Most Americans Are Missing Out

[protectionist]

Iv

Take some lessons and make that Takamine come alive. Oh come on,. You can't put 3 chords together? Can't combine just a few notes to play a very simple tune ?

LOL. I have taken lessons. I can play. I just do not enjoy it that much. I am a bit tone deaf anyway. I will just leave it until I can find someone who I think would really appreciate the guitar. I won it in a raffle so it isn't like I wasted money on it.

Hard to imagine not enjoying playing the guitar. Try Beatle songs. They have really nice chord progression
Neil Young is another good one.
Or get together with bluegrass musicians (banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dobro)

I've made two attempts to play the guitar. One in my youth and the other in retirement. Both times I came to the realization that music is not among my talents ie I suck at it.

BTW I think Neil Young sucks. He has just one song I can tolerate, the rest I detest. The asshole ruined CS&N for me.

To each his own. I like Neil Young,s songs, even though I don't like his high voice. He was a good friend of Trump too, at one time. Maybe still is.

Google Image Result for https://townsquare.media/site/295/files/2015/06/Trump-and-Neil-630x420.jpg?w=980&q=75

To each his own. I suppose some like rap crap too but I can't stand it.

Rap is not music.

 

[Weatherman2020]

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.

This is the age of instant gratification. If millennials need more than an hour to master something besides a video game, it ain’t happening.

 

[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.

It's a gift, that not all people are gifted with.... some like me, are meant to simply be good listeners!

My husband is musically gifted, song writer, guitarist, pianist, singer....an all around musician... And is an artist and poet... He got all the creative talent! I'm a numbers person, love mathematics and statistics and analysis.... of which he is weak at, or gets bored with....

We make a good team!

Anybody can play an instrument. All they need to do is try. I'm with Edison on this.

Trust me, I've tried.... first piano though it was more like a child's playtoy organ, that had numbers on each key, so you read numbers to play instead of notes.... I was about 6 years old, and because I was born a numbers person, to this very day I can play Silent Night, by number.... 5 6 5 3, 5 6 5 3, 9 9 7, 8 8 5......



Then I tried Clarinet, parents bought me one, took lessons, a no go with that too.....

Then my parents bought me a guitar around 11 and I tried, with lessons and a girlfriend and her father who played tried to help.... but no cigar... just couldn't do it well, so lost interest....

I believe musical talent is something that you're either born with or you just don't have it and you never will regardless of how much you practice or how a hard you try. Even if you bust your ass, you'll never get beyond mediocre. This explains idiot savants like Mozart who could just sit down and play, compose and it came out of thin air. There are numerous examples of natural musical talent almost anyone who ever made it big had it. But my gifts lie in other areas like electronics for example. To me electronics made infinite sense from an early age so I was really good at it. However, music just never made any sense to me not the theory, harmony or notation. I could never get it. It was always just so much senseless gibberish and incomprehensible nonsense to my mind. They say there is a strong correlation between music and math but for me math made sense but music while enjoyable is utter nonsense on the technical level. In short, you've either got it or you don't. And I think the same is true of most fields of human endeavor regardless of what field or specialty it may be.

Maybe I'll try to make an instructional video for the mandolin, and post it here. It will show the 8 notes (octave) of the major scale, which (depending on which strings you play) can be either of 3 different keys.

It is so easy that when I show it to my students, they say "Oh, I can do THAT"

 

[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.

This is the age of instant gratification. If millennials need more than an hour to master something besides a video game, it ain’t happening.

THEIR loss. But it shouldn't take them more than a MINUTE. Seriously.

 

[Disir]

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.

So..............how much are the lessons?

 

[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.

So..............how much are the lessons?

They are rather expensive, but weil worth it, as what they produce for you will extend over your whole life time.

I get $25/hour from one company I work with, and $30/hour from another (when students come to my home-$34/ hour if I drive to them). You would pay bit more than this, since the referral companies have to get their share.

When students come directly to me, the referral companies in never involved, I charge $30/hour.

These are low end prices, as teachers typically charge about $50/hour, and I've seen one as high as $83/hour.

 

[Care4all]

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.

It's a gift, that not all people are gifted with.... some like me, are meant to simply be good listeners!

My husband is musically gifted, song writer, guitarist, pianist, singer....an all around musician... And is an artist and poet... He got all the creative talent! I'm a numbers person, love mathematics and statistics and analysis.... of which he is weak at, or gets bored with....

We make a good team!

Anybody can play an instrument. All they need to do is try. I'm with Edison on this.

Trust me, I've tried.... first piano though it was more like a child's playtoy organ, that had numbers on each key, so you read numbers to play instead of notes.... I was about 6 years old, and because I was born a numbers person, to this very day I can play Silent Night, by number.... 5 6 5 3, 5 6 5 3, 9 9 7, 8 8 5......



Then I tried Clarinet, parents bought me one, took lessons, a no go with that too.....

Then my parents bought me a guitar around 11 and I tried, with lessons and a girlfriend and her father who played tried to help.... but no cigar... just couldn't do it well, so lost interest....

I believe musical talent is something that you're either born with or you just don't have it and you never will regardless of how much you practice or how a hard you try. Even if you bust your ass, you'll never get beyond mediocre. This explains idiot savants like Mozart who could just sit down and play, compose and it came out of thin air. There are numerous examples of natural musical talent almost anyone who ever made it big had it. But my gifts lie in other areas like electronics for example. To me electronics made infinite sense from an early age so I was really good at it. However, music just never made any sense to me not the theory, harmony or notation. I could never get it. It was always just so much senseless gibberish and incomprehensible nonsense to my mind. They say there is a strong correlation between music and math but for me math made sense but music while enjoyable is utter nonsense on the technical level. In short, you've either got it or you don't. And I think the same is true of most fields of human endeavor regardless of what field or specialty it may be.

There is zero relationship to math and music in my head... I am all in to numbers, mostly analysis...What are the statistical numbers of any given thing, telling us and how to predict the future, from the analysis of the past....mostly merchandising... predicting sales, and making or buying the right product, to fill those future sales.....it really is a numbers game, spotting trends.....

I have ZERO musical abilities and also find it a waste of time for me. My husband has enough musical talent for the both of us, and he was born with it! I was not.

 

[Dick Foster]

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.

It's a gift, that not all people are gifted with.... some like me, are meant to simply be good listeners!

My husband is musically gifted, song writer, guitarist, pianist, singer....an all around musician... And is an artist and poet... He got all the creative talent! I'm a numbers person, love mathematics and statistics and analysis.... of which he is weak at, or gets bored with....

We make a good team!

Anybody can play an instrument. All they need to do is try. I'm with Edison on this.

Trust me, I've tried.... first piano though it was more like a child's playtoy organ, that had numbers on each key, so you read numbers to play instead of notes.... I was about 6 years old, and because I was born a numbers person, to this very day I can play Silent Night, by number.... 5 6 5 3, 5 6 5 3, 9 9 7, 8 8 5......



Then I tried Clarinet, parents bought me one, took lessons, a no go with that too.....

Then my parents bought me a guitar around 11 and I tried, with lessons and a girlfriend and her father who played tried to help.... but no cigar... just couldn't do it well, so lost interest....

I believe musical talent is something that you're either born with or you just don't have it and you never will regardless of how much you practice or how a hard you try. Even if you bust your ass, you'll never get beyond mediocre. This explains idiot savants like Mozart who could just sit down and play, compose and it came out of thin air. There are numerous examples of natural musical talent almost anyone who ever made it big had it. But my gifts lie in other areas like electronics for example. To me electronics made infinite sense from an early age so I was really good at it. However, music just never made any sense to me not the theory, harmony or notation. I could never get it. It was always just so much senseless gibberish and incomprehensible nonsense to my mind. They say there is a strong correlation between music and math but for me math made sense but music while enjoyable is utter nonsense on the technical level. In short, you've either got it or you don't. And I think the same is true of most fields of human endeavor regardless of what field or specialty it may be.

Maybe I'll try to make an instructional video for the mandolin, and post it here. It will show the 8 notes (octave) of the major scale, which (depending on which strings you play) can be either of 3 different keys.

It is so easy that when I show it to my students, they say "Oh, I can do THAT"

Listen I can play a little and have a little bit of an ear. I also really do enjoy music but I'm much better appreciating it than attempting to create it.

 

[protectionist]

file:///C:/Users/CashAm/Downloads/WIN_20200205_23_41_56_Pro.mp4

Until I can come up with something better, this URL googled, will bring you the video I made showing easy scales and how to play a tune with it.

 

[beautress]

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?

You don't have to agree with protectionist, GDjjr, but you might change your mind after you read this article, and this study is well-documented and has been affirmed by other scientists worldwide:
Dementia news: Learning to play a musical instrument can protect the brain

Jun 02, 2017 · Dementia news: Learning to play a musical instrument can protect the brain LEARNING to play a musical instrument can protect the brain and ward off age-related decreases in mental health.​

I lost my wonderful husband to dementia 3 1/2 years ago, and one day, he just didn't wake up from his nap.
I wish I'd known about how learning new musical instruments might have extended his precious life. I miss him terribly.

 

[beautress]

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.

It's a gift, that not all people are gifted with.... some like me, are meant to simply be good listeners!

My husband is musically gifted, song writer, guitarist, pianist, singer....an all around musician... And is an artist and poet... He got all the creative talent! I'm a numbers person, love mathematics and statistics and analysis.... of which he is weak at, or gets bored with....

We make a good team!

Anybody can play an instrument. All they need to do is try. I'm with Edison on this.

Trust me, I've tried.... first piano though it was more like a child's playtoy organ, that had numbers on each key, so you read numbers to play instead of notes.... I was about 6 years old, and because I was born a numbers person, to this very day I can play Silent Night, by number.... 5 6 5 3, 5 6 5 3, 9 9 7, 8 8 5......



Then I tried Clarinet, parents bought me one, took lessons, a no go with that too.....

Then my parents bought me a guitar around 11 and I tried, with lessons and a girlfriend and her father who played tried to help.... but no cigar... just couldn't do it well, so lost interest....

I believe musical talent is something that you're either born with or you just don't have it and you never will regardless of how much you practice or how a hard you try. Even if you bust your ass, you'll never get beyond mediocre. This explains idiot savants like Mozart who could just sit down and play, compose and it came out of thin air. There are numerous examples of natural musical talent almost anyone who ever made it big had it. But my gifts lie in other areas like electronics for example. To me electronics made infinite sense from an early age so I was really good at it. However, music just never made any sense to me not the theory, harmony or notation. I could never get it. It was always just so much senseless gibberish and incomprehensible nonsense to my mind. They say there is a strong correlation between music and math but for me math made sense but music while enjoyable is utter nonsense on the technical level. In short, you've either got it or you don't. And I think the same is true of most fields of human endeavor regardless of what field or specialty it may be.

There is zero relationship to math and music in my head... I am all in to numbers, mostly analysis...What are the statistical numbers of any given thing, telling us and how to predict the future, from the analysis of the past....mostly merchandising... predicting sales, and making or buying the right product, to fill those future sales.....it really is a numbers game, spotting trends.....

I have ZERO musical abilities and also find it a waste of time for me. My husband has enough musical talent for the both of us, and he was born with it! I was not.

I think you're being a bit harsh on yourself, Care4all. From what I've read, people with mathematical minds make the bet musicians because they have excellent memories. I'll leave it at that, because it takes a will to want to do something before jumping in, even in the best smart mathematicians like you. So if you ever decided to want to, you'd be handily equipped due to all the other things that go along with having a mathematical mind. My dad taught advanced high school mathematics after his last military tour, both my blonde brothers were mechanical geniuses, and all I got out of the deal was this mousy brown hair that is slowly turning gray around the temples and top. <giggle> Oh, and I get nervous around slide rules, calculators and stuff, and stop spending money to make sure I don't ever bounce a check. lol And instead of buying a pattern, I just buy more fabric to make a quilt. hahaha! Some system, huh?

 

[Gdjjr]

You don't have to agree with protectionist, GDjjr, but you might change your mind after you read this article, and this study is well-documented and has been affirmed by other scientists worldwide:

You might not agree with me; but with over a billion people in the world and years of observation I say "not everybody feels or thinks the same way". Period. Whatever music may or may not do it is a subjective subject. Affirmation does not make repeatable tests. Everyone is wired differently. Being educated is immaterial to music like or dislike. Education IN music is not an affirmation ON music.
I LIKE music. I have used it myself as therapy by writing songs- I have turned to it when depressed to become more depressed. Necessity is the mother of invention- not everyone has the same necessity never mind the same desires.
Emotions are self serving. Intellectual conversation helps stimulate thought. Anecdotes are not hard evidence.

I'm not trying to be rude, I just detest authoritarian view points on ANY and EVERY thing. One size cannot fit all.

 

[Gdjjr]

Anecdote: I once enrolled at a Jr College for a class in Sociology as I've always been curious about what makes humans tick and after consulting with Counselors we determined Sociology would be a good place to start-

At the end of the first semester (and my last) I determined that college and I weren't on the same sheet of music (so to speak).
See, I thought, much to the instructors chagrin I guess, that giving my opinion meant giving MY opinion. Little did I know that's not what's meant.
The assignment: Write a paper on what you think would make the world a better place. I used music as my foundation and put forth my opinion. I got a C-. When I quizzed the instructor about the grade her reply was: Do you really believe that would work?

Thus began my long journey of more self education.

The point? It's not that I don't like music. However, opinions vary.

 

[protectionist]

You might not agree with me; but with over a billion people in the world and years of observation I say "not everybody feels or thinks the same way". Period. Whatever music may or may not do it is a subjective subject. Affirmation does not make repeatable tests. Everyone is wired differently. Being educated is immaterial to music like or dislike. Education IN music is not an affirmation ON music.
I LIKE music. I have used it myself as therapy by writing songs- I have turned to it when depressed to become more depressed. Necessity is the mother of invention- not everyone has the same necessity never mind the same desires.
Emotions are self serving. Intellectual conversation helps stimulate thought. Anecdotes are not hard evidence.

I'm not trying to be rude, I just detest authoritarian view points on ANY and EVERY thing. One size cannot fit all.

Are you claiming that I have submitted an "authoritarian view" here ?