Listen and Learn
(Head of Brass and Percussion,
Royal Welsh College of Music Drama)
Royal Welsh College of Music Drama)
Music
is my addiction. My role as Head of Brass and Percussion at RWCMD provides many
opportunities to listen to live music every day, either in concert or in an
exam situation. In addition, my children are all choristers. This means that my
life is punctuated with the joy of live music, covering a massive range of
styles and genres. This luxurious situation means that my iPod remains mostly
unused.
Imagine
what it must have been like before recorded music, when live concerts, military
occasions and church services were the main ways of hearing an orchestra, choir
or band. It must have been like eating Christmas dinner after weeks of living
on bread and water. In many ways I imagine that this must have heightened the
senses and created permanent musical memories for audiences and for performers.
In many ways, this has been lost in our age of recorded sound and online
resources. Music has become almost “disposable” and we tend to “snack” on the
array of musical treats that are constantly available to us, rather than to
“feast” on a rare and wonderful live concert.
A
surprising side-effect of our unlimited supply of recorded sound is also
emerging; musical hallucinations. I have a colleague called Dr. Victor Aziz, a psychiatrist at St. Cadoc's Hospital in Wales. He
belongs to a group of psychiatrists and neurologists who investigate this area.
They suspect that over-exposure to recorded sound can result in malfunctioning
brain networks that normally allow us to perceive music. Put simply; our brains
start to filter the sound as “unwanted noise”. We are all familiar with
shopping or eating out whilst “piped” music is being played. Before long, we
stop “hearing” the music. This is bad for musicians in exactly the same way
that constantly snacking on junk food is bad for your physical health.
Before you throw away your iPod and recycle
your headphones in horror, consider trying to balance “recorded” and “live”
musical experiences instead. For the price of a CD, you can hear a great orchestra,
choir or band. What’s more, you will see real human beings dealing with real
nerves, making real mistakes and producing real excitement which cannot be
repeated. In addition, it is sociable and a lot of fun.
Concert halls, cathedrals and some churches provide this unique
experience which is collective and yet still private. Our interpretation and
response to music is totally dependent upon the subjective experience of the
listener, coupled with the spontaneity (and sometimes luck!) of the performers.
Few experiences in modern society are shared in this way.
Sadly, music is so easily consumed in the privacy of our homes and
headphones that it is becoming increasingly difficult to lure an audience to
the concert hall. As musicians, we need to safeguard the future, by getting out
there and hearing music “for real”. It’s also good for your mental and
emotional health. The next time that you are considering buying a CD or
downloading a recording, have a little think about the price of a concert
ticket and the permanent lessons and memories that will be gained from seeing
and hearing real people in a real concert hall. Stop snacking… feasting is a
lot more fun!
LINKS
A useful article on
