Friday, March 27, 2009

Zero Hour mentions the fact that many of those who would become great musicians were young survivors of World War Two. Today, we hear music from artists who have been similarly changed by trauma, and more often than not, their music has an impact on us. Do you think that a person with an amazing inborn talent for music could ever have the same impact on our ears as a person who was a survivor of war or other trauma?

I'm not sure which would be better. It seems like a person with a talent for music would be a better musician, but would that person have the same...heart, if you will? Something to make the music just that much more expressive? What's the difference between a trained musician and one who expresses themselves solely through their own created works?

Also mentioned was the censorship imposed by Americans on post-war German music. After all that had happened during the war, do you think it was right that America decided to do this? I'm not sure. For one, it seems all well and good to try to keep a lid on overtly Nazi-supporting aspects of a half-ruined culture, but, after the war, Germany was occupied by at least four countries, reeling from the loss of their leader, and struggling to rebuild towns and cities destroyed by bombing. I'm not sure that they really had the power to make such threats--especially through music.

13 comments:

  1. I think the difference would be a new perspective on life. When you go through a trumatic experince you gain new perspectives and learn to value things a lot more. However, I also agree with your statement about having "heart" in their music, but I believe even someone who hasn't gone through a trumatic experince can have that kind of passion. I don't think there is an answer as to which musician would be the best. Either way there are good quailties it is just a matter of how well they express themselves through thier work.

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  2. I agree. Music is a special way to reflect the society. As you mentioned, German music changes with German history. During the period when Hitler was the leader, Germany seemed a powerful country that would never be defeated in the wars. So at that time, German music was so impassioned that can be used in army. But after World War II, the country became weaker and was divided into several parts, which causes the current musicians composed slow and flat melody that let people feel a little bit sad. In a word, it is a good book and tells us many things behind the melody.

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  3. Not unlike most musicians, both a musical prodigy and a traumatized musician impact their listening audience differently depending on his or her emotional state during the time he or she composed and played the piece. Besides the dissimilar teaching styles, there is no difference between a trained musician and a self-taught musician. The sole difference between a trained musician and a self-taught musician is that a trained musician is an individual who learned music from someone else whereas a self-taught musician is an individual who teaches him or herself. As a result, a trained musician is not confined to performing others’ works but has the ability to create and play their own compositions. In addition, a self-taught musician can perform music that is not their own. Because I have no prior knowledge of post-war German music censorship, I cannot make an informed opinion and state whether or not I agree with the decision of the United States to restrict German music.

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  4. I think you are right in saying that a person who has a born talent will not have the same passion as someone who has survived a traumatic experience. I believe the survivors have more of an impact on their listeners because they have more passion for their music. They have a dedication and a committment to their music that they transfer through their music to their listeners. Through this transfer there is more of a connection between the artist and the audience. When people open up to one another, they form a new and special bond that goes beyond music.

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  5. I believe that a person with natural musical abilities will create pieces of music that are beautiful to the ear as well as someone that has experienced a trauma or is a survivor of war. I believe this to be true because everyone has a different perception of others musical abilities therefore who the music appeals too wil vary as well. Experiences in life, whether good or bad, create avenues through which artist express themselves.
    I think the difference between a trained musician and one who expresses themselves through their own created work is the ways in which they create the music and how the music will make the person that hears it feel. The audience that receives the music will vary as well as the emotions and relevance they will associate the verses to in their own lives.

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  6. I agree with alot that has already been stated by others. I feel that all musicians interact and reach their audiences differently. It doesnt matter if you have been trained by a professional or self taught. If you have a true passion for music then the idea or expression that you want to be portrayed by your piece will be displayed. As a musican myself I have been trained on the saxophone but I taught myself how to play the piano and I am passionate about both. I write songs on both. Music is purely an art. You cant go up to a painter and tell them that they are painting wrong or that they used the wrong color. Every one has their preference when it comes to music so every musician will have their own audience.

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  7. I agree with all that has been stated above. Musicians create based on their life experiences, so if there is a vetran of war musician, his work will definitely be different than someone who has never experienced the tragedy of it. All musicians have passion which is conveyed and transformed into emotions felt by the audience, its just that this passion has different origins and appeals to different people. I do not think that the banning of german music was a good thing to do. I understand that America was greatly affected by the war, and I can understand why they would do it, however its taking away the opportunity to enjoy a type of art, which is unfair. The music should not be judged by where it comes from, or who made it.

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  8. Being a musician myself, I have always been observant of the difference between the performances of trained musicians and those with natural musical talent. I think that trained musicians performances often lack one aspect, emotion. Personally, I think that people who have a natural talent for music, and pursue further education about music, for example, those who know how to play music but don't know how to read music, are the most talented of them all. Music that has emotion is the most expressive in my opinion. However, I do believe that trained musicians can develop the emotion needed. I have seen many people who love what they do so much that they develop emotion that allows them to perform with the extra umph that makes the performance unique and relatable.

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  9. I definietley feel that music is a way to express and convey any particular experience, like poetry. I agree that a person who has been through trauma has a new perspective, but it doesn;t draw away from a musician who has an innate talent. The only difference is that the person who has suffered trauma has passion from experience that they can express. A person with talent and no passion cannot connect with the audeince in my opinion.

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  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  11. I agree with what everyone has stated. Music to me helps me explain experiences. And people who are musicians use their music to get across a point, its beautiful. I do agree with Syreeta about how you need passion to get you music across, when I had to play the clarinet I hated it because my teachers just wanted you to play the song well, and it is not a fun to be just part of a mass, its better to be an individual as a group where people can recognize your talent.
    -Amanda

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  12. To answer one of the topics presented, I believe that every human being goes through difficult times. Some artists may have been born into music and it was more readily available to them, but we really dont know every single detail of their life. I think we are so prone to identify with that persons music because we have found that little igniting spark of sentiment that the artist has sewn into the song. The artists whom survived the war were very passionate about things more difficult for us to understand because we were not present, nor were we dirctly affected. This is not to say, however, that it is impossible to understand.

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  13. I think that a trained musician and a non trained musician artist are the same. One is driven by emotion and the other knows the technique. I think that musicians are creative in their own way. No matter their background or training they will still be great at whatever they do.

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