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Originally Posted by Andy
Music is easy, but bonsai is hard
From one rather relevant standpoint, composing a piece of music is a piece-o-cake compared to creating a beautiful and evocative bonsai.
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I think the analogy comparing musical composition and bonsai is quite apt. I'm not so sure though that in some areas it was dealt with
evenly on both sides.
I believe we all can point to examples why bonsai is difficult. One defense of that ("why bonsai is more difficult than all the other arts") routinely (as well as in this article) is that we're dealing with a changing medium. We only have as much potential as the material we select. Some of that potential is hidden and some of it is never realized because of that (and the decisions we make.) Bonsai is not easy. Theres so much craft that is required that doesn't deal in any way with art. (Watering, fertilizing, root pruning...) ...Andy has done a better job explaining the intricacies and difficulties than I ever will.
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Originally Posted by Andy
For example, imagine a composer who has written a quiet and solemn piece, but the performing drummer and bass player will only play polka beats. It's kind’a hard to deal with that, but that’s often the situation that the bonsai artist is presented when designing a bonsai. In such a case, no amount of technique alone can address the situation adequately. Only with artistry can one solve such a conundrum.
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I think that this analogy is a bit skewed. I'd question why the composer CHOSE the drummer and bass player from Bob's Polka Palace. He limited himself immediately and wouldn't have been wise to attempt a solemn piece with said musicians. Most of the time composers have little choice in who plays their music. Its generally the musicians that choose the composer's work, or their director rather than the other way around.
Just as many discussions lately have centered on choosing the best material, if the composer were given the same lee-way in the quote above he'd most likely choose another more appropriate duo.
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Originally Posted by Andy
However, very few musicians are composers.
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If we're talking orchestral musicians it seems apparent that this is true. Orchestras can have upwards of 100 musicians, but rarely more than 1 composer (per song...) I'd think though that if these people (musicians) were devoting their life to music at some point in time they've composed their own songs, their own music. There are probably a few symphonies that have never been played or never been heard by anyone besides the composer-musician.
I hesitate to say that I had a musical background. I was a band nerd coming up in school. I can't say that I was ever inclined to really compose/design/write music; I simply wasn't that good. I did spend some time with others (not just in school, but a few semi-pro's) that were more skilled and talented than I. Almost without fail they had a "piece" that they'd been working on. More often than not it sounded pretty good, but again, thats only my opinion and I've mentioned my credentials.
Spend some time with anyone (specifically a teenager) who's learning to play guitar. You'll be inundated with, "Hey, wanna hear something" or, "I wrote this. Tell me how it sounds." Drummers are dying to compose and they all have a favorite cadence.
I believe anyone who sticks with music long enough to be considered a musician probably does it because they've not lost the passion that they had the first time they played a note or banged one out. (I on the other hand must not have ever really had that passion.) I don't think they'd ever lose their desire to create their own music either. I'd submit that they simply don't have the audience that they're afforded in a group (where the ratio of musician to composer is more akin to reference quoted above.)
Andy made a lot of really good points. I agree with him more often than I don't. I just thought I'd point out a few things that stuck out as either inaccurate or unfair. Sorry for replying to a post that is 2+ years old.