RN Academy

Building Elements

What I've described is thus far only theoretical - just a mindset that will lend itself to building long-term expertise on the reso.  If we learn to listen critically to music, taking care to dissect what we hear into discreet logical portions, then we can approach musical learning as an explicit hierarchy of concepts.  I've stressed the importance of physical mastery, and while I think such achievement should be a prerequisite, there can be some benefit to dabbling in the practice of establishing a hierarchy.  Everyone learns differently and at varying paces.  Some will benefit from slight detours in physical training, some will only slow themselves down.

The hierarchy of elements represent layers in conceptual organization of musical components, with the base being the most fundamental skills and each layer up the chain building on the elements of the previous.

The base should represent our entire array of moves (licks) broken into the smallest segments - moves - we can define.  We then use those segments to construct the next layer of more complex chains - spans - which are used to build and apply to a particular musical context - series -  which can be used to build a phrase in the next highest layer, which will be the building blocks for a break or fill - the top layer components.

Once a break or fill is established, further reexamination in the context of each layer (move, span, series, phrase) can reveal areas for reuse (using the exact same phrase in a different context), transposition (using the same phrase in terms of intervals in a different key), or shifting (using the interval pattern on a different portion of the same scale in the same key) - which is a tremendously effective way to build your vocabulary.

Playing Music - Thought/Action

Spoken language seems to come easier than developing musical skill.  We have far more compelling motivation to learn to speak in that our survival depends on it to a large degree - whereas a musical skill in most cases is a volitional skill inessential to our survival.  Another key difference is the instrument.  The human voice is incredibly more complex than a guitar, but there is no physical disconnect between the brain and the voice.  Using our voice is muscle memory just like playing a guitar, but our sensory access is far more intimate.  Our vocal system is an integrated and specialized physiological group set up to do a specific purpose.  To the contrary, musical instruments are designed to perform with the anatomical features required to stimulate them as only an afterthought.  Herein lies the introduction of the physical barrier we must overcome in order to develop a musical skill.  Only through extensive muscle memory can be mitigate the disconnect between our brains and an instrument.

Playing a musical instrument is the combined result of thought and action.  The thought/mental component is made up of all the brain work that goes into processing the sensory data we perceive, considering it, and translating our logical or emotional response into physical action.  The logical component of our response is driven by a tremendous number-crunching affair which serves as an usher leading us to the appropriate aisle in our mind.  The aisle contains our custom catalog of associated musical knowledge.   Whether the correct aisle exists and the quality of what we find there are determined by our previously understood and integrated musical experience. 

To make the operation even more complex, the ushering is under the influence of another powerful force - emotion.

Our emotions are lightning-fast calculators in response to our values.  In the case of music such values are based on the style of music, our connection to its heritage or roots, how it appeals to our rhythmic sense, the physiological reaction to the tension of dissonance and the relief of consonance.  There are certainly some psychologically oriented factors that engage us with a particular music, but as a musician we add on top of such layers the additional introspection, processing, and response according to our musical aptitude.

While the emotional component is very hard (not impossible) to change, the mental and physical barriers are not.

Musical Perception - Learn To Listen/Listen To Learn

When we hear music, we are using our ears to decode variations in air pressure into concepts which we then either integrate into, or simply acknowledge the existence of within, our consciousness.  When we hear a pattern or timbre of noise we classify it in our brains according to its associative entity (dog, airplane, banjo).  In the same way that a compiled programming language is initially examined very thoroughly (compiled), and after which it's recognized (because it's now integrated) and processed with only a fraction of the intensity as it was initially - sounds are examined (processed) heavily when first encountered and given less attention on subsequent encounters.  A variation in any of the acoustic properties of the sound can trigger a heavier examination by our brains.  That specific variation is integrated and will sound more familiar to us at next encounter.  Such pattern of compilation (on the initial examination) and integration (stored for later processing) is exactly why musicians with innovative aspects to their musical style demand our attention.  If we choose to listen to them, our brains must process the data as it's perceived. 

If it sounds different, we can't help but to notice it.  I once had a Brazilian roommate who frequently spoke in Portuguese during lengthy phone conversations.  Even with substantial background noise, I found it nearly impossible (earplugs) to tune-out their dialogue.  The phonetics, cadence and vocabulary of Portuguese demanded to be processed with a high-priority flag since they were foreign to me.  When my roommate resumed the conversation in English it wouldn't distract me.   Music is processed in the same manner.

Thinking Elementally - A Hierarchy Of Music

Considering music elementally means to refine our perspective of sound into an explicitly organized hierarchy of musical elements.  Here, the word "element" refers to the different components of sound or physical motion that a player uses to express a musical idea.  An element can be examined in isolation—for example, a simple thumb movement—or as it is integrated into an idea as complex as an entire musical compostion.  Breaking down music into these smaller chunks of action allows us to have more fine grained access to their purpose, execution and refinement. 

Music being essentially another language, thinking elementally is similar to breaking down our written language into its more fundamental parts - sentences, phrases, words, letters and sounds.  Music theory is to musicians what grammar is to writers.

To make the parallel explicit:

    Tones are letters, notes are syllables, phrases are words, scales are grammar, rhythm is cadence and music is an athletic language.

Consider the sentence: "Reso-Nation is an online community for reso-enthusiasts."  Effective communication of this information depends on a substantial amount of integrated knowledge.  At its most fundamental level, there is an expression of some concept to be made, and the written form presented here is the tangible expression.  The expression can only be as effective and comprehensible as the underlying thought.  If the concept isn't well defined, or at all, then the expression is degraded by default. 

Consider the underlying concept (dis)organized in a less integrated manner: "Res o-Nat ion isonlin ecomm unityfor reso- sias ts?"  Effective expression of the same concept is now virtually impossible.  The expression of conceptual data is a complex skill set in itself.  If the conceptual data isn't fully organized, understood and integrated, even the most adept communicator will struggle for  understanding. 

In order for one to correctly organize the above concept, first it has to be conceptually pure and effectively integrated.  Amongst other vast amounts of underlying knowledge, one would have to be aware of an entity referred to as Reso-Nation, and understand the meaning of the online, the concept of a community, the meaning and significance of the prefix reso and the meaning of the word enthusiast.

One could understand the gist of the phrase and perhaps even correctly use it in context, but until such phrase is understood in its entirety then its value as a linguistic asset isn't fully achieved.

Musical knowledge faces the same conceptual requirements.  A note, phrase or melody is only useful to the extent that the musician understands its full meaning and appropriate context.  Many aspiring musicians get frustrated because they're attempting to consume, understand and express muscial ideas as jumbled mysterious phrases like the disorganized example above.