Jack of all trades master of none?

[LDT]

Funny thing is Princess Fiona kinda reminds me of the maiden from 'Outlandish Knight'. lol

Let's hope she doesn't shove Shrek in the sea, then!

 

Ah...But Prince Charming might get knocked into the sea.

[Brian Peters]

Ah...But Prince Charming might get knocked into the sea.

Of course.... duhhhh! Prince Charming is a dead ringer for the plausible but villainous Outlandish Knight!

[Dana Johnson]

So which is better learn lots of tunes in a just about presentable fashion or just concentrate on being really good at a handful?

I have a student who has been with me for four or five years now. Together we have worked on a few hundred tunes. The difference between the way he plays the first tunes he learned now, compared to what he did at the beginning is enormous. Each tune presented different things to learn. Most of these things were applicable to other tunes already played. The point here is that you should expect yourself to improve, perhaps insist you improve. I met a person once who was at a conservatory studying clarinet., The first day his teacher handed him a piece of music that was terribly difficult and told him to play it. He struggled through it. Each week the same thing repeated itself, with this student never being able to more than barely be able to play the previous week's score. At the end of the semester, the teacher handed him the first piece again and he played it with no difficulty onward through most of the pieces he'd only played a little before he was handed the next. If you learn a lot of tunes poorly, it simply means you aren't paying attention to your own playing quality. You needn't expect perfection to enjoy a tune, but you will enjoy them better if you really like what you are hearing yourself play. If you don't have a teacher, you have to take on that role for yourself and listen for where you can improve. I'm not saying you should beat yourself for mistakes. Just keep trying to do it better. Then learn as many tunes as you like, just make sure they are the ones you enjoy listening to.

Dana

[michael sam wild]

I'd be interested to know whether the very young superb players we see on comhaltas clips etc have learned a wide repertoire or concentrated on a few tunes to a high standard, maybe for a competition. I suspect they come from families where there is a lot of music going on.

 

 

if you hear a lot of music it goes in then you spend years getting it out via your chosen instrument. That process goes on continually so I reckon you should always be listening and pushing your limits as well as revisiting and honing your old tunes.

[PeterT]

I suspect they come from families where there is a lot of music going on.

 

I suspect you are right, in which case they will learn tunes without realising it. Then, it's just a case of working it out onto the instrument, in their chosen style.

[tombilly]

I'm of the 'bit of both' school. Apologies for repeating what's already been said, but attempting new tunes that make you do things that you can't do yet, is one good way of progressing. The tough tune that you're struggling with becomes the goal that you're striving for and, when you get through it for the first time more or less unscathed, you feel great!

 

But, if all you ever do is to play material that's a bit beyond your present ability, you never develop that sense of comfort and confidence that develops when you are really on top of a piece - the comfort that enables you to get a strong rhythm, to play with expression, to develop ornaments or variations... in short, to actually make music. Some of the most impressive musicians I've ever heard have not been sweating over finger-busters, but playing well within their own ability with supreme confidence and grace.

 

So what I always tell students is, don't neglect your old repertoire. If the first things you learned were 'Winster Gallop' and 'Bear Dance', carry on playing them, even when you've progressed to more demanding tunes. That way you can give a really good account of the more basic material while constantly trying to test yourself with harder stuff. And at the same time you broaden your repertoire. I feel that too many conventional music teachers (like some of the ones who have taught my kids) don't think they're earning their money unless they're providing their pupil with a constant stream of fresh material. What then happens is that the pupil is always struggling to keep up and never really gets to enjoy making music.

 

Oh, and if the music you have in your head is 'grunge-goth-rock-emo pop' (nothing wrong with that, by the way), you could probably do with putting some concertina-friendly music in there as well. Go and listen to some good stuff - there's plenty out there - and play it to death until the tunes have sunk in. And you'll also have had the benefit of listening to an expert player at work.

 

I think that's pretty good advice.