They Didn't Laugh When I Sat Down to Play

As an undergrad taking many courses outside my major, I have to agree -- in fact those courses were stimulating enough that I decided to acquire another major on the way. I'm lucky never to have faced disapproval from professors -- if anything they are supportive of someone from 'outside' being curious about their subject.

Many of my most engaging and rewarding composition students have been the non-majors. My Intro To Comp class is specifically for undergrad non-comp music majors. I get a lot of music tech people in there, and their homework is usually among the most creative and fun and conceptually rich. They also like that I accept studio pieces that aren't notated in any way, and they can submit them as MP3s by e-mail.

I've had a critical writing major do very well in my class. She did occasionally have to put notes on a page, but mostly she found ways of addressing the current subject - chance procedures, music as process, etc. - in word pieces that demonstrated she knew what I was talking about.

Last year I had a film directing major in the class, and his comments and insights, especially regarding the films of John Cassavetes, really enriched the dicsussion of several of our topics in ways that are beyond what my own expertise can bring.

"Bring on the non-majors", say I.

But then, I was a percussion major all through school, so all the composition I did was extra-curricular.

So, what was wrong with your playing?

KG replies: Beats me.

If it's any consolation, Kyle, let me relate a story about AI pioneer Herbert Simon, the only person to win both a Nobel Prize in Economics and a Turing Award (the equivalent of a Nobel in Computer Science). Despite his great fame, and despite the pressures on his time, apparently Simon would always agree to supervise MSc and PhD students whom his fellow faculty had rejected as being too weak. Lots of second-rank students owe their graduation to his unstinting time and devotion.

Ah, Beethoven's Op. 90. Seriously under-rated, and more modern than most people realize. Dissonant chords abound in the first movement, yet the second is sehr-romantic. Interesting that Davis would care perhaps a little too much for the 8-th note silence. However, the momentum of the first two (albeit same) chords sets the tone and pace of the the whole work (not unlike a similar moment in a minor-key Schubert Sonata that is also a tad unkown).

wait, kyle!!!!
did you ever think that he was moved by the beauty and tenderness of your playing?
chin up,
daniel

KG replies: Yeah, I tried out that theory.

Call me a mutant. It's so megabitchin' that this professor could actually cry in front of someone else -- and all because of a piece of music. That's the lesson I would've taken from that whole incident. Here was this world-class pianist/professor who wasn't afraid to weep in front of another guy! Wow. What a great lesson: keep your heart open, ditch the macho crap, and never worry what other folks think. That is so insanely cool.