Ignoring the Notes (Exploring Your Style)

There are many misconceptions in music. As a music instructor, I spend a lot of my time dispelling these myths. And the biggest misconception is that music is all about the notes. Unfortunately, much formal music instruction also focuses primarily on the notes, whether it's from a book, a DVD, online, or from a real instructor. So this misconception is perpetuated by the music "industry" itself to a large extent.

As a youngster, I participated in school band, church choir, and even took piano lessons. Every one of those experiences revolved around a piece of sheet music in front of my eyes that contained a written representation of notes, and my primary task was to decode that written notation into it's correct audible note, either with my voice or an instrument. Very quickly, the music that I enjoyed so much degraded into an exercise in decoding a slew of written notes. Music wasn't fun anymore. It was a complex decoding task. It was more like sports and competition than it was an expression of feeling.

I am not the only one who had to endure this kind of note-centric view of music. It's a common experience for me, when I encounter a new student, to discover this same attitude in their view of music. Typically when a student wants to learn a new song, their primary focus is on what key the song is in, what the chords are, and the series of notes that comprise the various parts of the song.

While it is true that notes are an important component of music, their place as the central focus of music is unfortunate. One has to look no further than the drums (no notes) to realize that there are vital instruments in music for which the concept of a "note" is not critical. Of course, with drums and percussion, it's the rhythm that matters the most. But there are other aspects too, such as timbre, tone, and dynamics (intensity). All of these concepts apply to the instruments that play notes, too! But musicians tend to downplay this aspect of "music", often ignoring them due to the focus on the notes.

When I bring this topic up with my students, most are confused at first. How can one focus on music, but not the notes? That certainly does sound a bit confusing on the surface, until I bring up the topic of style. Most musicians that I know are very interested in developing their own style. But at the same time, most musicians have no idea how to go about finding their own style. They simply assume that it'll be something that shows up eventually, as if it's an aspect of their music that they have no control over.

Your "style" is something that you can actively work on and develop, just like any other aspect of your musical training. But how do you do this? By ignoring the notes. This concept is not so strange as it first sounds. Think about 3 of your favorite guitarists, and how they would play the "Star Spangled Banner." Most of you probably remember that Jimi Hendrix had a famous version of this song. But what if this song was also played by Chet Atkins, or Eddie Van Halen, or B.B. King? They would all be playing roughly the same set of notes. But each of those guitar players would likely have very different versions of the same tune. Same notes, but very different styles. Their style is found in the aspects of music other than the notes: the tone, dynamics, rhythm, pace, tempo, technique, and phrasing. Even the careful use of rests (silence) can contribute to style. And all of these aspects of music are just as vital to your musical development as your ability to play notes. This concept of focusing on aspects of music other than the notes applies to every instrument, not just the guitar. It even applies to your voice.

How do you practice and develop your style? The same way you practice notes. When you practice scales, you typically will play through every note in that scale. You exercise all the possibilities within the concept of "notes." To develop your style, you should do the same thing with those other concepts: explore all the possibilities. For instance with phrasing: are the notes slurred (one note seamlessly gliding into the next) or are each of the notes distinctly articulated with some space in between each note? But even with phrasing, there are more possibilities than just these two (all slurred or all distinct). Some of the notes might be slurred while others are played distinctly. But which ones should be distinct versus slurred? There's only one way to find out: try the various options. And this same approach of exploring the possibilities can be taken with those other characteristics: tone, dynamics, tempo, etc.

But the most important concept here is that you pay attention not so much to WHAT you are playing, but HOW you are playing it. And this requires a skill that most musicians ignore: their listening skills. In order for you to develop your style by focusing on these non-note aspects of music, you will need to carefully evaluate what you are hearing as you try out various options. What do you like best?

So pay close attention as you make music. The notes of music are more about "intellect", i.e. your brain making your body do the correct thing, to produce the correct series of notes. But music is more about "feel" than it is "intellect." And the feel of music is found more in these non-note characteristics than it is within the notes themselves. So as you practice, try ignoring the notes and concentrate on all those other aspects of music, and explore that musical territory with the "feel" of the music as your primary focus. And before long, you will discover that by ignoring the notes, and focusing on these other characteristics of music, you will find your style emerging!

©2009 W.A. Blevins. All rights reserved.