MUSIC THOUGHTS FROM ANDREW LLOYD FRY

Classical Music, Other Andrew Fry Classical Music, Other Andrew Fry

A SCATTERING OF MUSIC THOUGHTS

-When jazz musicians get finished with their gig they get together to jam. When classical musicians get finished with their gig they go home.

-Classical music was born in the church because that is where music notation originated.

-Bach regularly had his music performed in a coffee shop and at home concerts.

-Classical music has never learned to balance the budget, and is only surviving because of donations from people who think classical music is “good for us”.

-What unifies almost all American music (jazz, rap, pop, rock country ect.) is a rhythmic feel where beats two and four are accented. For some reason classical music has completely avoided this idea.

-Spotify gets over 100,000 songs uploaded to it every day.

-Music is now not only playing while shopping at stores but is now increasingly being played in parking lots.

-The church is one of the few establishments that has clung to regular live music.

-The average age of a classical music fan is 55 and up.

-After Bach’s death, his scores were being used as paper to wrap up meat.

-Since 2000 most art has gone through a process of decentralization of power (the indie movement). Classical music has been almost completely untouched by this movement and is still regulated by contest, grants, committees, and commissions.

-Spotify pays artist .003 per a song stream.

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SOME THOUGHTS ON THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MAKING ART

We dream of art validating our identity 

This is an illusion

Most of the time we will not receive extravagant praise 

And when we do it just makes us want it more

Like drinking water but you just keep more thirsty

We are special because we make art 

This is a lie

Because our unique humanity/specialness is so much deeper than what we make

This is a super shallow definition of what makes a human worthy

We feel like if people reject what we make they are rejecting us 

This is a lie

In sharing art

The default mode is self focus 

I want praise

The healthy mode is I am a servant and I want this to bless you

Why does making art feel so embarrassing for adults

It seems to be a underlying expectation that if you are an adult making something

You are a professional and if your not thats embarrassing

This is a lie

At our core we want love

Making art is not the way to get it

It is a way to give love

We are free when our identities are not on the line

When we don’t give other people the power to tell us who we are

By their response to the things we created

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DAILY RITUALS

I love Mason Curry’s book daily rituals. If I was in it this is what it would say.

7:00-8:00 wake up

8:00-9:00 breakfast and coffee

9:00-9:30 time with kids

9:30-10:00 prayer

10:00-12:00 compose/write

12:00-1:00 lunch

1:00-3:00 time with kids/practical/clean

3:00-4:00 Feka

4:00-8:00 teach piano lessons

8:00-10:00 eat/family time/read/tea/listen to music

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THE ADVENT OF RECORDED MUSIC

It is strange how recorded music has forever altered our experience and relationship with music. We are saturated with it more than ever before and in equal and inverse proportions listening with less and less attention.

It is strange how recorded music has forever altered our experience and relationship with music. We are saturated with it more than ever before and in equal and inverse proportions listening with less and less attention. If feels as if we have traded an in person conversation for a long distance phone call, that is going on all day, while we are trying to cook, clean, talk to other people, drive, work, ect.

For me it’s defiantly something I am thankful for as 98% of the music I have listened to and enjoy is recorded but it has its hidden curse. And the curse is this, when supply is plentiful it drives down the value, less value equals less attention, with less attention comes less hearing, till some point in the future we will no longer have the capacity to hear it any more.

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