Krautrock

What would be the ideal diving point into Popul Vuh's discography or one should just listen from the debut? Regarding German films, and this is off topic, but I really liked Fritz Lang though he worked in the halcyon silent era.

Was Dusseldorf a major center from where multiple kraut rock bands originated? La Dusseldorf is one that comes to my mind.

And that just shows why so many folks dumped classical music and are playing in rock or jazz bands. And it explains the majority of the keyboard players that we love dearly ... Keith would be laughed at and trashed if he brought a score to a professor of TARKUS ... because it would be thought of as inconsistent, with sections that did not flow and connect well ... and then in the hands of someone else on piano almost 50 years later? An astounding piano concerto, but no one on PA will see that, I don't think!

They were snobs. But there's open minded people everywhere. Many classically trained keyboardists I knew in the 70s loved Tarkus and spent hours learning how to play it. They certainly realized that the Classical community was full of snobbery...they had to deal with it everyday.

There are all kinds of music snobs. They make my skin crawl. There are stupid snobs.. they walk in on you as you practice and say..."Well...I can tell when you're making a mistake" I'm suppose to be making mistakes because I'm practicing...NOT PERFORMING. They are conceded individuals. Music is not a stunt car driver on the track. Gymnastics fall into play sometimes but that doesn't mean you can't put some feeling into it. I don't like guitar battles...or cutting heads. It's not music! It's a macho game between musicians competing to see who is most clever.

In the music business there are band leaders who try to buy you. They need a guitarist to play The Eagles, CCR, etc...Southern Rock and they act as if John Fogerty is Mozart . All you have to do is be honest by saying that you don't prefer the style and you suddenly become this bad person in their eyes. Why? Because Fogerty is the messiah. It's ridiculous! "Oh it's a red flag if you don't like CCR. " No it is not! That's called honesty.

When band leaders try to control their band members it's narcissistic. Music is free spirited . It never follows one particular path. Their taste is as such that signature lines played by CAMEL make them vomit. They'd rather hear 3 chord Swamp Rock and praise it like a religion. Their position is moronic. They are fixated on picking apart anybody that plays like John McLaughlin or George Benson. They are the opposite spectrum from Classical snobs..or Jazz snobs...nevertheless the point being that music is an art form not a game that narcissists apply to their own agenda...

Hi,

Practice is only as good as the individual depends on it ... but, with my experience in acting with actors, and complete improvisation, I will change this comment to something different ... practice is dependent on your ability to concentrate, and sometimes, practicing 10 hours is a sign that this person's interest and commitment to a piece of music, is a problem ... otherwise the player would pick it up much better and easier.

I don't see this being strongly true . Or perhaps your description of this applies mostly to rare cases. I grew up in a Classical family. What practice meant was improvement overtime.

An example would be perhaps learning a strange but beautiful Mozart piece that is melodic and intricate. You learn the piece from the manuscript then you memorize the piece and toss the manuscript away or put it on file for a reference guide. Now the piece is in your head. The question is...how will you interpret the piece? Will you add embellishments? Will you get creative with the piece or will you insist on playing the same way everytime?...which is exacting to the manuscript.

For example you listen to a recording of yourself age 20 playing that piece and you are age 40 something now and hear the improvement in yourself. When you play the piece now it's like a waterfall of notes. It sounds universal now where before it just sounded like a musician with good technique...but robotic...or afraid to walk alone. Practice and performing develops independence. If you don't practice much you'll have less chance in discovering your abilities...for example the one's that you wish to expand on. You can discover them through performing improvisation workshops . Some of these workshops I participated in introduced more spontaneity in playing Egyptian music. Improvising Egyptian style alongside hearing other kinds of instruments. Wind instruments for example. Musicians blending together or improvising while people danced or even meditated. But....hell..we all practiced for hours at home. Everybody practiced for hours to develop daily independence