In high school I hated history. It was my least favorite subject. I remember almost all of my history teachers because I disliked how they taught. I disliked how they tested us. I disliked everything about their class. We focused on stuff that, to me, was random and unrelated and boring. We had so much memorizing and lecturing and recalling dates. I was sure that I didn’t like the subject of history.
Now that’s different. I don’t hate history.
I love learning about music history. It’s so interesting to me to hear how different musicians influenced other musicians and how music evolved in different parts of the world.
In college I was required to take two music history classes where we studied European classical music history. I loved those classes. They weren’t easy, but they were enjoyable. Thank you Dennis Leclaire at Berklee College of Music. He taught in a way that was interesting. He lectured and we had to memorize dates like my other history classes, but we listened to music. He explained how styles of music spread to other areas and how musical styles changed. He played examples in class so we could actually hear them. We got to read music in class and analyze music in class.
It became relatable and fun. I got to see how older music developed into modern music and as a fan of modern classical music and film music it was related to something I already knew about.
Since then I’ve been more interested in other historical events because I can imagine what types of music people likely would’ve been hearing at the time. It made learning about different time periods more human and relatable. I listen to music all the time, and if I can imagine what music people would’ve heard in a specific time period I can better imagine what it would’ve been like to live in that time period. It wasn’t the subject that I disliked. It was the teaching methods.
When I was in high school I let this teacher ruin the subject of history for me. I thought the subject was the problem, but it was the teacher.
I just needed to find out what aspects of history were engaging to me. I like to think that’s the case for most people and most subjects. Just find the right area of that subject
Learning something simply to learn it can be incredibly gratifying. It can be very satisfying and fulfilling. But one of the things, to me, that makes it so satisfying and gratifying is that there isn’t a purpose other than to learn.
Learning about something just because you personally want to is what makes it gratifying. It’s pure curiosity.
Unfortunately I think many schools dissuade students from doing this, or throw so much “work” at students that they don’t realize that they could enjoy the subject.
This happened to me with a number of subjects. When I was younger I thought I didn’t enjoy reading, but I later found out that I’d just never found books that I enjoyed.
I see this happen fairly often with young people because they’re pushed to read “challenging” books and books “at grade level.” But if those same people simply read books that they enjoyed they’d get much better.
Learning simply to learn will help you learn much better. You’re learning at your own pace and without a purpose. It’s just for the enjoyment of learning. As far as I’ve noticed you’ll likely remember more details too because it’s simply for fun. There’s no pressure or stress or anxiety to be able to perform your knowledge, unlike in schools.
Even if it’s something small, like learning to play chess, it’s a worthwhile endeavor to learn simply to learn.
I think some of the best advice is often boring advice. It’s standard. It’s not sexy.
But it’s still good advice.
For example: playing an instrument for 30 minutes everyday will get you a lot better.
Do that for 3 years and you’ll have practice 547.5 hours. Now, you might not be amazing at playing after that, but you’ll definitely be significantly better than when you started.
But that’s not sexy advice.
Sexy advice is “This one trick will make you 300% better at playing!”
Unfortunately that one trick likely won’t make you 300% better.
If you find that trick, please send it to me because I’m still looking.
When learning we often expect ourselves to understand everything quickly. Immediately we want to understand a new concept, even if it’s a field that we’re incredibly uneducated and uninformed in.
That’s not the case.
You won’t pick up everything quickly. Even if it’s a field you’re familiar and well educated in, you won’t pick up everything quickly, and expecting this of yourself won’t help you learn more quickly. If anything it’ll cause stress when you can’t learn quickly, and will probably cause you to learn more slowly.
Give yourself think time.
Think time is time to process what you’re learning. In the classroom that might mean giving the students about 30 seconds before you ask the class a question. And then giving the students a minute to think of an answer to that question before calling on students for answers. While learning by yourself it might mean giving yourself a few minutes after learning a new idea to process and think about the idea before moving on.
It might mean taking a break while practicing or working on something. Giving yourself a break to process what you were working on and rest from concentrating.
Think time can change a lot about the learning process.
I don’t mean that being creative and making things and finding new ways of combining old ideas is over-rated.
But original ideas, or supposedly “original” ideas are over-rated. Firstly, a lot of ideas that are thought of as original, in music at least, aren’t actually knew. Avant-garde musicians have been making music with tons of new and unique ideas for ages. Many ideas that are thought of as “original” in mainstream music aren’t all that original.
Being truly “original” means being avant-garde. If that’s the music you want to make, then go make that music. If you’re not making avant-garde music, originality is over-rated.
This doesn’t mean that the formerly “original” ideas aren’t good. They might not be original, but they’re often using old ideas in new ways or combining two ideas that haven’t often been combined.
Even if the ideas themselves are old, combining two ideas that haven’t been combined before, or combining them in a new way, can make for great discoveries.
So find two ideas to put together. The end result might sound original even if the ideas themselves are not.
I write almost all of my music out by hand before ever making a sequence or opening up a DAW.
I love using Reason and Pro Tools, but they’re not musical programs. They don’t feel creative.
The piano and a piece of manuscript paper feels creative.
So I write music out by hand at the piano (or in some cases away from the piano).
It allows me to sit and think about the music a little more. I can consider what sounds I want before putting anything on paper. It slows the process down a little bit. Writing notes takes some extra time than sequencing at least for me.
It also forces me to think a little harder because I have to imagine the end product, rather than hearing it right away. It takes more mental energy for me, which causes me to write music that is more authentic and meaningful for me.
Something else that I think is more important than people think it is; I enjoy doing it. I enjoy sitting at the piano and writing music out by hand with a paper and pencil.
So find a specific way of writing that you enjoy because enjoying the act that you’re doing matters.
This is a big question I know, but as someone that works in a school it’s something I think needs to be asked, but often isn’t asked. Or when it’s asked, it’s asked quickly and not much thought is put into the answer so the answers end up being, “because it’s useful”, or, “because that’s what school is.” Both of those answers don’t really answer the question.
Often schools just run mechanically because so much has already been decided by administrators and curriculum designers and by government organizations (for public schools) or by church organizations (for religious schools). They often run mechanically because so many people don’t ask this question*.
What is education for? Why exactly are the students learning what they’re learning? What is the purpose of learning the material and doing the assignments?
Is it because they are learning valuable life skills? Or is it because learning is a worthwhile thing to do? Maybe it’s to stay informed about the world around you and think more critically. Maybe it’s to better appreciate pieces of art, films, or music when you experience them. Maybe it’s to improve interpersonal skills and better work as part of a team. Maybe it’s to be creative. Maybe it’s just an enjoyable activity. Whatever the reason that needs to be decided.
But one reason that doesn’t make any sense is, “because this is how it’s always been?” That doesn’t answer the question.
As a music educator I think learning about music is worthwhile for it’s own sake. Learning music is worthwhile because it’s an interesting subject. It’s also worthwhile because it allows you to more deeply and more fully appreciate and understand music when you listen to it. Learning about music changes the way you listen to music. It changes and enhances any concerts that you might go to.
In addition to all of this it allows you to better critique and understand the culture around you. Understanding how music works helps you understand how blues music relates to jazz music and how hip-hop relates to jazz music. It helps you understand the history of specific events better because of the music that was written either during that time, or in response to that event.
But often these questions go unanswered for whatever reason and busy work is assigned. Which ends up hurting the quality of the education and the quality of the experience for the students and the teachers.
*I do want to add a caveat to this because I do realize that a lot of these problems could be much more easily fixed with more funding allocated towards schools. Smaller class sizes, better pay, more teachers, better technology, and better professional development would help schools operate a whole lot better.
While listening to Akimbo, Seth Godin’s podcast, Seth Godin mentioned that creativity is a skill. It takes practice to be able to think of ideas and solutions to problems.
Relating this to music, I notice this a lot while teaching improvisation.
Making up melodies and lines and things to play while soloing isn’t something that people that are new to improvising are well versed in. It takes practice to think of things to play.
This can be mitigated by giving yourself some type of restriction. Use only notes from one scale; sometimes even going further and using only three notes or so. Use just guide tones and try to make something interesting. That’s only two notes per chord.
This makes it easier to think of things to play, but it still takes practice.
After you think of one solo to play using guide tones, for example, think of four more. Think of a whole bunch of different ideas that you can use.
The point isn’t to play five amazing solos. The point is to just play five solos; good or bad doesn’t matter. Just get five more solos played and practiced and improvised. Just doing that’ll help you think of more ideas for the next solo you play.
You’re not just working on learning guide tones, but also working on thinking of lines to play. You’re practicing the skill of creativity; the skill of thinking up ideas.
The more you do it, even with different restrictions, the easier it’ll become.