my own theories and get results I'm happy with, while aspiring to be better in my own small way despite being a lazy nerk - I let my passion levels dictate my learning intentions and habits, completely erratic.

Throughout my fishing day I will be in the grip of a bastard of an earworm. "Well I'm in the mood for a corned beef on rye. With a tomato, and some coleslaw on the side". The reggae section of 'You Didn't Try To Call Me". A couple of lines from Lawrence of Arabia. Or some sh*t like that. I'll be fishing and find myself analysing every little nuance and inflection of the earworm, repeating it for hours in my head, trying to find patterns or relavences. I feel it's developed my imagination, you get closer to your likes and dislikes and the details within them.

Edited May 1, 2013 by xilddx

[JapanAxe]

At this point may I recommend the book [i]Musicophilia[/i] by Oliver Sachs. It seems music is a key function of the human brain, with the power to access other...bits.

[xilddx]

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1367446213' post='2065921']
At this point may I recommend the book [i]Musicophilia[/i] by Oliver Sachs. It seems music is a key function of the human brain, with the power to access other...bits.
[/quote]
You may.

Is it worth me reading it?

EDIT: Looks good, just got it on my Kindle. Cheers!

Edited May 1, 2013 by xilddx

[JapanAxe]

I found it a bit annoying to start with but soon found it un-put-down-able. Of especial interest to those with relatives suffering from Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, strokes, and goodness-knows-what.

Re EDIT: enjoy!

[Myke]

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1367446213' post='2065921']
At this point may I recommend the book [i]Musicophilia[/i] by Oliver Sachs. It seems music is a key function of the human brain, with the power to access other...bits.
[/quote]

I literally just tried to read this. My brain exploded.

Not a book to read before you drop off to sleep.

[flyfisher]

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1367440468' post='2065781']
I have a recording on tape of a band I was in in 1987. I copied onto CD. It's a piece of my history. I can't recreate that music in any other way. The 'musicians' who made the recording are either pro, semi-pro, or have given up entirely.

I would have to splash out some serious money to get a band to spend time transcribing and learning what are probably half decent songs.

There's thousands of us like that.

How many family photos do you have around?

For £100 you could get someone to multi-track record a gig, take it away and produce a good 'warts an all' recording.
[/quote]

That's all true, but I guess it all depends what level of importance you put on your personal history. Who, other than a few close family and friends will honestly care?

The photos point is an interesting one though, along with video and emails and all the other aspects of our modern digital lives. I have an old photo and a few medals of my great grandfather who was killed in WW1. They are a nice family heirloom and a sobering reminder of how things were back then.

But would I value them quite so much if I had a few terabytes of all the photos he ever took, videos of all the gigs he might have done, all the emails he ever wrote, all the forum posts he ever made . . . . in short, his entire life?

Would I really be prepared to spend a large portion of my own life wading through gigbytes of his old stuff? What would be the point? I've got my own life to lead and I don't want to waste it simply reading, watching and listening to someone else's life - and I certainly don't want to burden my descendents with terabytes of my life when they've got their own lives to carve out for themselves.

I realise that's a bit extreme and I'm sure there's a middle way that just involves a few nice photos and maybe a bit of home video, but I'm sure most people would prefer to be out there making their own memories than trawling through other people's ones.

[TimR]

Which is why I edit my videos to 2-3mins. Limit my photo albums to 12-24 pics like you used to get on film.

People can dip in and dip out. I wouldn't expect anyone to spend days trawling through.

I wrote a journal on our honeymoon. We drove across Canada. It's not a book, maybe 100words a day. Concise, humerous?, a simple reminder. I've maybe read it twice. It's there.

My personal history is in my head but one thing I regret is not having photos of me during chemo. It was horrible and I felt and looked like death for nearly three years. I didn't want them then. I do now. I suspect there are some if I searched hard.

[JTUK]

Ha ha... I'd rather hear me do it than some others..