kcl
Legend
Must be a musician thing hahaha
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Must be a musician thing hahaha
sneaklyfox
Legend
Maybe. What do you play?
kcl
Legend
French Horn, Violin, and the rest of the brass instruments. I can play viola and cello too but not very well..
slinky773
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That's a lot of instruments… I play cello and clarinet mainly. I CAN play flute (not well) piano (somewhat) and… that's about it.
sneaklyfox
Legend
Very cool. I guess violin is my main then piano is secondary main. Played flute, bassoon, oboe, trombone, quena, and chimes as well. I could still play chimes and trombone if I needed to now. I think I would get confused trying to play cello because I'm so used to violin... high notes on the right, low notes on the left...
kcl
Legend
Yeah, I'm decent with percussion.. I haven't done any Reed instruments. French Horn has replaced violin as my main, since my violin teacher had a baby and moved almost an hour from where I live. It's life, I suppose..
kcl
Legend
It's because I don't do any sports haha.. The only real 'sport' I do is distance biking, because people don't believe that competitive yoyoing is a sport..
Sorry for double post but the app doesn't let me edit posts for some reason!
sneaklyfox
Legend
I don't really call chimes (at least my type) "percussion" unless you also consider piano to be a percussion instrument as well. It's kind of like a big piano... not quite as many notes/bells as a carillon. A friend of mine played french horn. I never tried it myself though.
I'm not much into sports either though I was not too bad at badminton, enjoyed rock climbing, and was generally good playing defensive positions in team sports.
kcl
Legend
Yeah my mom is a professional pianist and she calls it a percussion instrument, so I do too.. I'm not BAD at sports. I just don't love them.. I'm cool with most that aren't contact sports.
sneaklyfox
Legend
Your mom's a professional pianist and you don't play piano??? Actually I thought it would have been fun to play football (normal contact style) where you'd have to actually tackle someone but they never let us at school... we always only played touch football and I thought that was boring. But yeah anyway, music's definitely my thing and sports isn't really. Us musicians... we're a different breed... that's why we're "weird".
kcl
Legend
It's very strange, I know. She's too far beyond the teaching level. Attempting to teach would make her frustrated, because the basics are automatic to her. My dad is a middle school choral director and also a fine pianist, but he works full time, so he can't teach. They decided to give me and my sister a choice of instrument, so we chose violin. Then I started French horn in middle school, and it became my main instrument because I prefer it and I played it better than violin after a year. So no piano for me.. I can dabble because I mix music but that's about it.. I don't care for football because the kids I've grown up with are *****ic, and I don't like the idea of being slammed into the ground. I don't see the point of bashing heads together and causing concussions. I know kids that have had like 5 concussions in the past year. And, smarter people tend to lean towards music. Not to say that jocks are exclusively dumb, I know some very smart but athletic people. But for the most part, people who choose music over sports are the type of people I like to hang around.
sneaklyfox
Legend
Well I can sort of understand that about your mom. It's like I don't really like teaching violin... I'm better at teaching piano... but then again piano is easier than violin. Still... I don't know if one can be "too far beyond teaching level" to teach basics to your kids. Certainly there are people who teach because they aren't good enough to be professional. But there are also plenty of professional performers who teach as well. Maybe your mom just isn't one of those teaching types. It's like how they say really great performers don't necessarily make good teachers and great teachers don't necessarily make good performers. Some can be both. I think violin is one of the hardest instruments to learn. I found all the band instruments *easy* to pick up. Sorry, couldn't figure out the cryptic word you put in the middle. Well I would tend to agree that the average musician is probably smarter than the average jock... but I definitely don't think of athlete's as dumb just because they have sports interests and there are also musicians who are not really smart. Either way, sporty or musically-minded, I'm more annoyed with people who think they are smarter than they really are. You probably like hanging around people who choose music over sports because of common interest, not because the sporty ones are "too dumb for you to hang around".
kcl
Legend
Not quoting because it will fill up too many pages. My mom has been playing piano for like 45 years now, and she isn't 50 for a few more years. She was accompanying for high school choirs when she was in second grade.. About sports and stuff. Yeah, I know a lot of smart athletes, I also know a ton of stupid athletes. That like to pick on the nerds like me and my friends. We don't care, but they aren't people we would pick to hang around. Some of my friends are very athletic too, though they all are big with music as well. So let me rephrase.. In MY school system, the general amount of kids who choose band over easier things are the smarter ones, with better grades. The people I know that are full out jock types often have mediocre grades and tend to slack off.. They also tend to be popular and often very rude. Not always though, there are nice ones too.
kcl
Legend
I hate double posting but I blah. You and I basically see the same view on many things. I know a lot of athletes who are very cocky and pretend to be geniuses. They make me mad. I know less intelligent people in band also, but they just do band for an easy grade..
YddEd
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Honestly I think I'm more interested about being a nerd
pipkiksass
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Just to play devil's advocate, although there clearly are trends in terms of intelligence/intellect and choice of recreational activities, there are always counter-examples (as with any rule).
For example, I went to a very good university, one of the best in the world. That university has a very active (and equally heavily subscribed) rugby team, boxing club, brass band society, choral society, etc..
Perhaps not every jock is pretending to be a genius. I'd argue that actually the level of confidence/arrogance that is required to succeed at team sports might make that person wear their intelligence in a different way to an equally intelligent band member, who might be more reserved about expressing their intellectual superiority.
Equally, some of the best and most naturally talented musicians I know are not intellectually 'gifted'. Perhaps this is because they are more creatively-minded, and so do not excel at mathematics and sciences, which are often used as yardsticks in most educational systems, perhaps not. I think there is a point to be made that not all musical skill is learnt; a large part of musical ability comes from innate senses which one either has or doesn't have, and can't be taught.
Ergo, some people will be musically talented from birth. Amongst these people, there will be more intelligent people and there will be less intelligent people. Some people will acquire musical talent through effort. The effort required to obtain these new skills means that the more hard-working and more motivated amongst school-age children are more likely to persist in hobbies such as music, and so become musically talented. Due to their hard-work at school, these children are likely to be amongst the more intelligent.
These are just arguments, they're not necessarily my point of view, just throwing them out there. You shouldn't pass up an offer of friendship with an arrogant jock who claims to be a genius, he might just be the most interesting person you never met!
For example, I went to a very good university, one of the best in the world. That university has a very active (and equally heavily subscribed) rugby team, boxing club, brass band society, choral society, etc..
Perhaps not every jock is pretending to be a genius. I'd argue that actually the level of confidence/arrogance that is required to succeed at team sports might make that person wear their intelligence in a different way to an equally intelligent band member, who might be more reserved about expressing their intellectual superiority.
Equally, some of the best and most naturally talented musicians I know are not intellectually 'gifted'. Perhaps this is because they are more creatively-minded, and so do not excel at mathematics and sciences, which are often used as yardsticks in most educational systems, perhaps not. I think there is a point to be made that not all musical skill is learnt; a large part of musical ability comes from innate senses which one either has or doesn't have, and can't be taught.
Ergo, some people will be musically talented from birth. Amongst these people, there will be more intelligent people and there will be less intelligent people. Some people will acquire musical talent through effort. The effort required to obtain these new skills means that the more hard-working and more motivated amongst school-age children are more likely to persist in hobbies such as music, and so become musically talented. Due to their hard-work at school, these children are likely to be amongst the more intelligent.
These are just arguments, they're not necessarily my point of view, just throwing them out there. You shouldn't pass up an offer of friendship with an arrogant jock who claims to be a genius, he might just be the most interesting person you never met!
sneaklyfox
Legend
I understand about your mom. Playing piano came so naturally to her that it is very hard to teach someone the basics because you wonder yourself exactly how you do it. It's like that with me and violin since it sounds like your mom started learning piano at about the same age I started learning violin. It's too bad about the athletes in your school.
Well from your writing you seem quite intelligent and more mature than others your age so I appreciate that. Funny, but I'm more annoyed with the musicians than the athletes who think they're something great. Maybe because I'm not sporty myself so I can respect an athlete's superior physical prowess. If they have to also boast about intelligence then I think it's too bad they probably feel insecure. On the other hand, semi-intelligent people who explicitly show off that they are smarter than the less intelligent people make me angry. And when it comes to music especially, I'm more mad probably because it's my thing and I'm more critical of what's actually good and what some people think is good. (Like, some performer thinks they are the awesomest and some other people think that person is really great too because they move around a lot with their body but when you close your eyes to listen to the performance it really is rather boring.) Of course, I usually keep my mouth shut unless someone asks for my honest opinion...
Honestly I think I'm more interested about being a nerd
Haha, yeah. Ever had people call you a "nerd" at school with the intention of annoying you ("nerd" as being akin to the opposite of "popular") and you thought it was a compliment?
I think when people age and mature they begin to realize that the nerds are going to come out on top in the end.
sneaklyfox
Legend
Oh yeah, I agree with you. I definitely recognize what you say. I don't like stereotypes and don't do that in person (label someone this or that). I guess how you measure intelligence is also something to be discussed. Like, now there are things like EQ (Emotional Quotient) and people even start measuring on specific abilities like creativity for example. You may be very good at languages but poor in math or vice versa. Usually it seems that the maths and sciences are used as the yardsticks, as you say. I don't think I would pass up an offer of friendship from anyone if I believed them to be sincere.
@pipkiksass: I'm rather curious now which university you attended...?
@kclejeune: I think you have a healthy pride in your mom which is nice to see. Parents of often proud of their kids and it's good to have it the other way around too.
Edit: I don't choose my friends based on intelligence. It doesn't really matter as long as we can talk, share, respect each other, etc.
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kcl
Legend
I don't just pass people up. I give everyone many many chances. However, I've grown up with most of these people and I have a fair idea of which ones are worth hanging with. And yes, being a nerd is most definitely a compliment in my opinion!
slinky773
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Where is Marcel, anyway? Wasn't this thread supposed to be about him haha
I never really noticed trends in my school's orchestra or band based on intelligence. The best players DID tend to be the most intelligent, but then again, there were other players who were very intelligent and didn't really do well.
Perhaps another factor in whether you do well in an instrument is not necessarily your intelligence, but your values. I knew a saxophonist in band didn't really see the value in the band constantly stopping during some rehearsals to fix certain areas; he just cared about playing instead of playing well. As such, most of the time during band he would goof off and talk to his friends or whatever, and **** off the band director. Our band director was awesome and didn't really dislike anyone in the band, and didn't pick on him for the most part unless he was, you know, slacking off, but our little saxophonist still hated him, all because he was lazy and didn't see the value in the hard work our director was putting on us. And so he never practiced and so he's not really very good to this day.
A similar kid (who happened to be my best friend) who played Bari Sax was possibly the smartest kid I know. I'm sure that if he tried to do, well, anything, he would succeed because of his intellect. He could probably be a genius. However, he's a lazy sonofa***** and 1. never does his homework and 2. never studies. He pulled a B without trying in all classes, which is about as much as he cared for every class. He also never practiced his bari sax, and that didn't do him too much good either.
Funny, as I'm typing this my mom's teaching a cello lesson upstairs in our house. I decided to play the cello because throughout my entire toddlerhood I constantly heard the songs of the cello and wanted to play them. And now I have to prepare Roman Carnival Overture and Brahms Symphony 1 Mov. 4 for a seating audition on the 24th for a youth orchestra in chicago… *sigh* it's hell I tell you, but the pieces are still fun so
As for my father, he only listens to classical music and has a masters in Conducting from Northwestern, as well as a masters in Music (I think?) from Seoul National. He used to compose pieces similar to Beethoven's Piano Sonatas. Some kids had Wayne Gretzky, and my dad had Beethoven as his childhood hero.
People say I inherited the music gene from them. I guess I'm pretty lucky, in that sense.
I never really noticed trends in my school's orchestra or band based on intelligence. The best players DID tend to be the most intelligent, but then again, there were other players who were very intelligent and didn't really do well.
Perhaps another factor in whether you do well in an instrument is not necessarily your intelligence, but your values. I knew a saxophonist in band didn't really see the value in the band constantly stopping during some rehearsals to fix certain areas; he just cared about playing instead of playing well. As such, most of the time during band he would goof off and talk to his friends or whatever, and **** off the band director. Our band director was awesome and didn't really dislike anyone in the band, and didn't pick on him for the most part unless he was, you know, slacking off, but our little saxophonist still hated him, all because he was lazy and didn't see the value in the hard work our director was putting on us. And so he never practiced and so he's not really very good to this day.
A similar kid (who happened to be my best friend) who played Bari Sax was possibly the smartest kid I know. I'm sure that if he tried to do, well, anything, he would succeed because of his intellect. He could probably be a genius. However, he's a lazy sonofa***** and 1. never does his homework and 2. never studies. He pulled a B without trying in all classes, which is about as much as he cared for every class. He also never practiced his bari sax, and that didn't do him too much good either.
Funny, as I'm typing this my mom's teaching a cello lesson upstairs in our house. I decided to play the cello because throughout my entire toddlerhood I constantly heard the songs of the cello and wanted to play them. And now I have to prepare Roman Carnival Overture and Brahms Symphony 1 Mov. 4 for a seating audition on the 24th for a youth orchestra in chicago… *sigh* it's hell I tell you, but the pieces are still fun so
As for my father, he only listens to classical music and has a masters in Conducting from Northwestern, as well as a masters in Music (I think?) from Seoul National. He used to compose pieces similar to Beethoven's Piano Sonatas. Some kids had Wayne Gretzky, and my dad had Beethoven as his childhood hero.
People say I inherited the music gene from them. I guess I'm pretty lucky, in that sense.
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