Simplicity is Golden

This came up while I was writing my debate cases. I had an argument, and I attempted to throw in a million pieces of evidence and analysis. It was a huge two page mess. When my assistant coach took a look at it, he pointed out about 2 sentences that worked. That was all that I had truly said. All of my smoke and mirrors had done nothing but confuse my audience. That proves that more often than not, simplicity is the best option.

Simplicity is shown in everything. We are all made up of a complexity of different things, such as tissues, cells, and proteins. These are further complicated into molecules and atoms. However, the further we get down, the simpler things get. Eventually all matter is broken down into particles called quarks. Very simple, yet because of their simplicity they are able to be built upon.

The same thing happens to me all the time in music. When given a complicated piece of piano music, my piano teaches finds the very simple melody below the blur of notes and haves me practice that over and over. After that is accomplished, I put the next layer of notes on top of that. Eventually, I get the whole thing completed, but only because I had a strong and simple foundation.

Overall, simplicity is the best option because sometimes you don't need to complicate things, and you need a strong foundation to build on.

A Little Update

To my loyal followers and readers,

I apologize for my lack of a real post this week. My debate has picked up, and I'm trying to meet my many deadlines for both that and piano. I will continue this blog, and post as often as I get ideas for meaningful posts. On a side note, in my English class I am required to post a blog. It will mostly be assignments for that class, but will also have some free writes that might be the same as posts on this blog. If you wish to view it, it is under the Non-blogger Links.

Thank you again for your faithful following of my blog, and I will pick up my writings as soon as possible.

Diversify Yourself

Believe it or not, I got the idea for this post off of my horoscope. Normally I'm not superstitious, but for some reason I always check it. Today's demanded that I experience new things. While vague, I still liked the advice. A talented musician does not only play one style. That shows that they are limited. Each type of music brings different things to the table; different chords, different tempos, and different effects to the listener. Just like styles of music, different experiences bring new benefits. If you keep on doing the same things over and over you won't get any additional benefits. Therefore, don't get stuck in a rut. It will keep you from experiencing the world.

Interlocking Parts Cont.

This post elaborates on my last idea. During a debate practice a couple of days ago we talked about two of the major ideas of philosophy; utilitarianism and deontology. The two are complete opposites in many ways. The former, which was developed by John Stuart Mills and Jeremy Bentham, says that an action is right if it gets the greatest good for the greatest number of people. If it does not, it is wrong. The latter, mostly developed by Emanuel Kant, says that even if it does get the greatest good for the greatest number of people, it may be wrong. Under deontology, if something conforms with the duties of people, then it is right. An example of these two ideas conflicting is the example of killing a person to save 10 others. Utilitarianism says that it gets the greatest good for the greatest amount of people, so it is the right decision. Deontology says that, since we as people obviously have a duty not to commit murder, that it is the wrong decision. I personally agree with deontology. Just like notes in music, every part is important. Utilitarianism says that we should get the best for as many people as possible, but must make sacrifices. This is like having a really complicated melody without any harmony. Deontology says we need to get the best for everyone, even if that means we all have to make slight sacrifices. That is like have a simple melody and a simple harmony. Because every part is important, I agree with the latter. Which idea do you agree with?

Interlocking Parts

There was an assembly in my high school today called Rachel's Challenge. For those of you unaware of what this is, it's about a girl named Rachel Scott who was the first person killed in the Columbine shootings. The assembly talked about several things she believed, all of which can be found at the organization's website. One idea that stuck out to me, however, was her view on being yourself. "Don't let your character change it's color with your environment, find out who you are and let it stay its true color." I could not agree more with this statement. She's saying that you can't let others shape you, and that you have to be true to yourself. Expanding on this idea, I believe it's almost your responsibility to be true to yourself. Just like in an orchestra, every part does something. Whether it's the melody, right at the front lines taking all the glory, or the harmony and rhythm, building the foundation on which the melody can stand on, it is needed to create true music. Therefore, be true to yourself. Not only is it beneficial to you, it's your responsibility to society to fill your unique niche.

The Human Touch

During band class today my director was talking about the difference between playing the notes on a page and actually making music. This brought into mind an episode of "The Outer Limits" I once saw. It was about a man with an increasingly large brain that made him super-intelligent. One thing that bugged me, however, was when the guy just sat down and played the piano without ever playing it before. "It's a simple mathematical formula" he stated, and I almost jumped out of my seat. No matter how advanced a computer gets, it can never create music like a person. There is an added touch that people give to music that can't be reproduced. The best way I can explain it is that our mind is like a mathematical function. You put in one thing, and get something else out. However, our function is one of a kind. Therefore, you can put notes on a page in and get that ,plus the added human emotion, out. Machines may be able to do everything else in our life, but one thing they will never take is our wonderful ability to create real music.

Rally for Music Class

Something I don't get about the school system is the loose emphasis on the arts. Every math teacher I have talked to has explained that most math is used to teach students critical thinking. Therefore, no matter how much certain students may not like the class, they must take it. Why, then, has music or art not become a major class? The Center for Educator Development in Fine Arts, or CEDFA, has done several studies, all which prove that the fine arts contribute to learning critical thinking and promblem solving. Now, I know they offer music classes as electives, or in the elementary once a week, but this is not enough. You need to get in depth with the theory to get the critical thinking to come into play. Even if students don't actually touch an instrument, the class would do its job just as well as any math class. Therefore, I don't see why the arts are not equal to all other major classes. Ask your superintendent, write your congressman. If you agree with me , let your voice be heard and rally for major music classes.

Music From Another Perspective

Today I owe my post to my English teacher. When explaining literature, she said it was a way to express the authors feelings of the world. This can apply to music too. What is music but showing how the composer feels about his surroundings? It's a reaction to what happens to them.

For a science tie in, Newton's 3rd law of motion explains that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Is it so absurd to assume that music and other forms of art are just a human's reaction to their world? I don't think so. In fact, my playing is very reflective of my mood. I can play well on good days, but my playing suffers severely if I'm having a bad day. Is it psychological? Or maybe even physical? I'm not sure if I can decide.

This is just another angle, an additional facet, of music. So be open-minded and explore of its aspects and qualities.

Music Breaks Boundaries

Today, I took a standardized school test. One of the passages that I had to answer questions about was about Yo-Yo Ma, the cellist. This prompted me to write this post. I admire him a lot, especially for his Silk Road Project. This project focused on taking music from all different nations, and sharing them. The real reason that this project was and is so monumental is that no matter what language you speak, what religion you have, and your social class is, you have some relation with music.

Very few people (Sigmund Freud being one of them) dislike music. Therefore, everyone shares this universal language, even if it differs slightly from region to region. With stereotypes and language barriers, many people are not open to interactions with other cultures. However, listening to other cultures' music is something everyone can do and enjoy. What Yo-Yo Ma did with the Silk Road Project is, in my opinion, one of the best ways to reach out to other cultures.

To conclude, if you want to learn about other cultures, try listening to their music. Also, make sure you interact with music so you don't get left out of the universal language.

Worry About Yourself

I know this is not directly related to music, but it involves my piano playing. I, being the only piano playing student in my high school, am asked by teachers to do quite a lot of accompanying and whatnot. However, I'm not able to do all of the stuff they ask of me. This makes me feel bad, but I've come to a conclusion. You can't please everyone. Everyone has their own agenda, and will ask for their needs first. Therefore, you should worry about yourself. Now, take this advice with a grain of salt. I don't want you to be extremely selfish and only care about your own needs, but be prepared to dissapoint people. You have to worry about your life, and not be concerned with making everyone else happy. Be able to say no.

Overall, set your own goals and make your own life. If someone else asks you to do something against your own wishes, politely tell them no, and expect to dissapoint people.

Take Action In Life

I've addressed the fact that everyone has the potential for greatness, musical and otherwise, in them. However, this is meaningless without taking action. It is essentially up to you to take the potential and turn it into reality. I personally believe that the main reason people don't always take action is that they fear failure. Failure, however, is not something to fear. It is probably the best teacher you will ever have in life. When I practice piano, it is failure that shows me where to put my best efforts in. I play songs over and over and over, failing most times. Then, after a long period of failure, I reach my goal. But if I never even tried, thinking that I could fail, I'd never achieve anything. Therefore, you have to take action in life. Then, all the doors open for you.

Follow Your Emotions

Recently, while tinkering on the piano, I found two chords. When played in succession, the sound gave me a rush of happiness. I can't even explain why the simple chords made me feel so good, but I knew I had to add them to some composition of mine. When a sound, or anything for that matter, brings up a vast amount of emotion you should stick with it. Those emotions show that you have a natural connection to it, an inherent liking. So few things like that come up in life, so don't ignore them. Follow your emotions to the thing you love the most, and there you will find happiness.

Think Freely

Many people are set in there ways. Music is, of course, the first example I think of. Most "popular" musicians write the same kind of song because that's what sells. When people go outside of the so-called safety zone, they are much less successful. They are almost shunned for their differentiations from the norm. This is detrimental to the music world because what is popular is not necessarily what is best.

I see an example of this in the religious world. These are just my ideas, and I do not intend to offend anyone with them. Nowadays, everyone either has no religion, or goes to a church, synagogue, or mosque. However, preset organized religion may not be the best for society. Organized religion, I believe is counterproductive to religion's goal. The goal of religion, as I see it, is to teach people to respect their fellow human beings and to overall teach people to do things not just for their own benefit. Organized religion, however is essentially an ultimatum. If you don't abide by every rule listed in the Bible, the Torah, or the Qu'ran or elsewhere, you will have negative consequences. This is fear based, and doesn't have people doing the right thing for the right reason. Therefore, different ideas could be beneficial, and should not be shunned.

Overall, I'm saying that the present situations should be examined and new ideas should be introduced. Rules have their benfits, as I've said, but new rules need to be introduced as well.Even in music, where there are tons and tons of rules, you have to bring new ideas and rules in. That is the way that music has evolved so much. So examine your world, and see how you can better it with free thinking.

Experimentation Leads To Creativity

Today I was reading "Awakening", by Shakti Gawain, which gives little bits of advice for each day. Today's information was experimentation is needed for creativity. This is especially true in music. Perhaps one third of my compositions are what I'd call good. I have to experiment so many different combinations of chords and notes before I find the one that I'm pleased with. This worked for scientists too. Think of Thomas Edison. He had thousands of experimental lightbulbs before he found the one that worked.

Next time your being creative, be prepared for disappointments. Just take them in stride, and know that you're on your way to a great creation.

Music Is Amazing

I was practicing my piano today when it struck me how amazing the music we create truly is. Even the simpplest songs are so complex. It kind of gets me thinking: how do humans just know what "sounds good"? Before we established rules of counterpoint and composition, how did we know the right combinations of notes? One answer is that music is just a part of any organism. That music is a part of our minds. Some evidence to back this up is the oddly high occurance of musical families. Very often, a musically gifted person will have a musically gifted child. My personal opinion is that music is an inherent piece to any living thing. Therefore, don't let music slip you by. Embrace that part of yourself by listening, playing, and writing music.

Imperfections Are Perfect

This post is largely made possible by my dad. Today, while in traffic, I asked what caused the jam. His response was essentially that one person waiting or letting someone else into their lane caused a break in the flow: an imperfection. This is also, essentially, what music is. Sound is always flowing all around us. We, by playing an instrument, just grab some from the flow and create an imperfection. However, in an imperfection we have a beautiful creation.

Now it's time to get your daily dose of science in. Perhaps my favorite cosmological theory in the science community talks about a continual universe. I learned this theory in Astronomy Magazine, which is a great magazine that any science lover should read. It essentially says that there are two parallel layers to the universe. They are completely smooth where everything is flowing until a ripple starts. These ripples are essentially big bangs which create all matter and start the expansion of the universes. Eventually, dark energy (the theoretical force that acts as a "reverse gravity" and expands the universe) will expand the universe so much that the universes becomes smooth and flowing again. Ripples are the imperfections, and without them we would not exist.

Back to music, about half of all my compositions came from mistakes I made in my performing songs and scales. You can look at the scale as flow; all notes going in a perfect order. Then, look at a mistake as an imperfection. From it, I form something completely new and great. Overall, mistakes and imperfections are not only good learning tools, as everyone always says, but also may be beautiful creations of their own. Just look at another facet of things. You'll be suprised at what you'll find.

Control Distorts The Truth

After reading an article on the Montrose Adoption Center's blog about aggression I thought about its musical and worldly similarities. Aggression, as animal behaviorist Corey Cohen states, is just a method for animals to control their environment. Well, isn't that a lot of what music is? We try to channel sound, control sound to our liking. Our music is beautiful, yes, but man-made all the same. It is a product of manipulation. We try to control our surroundings and manipulate them to our own personal needs. Now, I'm not saying I'm above this problem, and I'm not saying it's inherently a bad thing. Like in the case of rules, it can even be benficial at times. However, overdoing it like many do is detrimental. It's just something we should become aware of.

This idea comes into play in science. You can have three types of observers: a passive observer who just makes observations from what they can see without making any effort to explore more, an active observer who takes the time to make observations and gets in depth with their discoveries, and a disturbing observer who looks so deeply that they actually manipulate and distort what they are observing. Today we have all become disturbing observers. Science, which is supposed to be the truth about the world, is being distorted to the point where we cannot even be sure if our discoveries actually exist or are the creations of our own minds.

One more place this thought exists is in philosophy. Immanuel Kant addressed this issue when looking at justice. He said the only way to get to a just decision is through a catagorial imperative. A catagorial imperative is when the judge of a situation goes behind a "veil of ignorance" where they have no idea what their status or experiences in life are. That way their mind cannot distort their decision.

All of these examples show that when we try and manipulate or control our surroundings, we don't get the truth. We get a product of our own efforts: what our mind wants us to think. Try and listen to natural music next time you go outside. The wind through trees, a bird's song, flowing water. All of these things are the truth, and by seeing and hearing the truth we come closer to real happiness.

Music Is A Material

I had an interesting thought recentley. As I've already said, music comes in many forms, such as art. This idea led to my next idea. What is music but a material? An artist uses a brush to put paint onto a canvas. A musician uses an instrument to put specifically ordered notes onto paper. The medium in music is sound. Sound is always there, waiting for us to grab it and play it. It's an unlimited and free material, so there are only benefits to giving it a try. You may just shape something remarkable.

Rules Have Benefits

I'm studying counterpoint, which is the way that notes interact with each other, and how to write countermelodies now. The majority of it is a bunch of rules which have to be implemented. A lot people, however, say that you should just listen to what sounds good. They say that rules, overall, just keep people back. I, however, disagree. Rules are needed to keep chaos from overtaking society and for defining our world.

John Locke and John Jacque Rousseau's social contracts both say that all people started out in a state of absolute freedom, or a "state of nature". In this state of nature, one has only one right: the right to do anything one wishes. Now, if all humans were good in intention, this would be no problem. Sadly, greed and jealousy get the best of humans, so a state of nature is one in which the strongest prosper and rule over the weak. This is, of course, not giving everyone rights. Therefore, as the social contract reads, humans banded together and formed government and rules. To do this, they gave up their absolute freedom in exchange for the protection of rights that government and its laws, or rules, provide.

The social contract is just one example of how rules are beneficial to us all. Another example of rules being beneficial is in science. There are certain laws in science, as everyone knows. These laws don't impede us, just give us our world. They etch out what our reality is. In our world, we cannot fly or walk through walls because the rules don't allow us to. Without these fundamental rules, our world wouln't be the same. The same goes for music. If we didn't have rules for making songs, then what sounds good would be completely different, and our musical world wouldn't be the same. Rules establish the workings of our world, whether it be our universe, or our society.

This is just another view on one part of our world. You are free to believe what you want. Also, I don't mean that you should blindly follow all existing rules. New rules should be introduced as well. I just hope that next time you go complaining about rules, you give my words a thought.

Infinite Possilbilities

I was thinking about, once again, quantum mechanics today. In particular, the part that says that reality splits into branches every time we make a choice. Then, there would be infinite levels of reality. That shows that there are infinite possibilities in life. Now, how does this relate to music, you ask? Well, take composing into mind. On a piano, there are 88 notes. You have 10 fingers with which to play any of the 88 notes. There are also many different note rythyms and added schmaltz, like grace notes. And that's just on the piano. Never in the universe will every possible song ever be played. So don't never go and say "Everything's been done" or "Someone else will do it" because it hasn't and they won't. You need to explore because you, as a human being, have an obligation to the rest of your race. That obligation is to discover and create as much as you can so by the time humans are extinct, we can say we got a little closer to the infinite.

Time Influences Music

Everyone thinks about the influence music has on people, but what about people's influence on music? In the Baroque and Classical eras, most songs were written within limits. You could have a certain amount of measures and themes and repeats. This is consistent with the society. Most European countries were controlled by a monarch who had the nation under strict rules. Then, in 1850, as democracy had become prevalant, the rules of music dropped and the Romantic Era rolled in. This era was all about freedom and cultural identity. Eventually, as society become even more free and more expressive, so did the music. Now, in the 20th century era, we have music unlike we would ever think. The amount of leniency in the music today is astounding, and you have an enormous variety of sounds to select from. This reflects our individualistic society. What's the next step, you ask? I can't say, but when the next step does come, look to music to see what it truly is.

Similar Images

I recently wrote a song on the piano that is slow, full of arpegiated chords, and shows emotions well. When I hear it, I personally think of a person riding in a car during a storm. My grandmother thought of rain in general. My mom and dad both thought about a gandola paddling slowly in Venice. The odd thing is, we all pictured some form of water. Why is it that one song can paint 4 similar pictures in 4 very different people's minds? Is it that everything just has a natural music to it? Or is it just the movies that played certain types of music with certain events sticking in our minds? These are some deep questions to think about. Next time you hear a song, don't just listen to the music, but envision, feel, taste, even smell the music. You'll be suprised at all you can get from just one song.

In Depth Influences

I've asked many people how music influences their lives. Usually I get "music makes me happy because I enjoy it....." That's fine, but only scratching the surface. One person said that it inspired creative thinking. Now that got me thinking. I looked back onto how I think while listening to music. I thought that I just got lost in the music and ignored reality, but a second glance showed the truth. I think deeper, come to better conclusion, and get my best ideas from music.

So have an open mind. Don't go to music only as a refuge from reality, but as a place to collect your thoughts and put them in an organized manner. This is the most productive way to solve a problem.

Music Similarities Cont.

I know this should have been part of the last post, but I was thinking last night and saw another large connection between music and another part of life.

About a month ago, I was in metal shop class. Now, I'm not normally very tactile, so I'm dreading another 40 minutes of welding and cutting metal. However, metal work and music have a lot in common. One thing that particularly stuck out to me was the difference between adhesion and cohesion. Adhesion is where you melt one metal over 2 other to hold them together. However, it is a very weak bond. Cohesion is where you melt 2 metals together to make one solid object that has a very strong bond. This is similar to an overture from a play. It gives pieces of all the music in the play or in the act in one song. It uses cohesion, not adhesion. It doesn't give on song, then a crummy filler, then the next. It uses a stronger bond, by melding everyone of the songs together.

This is just another example that shows that you shouldn't label yourself as good at one thing, not at another. Everything is the same, only in a different form. Therefore, you can do and achieve anything you wish.

Music similarities

Music.  Its power is quite phenominal, yet also widely overlooked.  What makes a movie scary?  Music.  What makes a boring car ride entertaining?  Music.  

Music is in everything we do, in every one of our senses.  Most people are only familiar with music of the ear, but it is much more than that.  Music of sight is art.  Cool colors are a minor, lower sounding song, while bright vibrant colors are an upbeat and loud musical piece.  Music of touch is texture.  Each bump is a different interval between musical notes.  The more rough the texture is, the choppier the music is.  Music of taste is a dish of food.  Spicy foods are louder, faster, while sweet foods are a lovely arpegio in the mouth.  Music of smell is a fragrance.  The more pungent the smell, the more dramatic the music is.  A mild smell is more like a soft, slow, beatiful piece.  

We as a society label ourselves: "Oh, I'm not musical."  However, everyone has music in them. I recently read a book on Quantum Physics  called "Taking the Quantum Leap" (which I highly recommend) which explained that all matter is just a pulse on a wave. What is music than a pulse on a sound wave?  And does that mean that we are, in fact, a music of a different form?  

The thing I'm really trying to strike at,  by using music, is that by making a seperation between ourselves and something else, we completely misunderstand it. Everything is the same, just in different forms.  And we must expand our mind of thinking to this if we are to go any further into the future.

Music Meaning

Hello!  This is my first entry in this blog, so I'll just let you know what this blog is about.  It's about Music, its meaning, and its relationship to life.  I will be posting about the influence music has on people, and its similarity to other things in this world.