From: "Mike Will" Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1998 07:13:21 PST Subject: Affects of Learning on Music (was Re: Chromatic positions
I don't really want in on this thread..
I think JRR's and Dave's point is that what you learn can influence what you perceive or don't perceive, and our perceptions (e.g. hearing) color our thinking--which colors our expression and communication, which affects our music.
There is experimental evidence to show that the senses themselves are affected by experience and don't even transmit the same information to the brain! In other words, "raw" sensory data to the brain is not raw.. it is already processed by the sense organs. This I read in a Scientific American article many years ago.. experiments on the sense of smell.. the brain received different signals based on whether a smell had been smelled before.. Alas, we don't even have a choice not to be influenced by our experiences.
So ultimately, what we experience (learn) can lead us down different musical paths.
But, do I think that learning to read music will hurt the blues in any way? No.
Do I think that early intense immersion in classical music could adversely affect the blues expression a player achieves? Probably, though I wouldn't say it's insurmountable.
Maybe it's like learning to speak a "foreign" language without an accent. It's easier if it's your native language than if it's your second or third language.. but with time you can still get pretty good at it...
A German friend once told me that no non-native could get the oomlaut (no clue how to spell it.. the o with the double dots over it) exactly right.. I don't know about that, but I do know people who have lived in the US for decades who still have thick accents...
Mic'l
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