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Re Term ” Classical Musicians Are Purists”?
Filed in Category - Learn To Play Hymns
I , of course, know what the word ‘purist’ means.
I am asking if there are different meanings to the term
‘purist’ to different groups. Could mean classical musicians endeavor to
play only as written, perfectly. Could mean play only classical music.
I play mostly not classical. I play hymns and some fake music. I would like to play some of the easy listening such as “Bring in the Clowns” or
“Have I Told You Lately That I Love You.”
“Endless Love” “Don’t Know Much.” I like that genre, also.
I also love Bluegrass but piano doesn’t get into that. I am working on guitar. Would love to be young again and learn classical guitar in addition to piano.
If I attempt to play classical, I try to play exactly as written, which of course, takes more practice. I can sometimes sit down and play a hymn
without practicing it because I heard it ten million times.
Probably literally ten million times. So the timing is sort of built in. I also have a natural sense of rhythm and timing. I mess with it at times trying different
chords, and inversions of chords.
However, classical takes a lot more practice due to
not have counted it before, etc. Also, I do not want to alter it. It is altered greatly until I get it right. Please don’t think
I am deliberately altering it. Really stop listening when I try to practice something I do not know. LOL
The last two years around Christmas, in Nov. probably
I have worked on Carol of the Bells. Looks so easy.
Is not to me. I have half way mastered maybe half of it, in some ways. I must work on the timing intensely, next year.
Maybe I will work on it all year. I know that approach is wrong. Should work on it measures by measures, and timing and all of it at once.
I am getting ready to start practicing in earnest. (Yes. I know, no one sentence paragraphs. So… this makes it three.)
Tell me how you practice? Do you play the entire song at once? I find I do better , as the man said, to break it down into pieces. However, I want to play the entire song..conflict there.
Do you practice as a ‘purist’? Don’t mix the genres?
Does it matter?
2 Comments so far
And your question is…….. ?
I think you would have to be deaf, dumb, and blind not to be aware of other “genres” of music besides purely “classical.” Classical today is defined, to me, primarily by the instruments and ensembles which perform it, and the manner in which it is composed.
I can definitely answer the part about practicing. As a cellist, I spent many years working up pieces. As a child (and I think would be advisable for an adult), I began with only half an hour’s practice a day. More would tax your muscles and cause injury. Later, I built up to an hour a day, two hours a day, three or four hours a day, six hours a day, etc. Of course, I spent extra time in ensembles such as quartets and orchestras. Additional physical exercise, such as cardio work, walking, and moderate strength training complements your musical exercises.
You have to have a method to your madness. Ideally, classical musicians learn how a piece is INTENDED to sound and practice the technique necessary to produce that sound. Then, they add their own interpretation. The idea is to be versatile. Yo-Yo Ma is a prime example of this type of versatile and highly skilled musician who crosses genres. Sometimes, his music borders on composition, as it is so original. So, he is a “purist” who is, in fact, an originator.
A good way to practice technique is to use different etudes which focus on varied fingering, rhythms, etc. Also, focus on passage work in whatever piece you are using….and mix up the rhythms on the written page. This will get your reflexes working and will make you learn the original rhythm inside-out.