In defense of music theory -- it seems to me (as someone who has taught it mostly to performers for 25 years) that a primary function is help people's brains become aware of what their ear already knows. (I know, it all happens in the brain . . . guess I'm talking left-brain, right-brain -- oops that is too simplistic for biologists these days).
One can speak and write without having studied grammar. But doesn't understanding grammar give one more power and control over words, especially if ones autodidactic approach isn't bearing fruit (one of my teachers used to say that the problems with autodidacts is that they had bad teachers). To paraphrase Milton Babbitt, one may always choose to keep oneself ignorant of the constraints under which one works. That is OK for some, but not for others. As for the argument that music that sounds good IS good -- well of course. But does that mean that your own tastes are universal? And does that mean that it is impossible to acquire an appreciation and affection over time? Haven't any of you hated something the first time, only to come to love it? Like with food -- the first taste of strong-smelling cheese, or of brandy, or of fine wine, often results in a wonder how anyone could like it. Maybe Duke Ellington should have said: if it sounds good to me right now, it is good to me right now. And anyway, his comment was to argue for inclusiveness. Let's not twist his words to use them to exclude anyone from the "good music" club. And why are people so quick to wish to condemn a particular composer or stylistic approach, claiming some means of determining -- maybe through science, maybe through esthetic argument -- whether something is universally good or bad? The literature world is large enough for James Joyce and for Danielle Steele. Why can't the music world be large enough for all composers whose music inspires affection in someone other than themselves? I hate it when people tell me I don't need to understand what I'm doing (music theory), or that I can't possibly find anything redeeming in music I love. David Froom _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
