nemesis wrote:

> I too lack artistic skills and go for "copy".  My /modus operandi/ is: 
> whenever I see a great picture, I try to reproduce it.  I fail more 
> often than anything, sure... :)

I do the same thing with music.

You show me a piece of music, and I can tell you exactly why it works 
and why it sounds cool. But you show me a blank piece of paper and I'm 
like "hmm, what would sound cool?"

I think I'm basically too much of an automaton to be creative. :-(

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> You show me a piece of music, and I can tell you exactly why it works 
> and why it sounds cool. But you show me a blank piece of paper and I'm 
> like "hmm, what would sound cool?"

There's a book called "This is your brain on music" that's actually very 
interesting. I got half way thru it and then left it in the hotel, and I 
never bought it again. But it's all about what you might call the technology 
of music itself (not creating music, but why scales work and stuff). It kind 
of goes about answering the question "why does everyone use the same scales" 
and such.  "Why does this form of music sound sad, and what distinguishes it 
from happy music."  Etc.

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   I ordered stamps from Zazzle that read "Place Stamp Here".

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>> You show me a piece of music, and I can tell you exactly why it works 
>> and why it sounds cool. But you show me a blank piece of paper and I'm 
>> like "hmm, what would sound cool?"
> 
> There's a book called "This is your brain on music" that's actually very 
> interesting. I got half way thru it and then left it in the hotel, and I 
> never bought it again. But it's all about what you might call the 
> technology of music itself (not creating music, but why scales work and 
> stuff). It kind of goes about answering the question "why does everyone 
> use the same scales" and such.  "Why does this form of music sound sad, 
> and what distinguishes it from happy music."  Etc.

Chromatic scales, diatonic scales, pentatonic scales, Pythagorean 
tuning, equal-tempered tuning, harmonic series, the circle of fifths, 
major and minor scales... it's amazing what you can pick up if your 
bored but curious.

And FWIW, not everybody uses the same scales. (Particularly people you 
wouldn't class as "Westerners".)

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> And FWIW, not everybody uses the same scales. (Particularly people you 
> wouldn't class as "Westerners".)

Everyone uses the same octaves, and everyone partitions the octave in the 
same ratios, even if they have different points where they say "that's a note."

Anyway, I only got halfway thru the book, so I might be misrepresenting 
something a bit. But it was an interesting book.

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   I ordered stamps from Zazzle that read "Place Stamp Here".

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Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>>> You show me a piece of music, and I can tell you exactly why it works 
>>> and why it sounds cool. But you show me a blank piece of paper and 
>>> I'm like "hmm, what would sound cool?"

We're performers, not writers. ;)

>> "why does everyone use the same scales" and such.  "Why does this form 
>> of music sound sad, and what distinguishes it from happy music."  Etc.

It's the balance between harmonic tensions and relaxations present in 
adjacent intervals.  In minor scale modes, points of tensions are 
positioned a little bit earlier in the scale than in major (happy) scales.

Of course, rhythm might have a say on this too... :)

> Chromatic scales, diatonic scales, pentatonic scales, Pythagorean 
> tuning, equal-tempered tuning, harmonic series, the circle of fifths, 
> major and minor scales... it's amazing what you can pick up if your 
> bored but curious.

I don't think that has to do with boredom.  Whichever field you choose 
for hobby or career, you're likely to want to know more about it, its 
history, techniques etc.

> And FWIW, not everybody uses the same scales. (Particularly people you 
> wouldn't class as "Westerners".)

They use theirs (particularly the pentatonic). ;)

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