David Bennett (famous music theorist on YouTube) created a "music theory tier-list" from whom I've taken this screenshot of his video last Aug 31st of 2021:
The interview will take place in the next 2-3 days most likely and I'm a "musical outsider" looking to challenge a knowledgeable musician about his musical knowledge and try to explore the reasons why some people believe following a prescribed course of studying music (such as in a university setting) can produce a musician beyond mediocrity?
I want to ask fundamental questions that are the bedrock of music such as:
- What is the point/purpose of music?
- What makes "good" music good in comparison to bad music?
- How important is the framing/context in which the music is presented?
- How important is the "brand" of the musician who created the music on its interpretation of its listener? (i.e. if you swapped a random piano song from youtube and told the person it's a rare piece by J.S. Bach that most people haven't listened to)
- Does a piece of music conceivably exist before it is created by someone?
- If musicians can "study books" or "watch educational content videos" to become a better musician, then what's stopping people who do that from becoming maestros given enough time & dedication?
- Does "musical talent" exist, if so -- why or why not? Do some people learn and/or pick up on musical concepts faster than others or seem to have a "knack" for it?
- Is there a relationship between the skills useful at understanding reality and the skills useful at understanding music?
- Do critical thinking skills increase a musician's musical skills?
- Is it true that music can sometimes "help write itself"? 🎶✍
- Do musicians follow a "normal distribution" (i.e. a "bell curve") with respect to their skill at creating music?
- How important is luck in creating music and what is the role of guesswork, if any?
- Has Adam Neely ever released an orchestral composition that he himself created de novo?
- Can a piece of music be "timeless" (i.e. that it will sound good today, 500 years ago, and 5,000 years into the future?)
- Does "ghostwriting" exist in the film music industry? (i.e. if big-names like Hans Zimmer claim authorship on works he didn't create which is surprisingly common in the written-novel industry)
- Can you invent ratios to analyze music as someone with my background feels inclined? (this enables comparison on abstract things on a "per note" basis)
- Is it the music creator's responsibility to make sure his music captivates the listener's attention?
My reason for asking #17 is because of a video I watched this video recently by "inside the score" where he has a long playlist and in one of the videos, he said it is the listener's duty to pay attention to the music and that it is not the musician's job to create music which captivates the listener's attention/engagement.
The interview will last between 20-45 minutes and it's my second chance of my life to interact with a musician in a voice-call setting which is 1,000x more conducive to meaningful conversations than just typed responses like on Reddit (where the other person might not read your message for a few hours and not be really in the mood any longer to discuss whatever the discuss was a few hours previously).
I just want to make sure the interview isn't a waste of both people's time because unless some insightful conversation takes place, then it's just a random, ordinary conversation where neither person benefits from having invested 20-45 minutes to talking to the other person. I want to make sure that my list of questions will get me "on the right track" to eventually becoming an expert musician within 10-20 years. Currently, I'm just a beginner-level musician and I am driven by my curiosity to learn more but in a way that makes sense to me.
My list is currently at 17 questions and I'd appreciate some help writing 3 more pertinent questions to add to my list from this fine community! 👍
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TL;DR: What are some good questions to ask ourselves for an upcoming "music theory" interview with a music student enrolled in a music program at college? 🤔
Submitted October 28, 2022 at 12:11AM by SignificantMeal1428 https://www.reddit.com/r/Learnmusic/comments/yfc6k3/what_are_some_good_questions_to_ask_ourselves_for/?utm_source=ifttt
Javier Rodriguez
Thursday, October 27, 2022