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Musical blind spots


interpol52
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Back in the early sixties my mate was a member of the 'World Record Club'. For a monthly subscription you would recieve an LP of choice from a limited number on offer. These albums were not generally available from retailers so they introduced us to artists that we had never heard before - classical, jazz and popular music much of which came from America. It was quite hard to get to listen to a variety of music other than that dished out by the 'Home Service' and 'Light Programme', (the only 2 BBC radio stations at the time), or Radio Luxembourg if you could recieve it.

I think it rewarding to know how music has evolved and can only add to the enjoyment of playing. Knowing the history of music, as any tutored member would know, must surely be an essential part of learning as part of one's musical journey whatever form that may take.

I have no formal music education and only picked up a bass guitar in my early fifties, I'm 67 now, so I'm a late-comer, a self-taught learner and so envy those with a formal music education or even those basschatters whose parents forced piano lessons upon them as a young child.

After gigging for several years doing 60's/70's pop I now help run an amateur music club at a local comminity centre. It is a great success so far with 70 odd members, all ages.

Knowing/playing mostly 60's/70's pop, yesterday I found myself practicing with a jazz band with a gig in 2 weeks time. Many of the numbers I knew in my head from 1960-something listening to those LP's in my mates sitting room, [i]Blue Monk, Petite Fleur, Les Feuilles Mortes [/i]etc. And how different it is playing Jazz to Pop. I'm afraid I felt like a passenger for most of the session so I've a lot of homework to do.

Can anyone tell me why they seem to play mostly in the key of [b]B[/b][b]b?[/b]

Anyway to address the OP, musical likes/dislikes change through life. I reckon I'm mostly ignorant of the music from the eighties onward but that's because I haven't listened to everything up to then yet. My advice is keep an open mind and listen to everything and anything, you don't have to like it. The fashion wheel of popular music will keep turning regardless. And you never know what might happen and something tucked away at the back of your mind might just become the thing you need.

Last thing, I love the Beatles [b]Mr Blue[/b]. How much do you think "The Billy Cotton Band Show" influenced them?

Edited by grandad
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[quote name='grandad' timestamp='1452766652' post='2953179']
Can anyone tell me why they seem to play mostly in the key of [b]B[/b][b]b?[/b]


[/quote]

Quite simply, brass and woodwind instruments are not in concert pitch (c) - most brass and tenor sax are tuned to Bb, so when they play in the key of C for them the rest of us are in Bb. Just to make things worse, alto sax is tuned to Eb, so when they play a C we have to play Eb. C is the most common key as it has no flats of sharps (black notes on the piano), so is the easiest key to read music in.

Edited by Mykesbass
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[quote name='grandad' timestamp='1452770010' post='2953220']
Thank you Mykesbass, I've got a lot to learn.
[/quote]
I like playing in Bb. Years of playing rhythm guitar in a big band got me used to it, and was why I chose a 5 string bass, as that makes Eb a whole lot easier.

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[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1452713038' post='2952828']
Ah, that was me, glad you liked it.



And music not only being made around the world RIGHT NOW but there is 70-odd years worth of world recordings readily available over the internet. Most of it is music that most people have not heard.
[/quote]

Of course there is, just like there are 1000s of great books in the library...

I was simply making the point that those who feel that the popular forms of music are 'not as good as they were' in the 'good old days' (whenever they were) should cast their net wider perhaps, and look beyond those genres.

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[quote name='JellyKnees' timestamp='1452771810' post='2953254']


Of course there is, just like there are 1000s of great books in the library...

I was simply making the point that those who feel that the popular forms of music are 'not as good as they were' in the 'good old days' (whenever they were) should cast their net wider perhaps, and look beyond those genres.
[/quote]

Yes I was meaning to agree.

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[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1452775585' post='2953327']
If you actually like listening to all music, doesn't that mean you have no opinions on music?
[/quote]

Think I meant that I have listen to such a vast amount of music, yeah I do have opinions but I can see what that particular band has done for its genre or how its affected something else.

I think it's crazy that people have not listened to Floyd, or The Doors it baffles me. I can forgive people who maybe arent into Converge as much as they're into CCR but you need to see the importance of both bands. I just love it all. f***ing 12 notes man.

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[quote name='dand666' timestamp='1452776331' post='2953334']

I think it's crazy that people have not listened to Floyd, or The Doors it baffles me. I can forgive people who maybe arent into Converge as much as they're into CCR but you need to see the importance of both bands. I just love it all. f***ing 12 notes man.
[/quote]

Why is it crazy? Maybe they just don't like those bands. I've not heard much Doors stuff but I've heard enough to know there's no point in me ploughing through everything they've ever done on the off-chance I might find one song I like.

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[quote name='dand666' timestamp='1452776331' post='2953334']
I think it's crazy that people have not listened to Floyd, or The Doors it baffles me. I can forgive people who maybe arent into Converge as much as they're into CCR but you need to see the importance of both bands. I just love it all. f***ing 12 notes man.
[/quote]

I think it's crazy that people have not listened to Iannis Xenakis, or Krzysztof Penderecki it baffles me. I can forgive people who maybe arent into Tristan Murail as much as they're into Pierre Boulez but you need to see the importance of both composers. I just love it all. f***ing 24 notes man.


:D

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[quote name='No lust in Jazz' timestamp='1452781410' post='2953439']
Musical blind spots, for me are areas of music that I've not been 'introduced' to, rather than genres or artists 'I don't get...'
[/quote]

Yep that's kind of what I meant. Acts that for whatever reason have slipped under your radar, no negative feeling whatsoever.

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