Most Americans Are Missing Out

[protectionist]

Most Americans with college degrees consider themselves well-educated. I don't. I find most of them unable to play a single bar of a single song or tune, on any musical instrument.

For those who have no interest in music, I can understand their non-participation. These folks however, are a tiny minority. When asked if they like music, almost all say they do. Yet, at the same time, they choose to be nothing more than listeners.

These people are missing out on one of the great treasures in life. Sure, it requires some effort and bits of time, but these are easily worthwhile, relative to the lifelong reward of the enjoyment of playing your own music.

Some people do have other hobbies and may say I'm missing out by not doing what they do. (carpentry, flying a plane, etc). That may be true. But here now, I'm just talking about playing music.

Since most people do like music, they ought to buy an instrument, and take some lessons to get started. Soon, they will wonder why they didn't do that years ago.

 

[Tijn Von Ingersleben]

Most Americans with college degrees consider themselves well-educated. I don't. I find most of them unable to play a single bar of a single song or tune, on any musical instrument.

For those who have no interest in music, I can understand their non-participation. These folks however, are a tiny minority. When asked if they like music, almost all say they do. Yet, at the same time, they choose to be nothing more than listeners.

These people are missing out on one of the great treasures in life. Sure, it requires some effort and bits of time, but these are easily worthwhile, relative to the lifelong reward of the enjoyment of playing your own music.

Some people do have other hobbies and may say I'm missing out by not doing what they do. (carpentry, flying a plane, etc). That may be true. But here now, I'm just talking about playing music.

Since most people do like music, they ought to buy an instrument, and take some lessons to get started. Soon, they will wonder why they didn't do that years ago.

I like movies too...don't know a single thing about the process of making one. I like animals...know nothing about veterinary science. I like going to museums and looking at the different works...couldn't paint a thing.

 

[protectionist]

Most Americans with college degrees consider themselves well-educated. I don't. I find most of them unable to play a single bar of a single song or tune, on any musical instrument.

For those who have no interest in music, I can understand their non-participation. These folks however, are a tiny minority. When asked if they like music, almost all say they do. Yet, at the same time, they choose to be nothing more than listeners.

These people are missing out on one of the great treasures in life. Sure, it requires some effort and bits of time, but these are easily worthwhile, relative to the lifelong reward of the enjoyment of playing your own music.

Some people do have other hobbies and may say I'm missing out by not doing what they do. (carpentry, flying a plane, etc). That may be true. But here now, I'm just talking about playing music.

Since most people do like music, they ought to buy an instrument, and take some lessons to get started. Soon, they will wonder why they didn't do that years ago.

I like movies too...don't know a single thing about the process of making one. I like animals...know nothing about veterinary science. I like going to museums and looking at the different works...couldn't paint a thing.

 

[Gdjjr]

Most Americans with college degrees consider themselves well-educated. I don't. I find most of them unable to play a single bar of a single song or tune, on any musical instrument.

That's not really comparing apples to apples- education is merely knowledge- making music is not something everyone is gifted with no matter how much they wanna be- knowledge OF music makes one educated IN music- learning to play an instrument so you can play the music someone else created doesn't make you better educated- it means you wanted to learn to play an instrument-

One man's trash is another man's treasure- BTW, well-educated (rather ambiguous) means they had the tenacity to stick to it to get someone to pat them on the back or maybe give them a sheep skin saying they achieved x, y and z-

 

[EvilCat Breath]

Idiot savants play music. One just won America's Got Talent. Playing a musical instrument has nothing to do with education. Dance, art, fashion design have nothing to do with education. It's something that you do - or not.

 

[protectionist]

Most Americans with college degrees consider themselves well-educated. I don't. I find most of them unable to play a single bar of a single song or tune, on any musical instrument.

That's not really comparing apples to apples- education is merely knowledge- making music is not something everyone is gifted with no matter how much they wanna be- knowledge OF music makes one educated IN music- learning to play an instrument so you can play the music someone else created doesn't make you better educated- it means you wanted to learn to play an instrument-

One man's trash is another man's treasure- BTW, well-educated (rather ambiguous) means they had the tenacity to stick to it to get someone to pat them on the back or maybe give them a sheep skin saying they achieved x, y and z-

Hmm. Looks like I might have hit a raw nerve here. The educated part of the OP wasn't meant to be a major part of it at all. If anybody feels they are well-educated without playing a musical instrument, OK. Everybody's entitled to see things how they do.

The main idea of this thread is simply about OPPORTUNITY. That is the opportunity to add to your life an enjoyable hobby, and the loss of a rewarding facet of life in overlooking it.

The idea that one must be gifted to play music is simply false. I'm a music teacher, and I see people who love listening to music, claim they couldn't play it. I hand them my mandolin, show them some notes of a tune, and they are playing it immediately.

If you like to listen to music, and your fingers are functional, you can play.

 

[justoffal]

Most Americans with college degrees consider themselves well-educated. I don't. I find most of them unable to play a single bar of a single song or tune, on any musical instrument.

That's not really comparing apples to apples- education is merely knowledge- making music is not something everyone is gifted with no matter how much they wanna be- knowledge OF music makes one educated IN music- learning to play an instrument so you can play the music someone else created doesn't make you better educated- it means you wanted to learn to play an instrument-

One man's trash is another man's treasure- BTW, well-educated (rather ambiguous) means they had the tenacity to stick to it to get someone to pat them on the back or maybe give them a sheep skin saying they achieved x, y and z-

Hmm. Looks like I might have hit a raw nerve here. The educated part of the OP wasn't meant to be a major part of it at all. If anybody feels they are well-educated without playing a musical instrument, OK. Everybody's entitled to see things how they do.

The main idea of this thread is simply about OPPORTUNITY. That is the opportunity to add to your life an enjoyable hobby, and the loss of a rewarding facet of life in overlooking it.

The idea that one must be gifted to play music is simply false. I'm a music teacher, and I see people who love listening to music, claim they couldn't play it. I hand them my mandolin, show them some notes of a tune, and they are playing it immediately.

If you like to listen to music, and your fingers are functional, you can play.

I actually doubt that you hit anything. It was a good top post though. For what it's worth I like you believe that society grossly underestimate the genius behind music making. It's fairly evident that Mozart had an extremely high IQ and probably would have been a virtuoso in any field he decided to pursue.

Jo

 

[Gdjjr]

Hmm. Looks like I might have hit a raw nerve here.

Nope- I'm self educated- I also used to play guitar and I've written a few songs- I played piano in my pre-teens- I reference lines form songs I've heard fairly often- I still say; one man's trash is another man's treasure.

 

[protectionist]

I still say; one man's trash is another man's treasure.

Sure, but what does that have to do with the idea/topic of this thread ?

 

[Gdjjr]

Sure, but what does that have to do with the idea/topic of this thread ?

Not everyone believes as you do- how hard is that to understand?

 

[protectionist]

Most Americans with college degrees consider themselves well-educated. I don't. I find most of them unable to play a single bar of a single song or tune, on any musical instrument.

That's not really comparing apples to apples- education is merely knowledge- making music is not something everyone is gifted with no matter how much they wanna be- knowledge OF music makes one educated IN music- learning to play an instrument so you can play the music someone else created doesn't make you better educated- it means you wanted to learn to play an instrument-

One man's trash is another man's treasure- BTW, well-educated (rather ambiguous) means they had the tenacity to stick to it to get someone to pat them on the back or maybe give them a sheep skin saying they achieved x, y and z-

Hmm. Looks like I might have hit a raw nerve here. The educated part of the OP wasn't meant to be a major part of it at all. If anybody feels they are well-educated without playing a musical instrument, OK. Everybody's entitled to see things how they do.

The main idea of this thread is simply about OPPORTUNITY. That is the opportunity to add to your life an enjoyable hobby, and the loss of a rewarding facet of life in overlooking it.

The idea that one must be gifted to play music is simply false. I'm a music teacher, and I see people who love listening to music, claim they couldn't play it. I hand them my mandolin, show them some notes of a tune, and they are playing it immediately.

If you like to listen to music, and your fingers are functional, you can play.

I actually doubt that you hit anything. It was a good top post though. For what it's worth I like you believe that society grossly underestimate the genius behind music making. It's fairly evident that Mozart had an extremely high IQ and probably would have been a virtuoso in any field he decided to pursue.

Jo

While I admire the playing of music by anyone, I don't really see playing the songs/tunes that others created as genius. I admire it as doing something very worthwhile, that took effort to acquire the skill.

I see it as a skill that most people could develop, even to a high level, if only they would try, and be persistent.

 

[protectionist]

Sure, but what does that have to do with the idea/topic of this thread ?

Not everyone believes as you do- how hard is that to understand?

Frankly, no, I don't understand. I don't know what you're talking about.

I'm talking about the set of people WHO DO believe as I do. Who, like me, like listening to music, and like the idea of playing it. Do you understand THAT ?

 

[Bob Blaylock]

Hmm. Looks like I might have hit a raw nerve here.

No, you just posted a really, really dumb OP, based on a really, really dumb premise.

And then, from that starting point, you went on to cast aspersions at other people's education, just because they don't happen to be blessed with one specific talent.

Does it hurt to be this stupid? It ought to.

 

[protectionist]

Hmm. Looks like I might have hit a raw nerve here.

No, you just posted a really, really dumb OP, based on a really, really dumb premise.

And then, from that starting point, you went on to cast aspersions at other people's education, just because they don't happen to be blessed with one specific talent.

Does it hurt to be this stupid? It ought to.

Stop talking to your mirror. Yes, I hit a raw nerve, all right. YOURS. Where you can't stand it to think that you aren't fully educated, because of your pitiful inability to play any musical instrument.

You can't stand the idea that you're a hopeless, incompetent dum dum, who can't do what we could teach a monkey to do. That's really where these negative posts are coming from. Musical zeros, who were confident of their illustrious college gobbledegook, up until now, when I just knocked the ground out from under them.

Oh, you got a violin for Christmas, Bobby, did you ? And you quickly took it to a pawn shop, knowing you had no hope of ever mastering it. And with the money you got for it, you went out and got yourself a terrific tambourine. Have fun with it.

 

[protectionist]

For those wanting to learn the violin, yes it is a very difficult instrument to play, as are all the bowed instruments.

It would help you all to know that it can ease your load a great deal by acquiring a mandolin, in addition to your violin. Since the mandolin and violin both have the same tuning, (for those right-handed), left hand finger patterns are the same on both instruments.

So you can learn a tune relatively easily on the mandolin, and then just transfer that over to the violin, now being able to concentrate more on the bow.

If you are going to use the mandolin just for this, a cheap ($50) instrument will suffice, and do the job well. You might find though, that the mandolin is quite an impressive instrument in it's own right, and you'll be inclined to buy a better quality (all solid wood) one, at some point.

 

[Tijn Von Ingersleben]

Most Americans with college degrees consider themselves well-educated. I don't. I find most of them unable to play a single bar of a single song or tune, on any musical instrument.

For those who have no interest in music, I can understand their non-participation. These folks however, are a tiny minority. When asked if they like music, almost all say they do. Yet, at the same time, they choose to be nothing more than listeners.

These people are missing out on one of the great treasures in life. Sure, it requires some effort and bits of time, but these are easily worthwhile, relative to the lifelong reward of the enjoyment of playing your own music.

Some people do have other hobbies and may say I'm missing out by not doing what they do. (carpentry, flying a plane, etc). That may be true. But here now, I'm just talking about playing music.

Since most people do like music, they ought to buy an instrument, and take some lessons to get started. Soon, they will wonder why they didn't do that years ago.

I like movies too...don't know a single thing about the process of making one. I like animals...know nothing about veterinary science. I like going to museums and looking at the different works...couldn't paint a thing.

Enjoyment of art does not require the participation in it. We can appreciate beauty without creating it.

 

[protectionist]

Most Americans with college degrees consider themselves well-educated. I don't. I find most of them unable to play a single bar of a single song or tune, on any musical instrument.

For those who have no interest in music, I can understand their non-participation. These folks however, are a tiny minority. When asked if they like music, almost all say they do. Yet, at the same time, they choose to be nothing more than listeners.

These people are missing out on one of the great treasures in life. Sure, it requires some effort and bits of time, but these are easily worthwhile, relative to the lifelong reward of the enjoyment of playing your own music.

Some people do have other hobbies and may say I'm missing out by not doing what they do. (carpentry, flying a plane, etc). That may be true. But here now, I'm just talking about playing music.

Since most people do like music, they ought to buy an instrument, and take some lessons to get started. Soon, they will wonder why they didn't do that years ago.

I like movies too...don't know a single thing about the process of making one. I like animals...know nothing about veterinary science. I like going to museums and looking at the different works...couldn't paint a thing.

Enjoyment of art does not require the participation in it. We can appreciate beauty without creating it.

Of course. So what does that have to do with the topic of this thread ?

 

[Tijn Von Ingersleben]

Title? Content of your post. You cite education and lack of participation in the playing of music as If it were lazy...or a waste of time. This is not the case at all. Appreciation of something does not require active participation in it. We miss out on nothing.

 

[protectionist]

Title? Content of your post. You cite education and lack of participation in the playing of music as If it were lazy...or a waste of time. This is not the case at all. Appreciation of something does not require active participation in it. We miss out on nothing.

FALSE! You miss out on one of the
great treasures of human life. Of course you can appreciate music from listening to it. Nobody's saying you can't.

What I'm saying is that without playing music, you are missing out on the additional appreciation of music that playing it provides, which deals with the hands and whole upper body, more than just the ears.

It also brings a major sense of accomplishment and the ability to produce music yourself, thereby entertaining yourself and others.

It would take a great ability to play music, to realize the difference between simply listening to music, and both listening AND playing it. Musicians know this.

For those who don't play, and want to, an ought to, know this difference, it's simple. Become a musician.

 

[Bob Blaylock]

Stop talking to your mirror. Yes, I hit a raw nerve, all right. YOURS. Where you can't stand it to think that you aren't fully educated, because of your pitiful inability to play any musical instrument.

In my youth, I tried to learn to play a clarinet. I took lessons, and everything.

Though I was able to get the technical aspects of operating the device, it became clear that I wasn't meant to be a musician. I have many great talents, but music is not among them. I have no doubt that I have talents that are at least as valuable as playing a musical instrument, that you do not have.

Perhaps it is you who are “uneducated”, because you don't have some of my talents.