Composition/theory/authenticity

After all these years of playing/composing/studying (40), when I hear a piece of music it's really simple; if it moves me on some sort of level, hopefully a deep and profound one, I think it's quality music. When I hear "Back Door Man," by Howlin Wolf, it still makes my arm hairs stand up, and often brings tears to my eyes. Of course, that isn't going to happen all the time with any work of art, but I'm trying to make a point. I have heard many technically great musicians over the years, who have what I call great athletic ability on an instrument...but, that doesn't necessarily translate into a deep and moving experience for me. But, there's another component for me...I try to distinguish from genuinely crappy music (or any art), and music that perhaps I don't personally like, but is still sincere and genuine. Hate to say it, but a lot of Mozart does little for me...but, I know he was a great genius, and a brilliant composer...but, if it doesn't hit me, it doesn't hit me...nothing one can do about that.
And, because one is a great music theorist doesn't mean they are a great composer/performer or vice versa...they are different skills that may or may not overlap. Using blues as an example again, I have rarely, if ever, seen one of the great blues men (women) talk in any sort of theoretical terms about what they do, but they can do it very well indeed. And as far as being authentic, to me it means that you are true to your life's experiences when you play/compose...each artist's gift is different, and because one can play flamenco very well, for example, that does not mean that you can therefore play jazz too. Each style is a different language (and of course they can overlap), but knowing one's strengths/weaknesses is a great gift as an artist. In my own case, I can compose pretty well for solo guitar or small groups, but I don't think I would do so well if I tried to score a piece for an orchestra...I just don't have those sort of chops. That's why when you get guys like Paul McCartney or Billy Joel getting into "classical" composition, it often doesn't ring true. And even John McLaughlin, who is a titan of the guitar, is not a very good orchestral composer, from what I've heard...it's a different ballgame, and when one wants to write for orchestra, now you're up against Stravinsky, Bartok, Bach, and a zillion others who are masters of that sort of thing, and you better eat your Wheaties if you're going to enter that arena.
My favorite phrase lately regarding talent/ability in a field of art is this: a person "lives" there. Again, for example, I'm an ok jazz guitarist, but when I listen to John Stowell, forget it...he's on a far deeper level in that field then I could ever pretend to attain to...he lives there in a way I do not. Knowing one's limits is a great gift in life...so, when we hear an artist trying to enter a realm where he/she doesn't really live in, it's often painfully obvious, and doesn't make for the best art. And of course, art can never be proved, anyway...I know people who love artists I cannot stand, and they seem to get a sincerely deep experience from listening to their music...not much I can do about that, except be respectful as a human being to what they are perceiving, and let them enjoy whatever it is they are getting out of it...best...Hstick

I truly disliked Haydn until recently, when I actually played some
of his music, and discovered how profoundly humorous it can be, in
the best (wise, sagacious?) sense.

Paul G. used the word "scary" in reference to that kind of profound
mastery.

I had a similar experience with the _Symphony of Psalms_. I'd
listened to it for years, because I thought it was "cool". Then one
day I listened to it while reading the score, and I almost fell out
of my chair, it seemed so...unbelievably well done.

In the world of alternate tunings (and one of the things that
attracted me to it!) it can be very easy to make something "scary",
either by virtue of its (literal?) effects on the ear, or as a
another kind of deconstructive tool, as a means to 'deprogram'
oneself from the Disneyfied "culture" of Western music, etc.

Not to mention the terrors of making music with 'machines', if that
is all one can do, to try out a tuning, or get something sounded...
Just when [I] thought it was going to get easier... ;-)

For every masterpiece of composition or performance there are a
million not-so-good, almost-great, and just-plain-fatuous attempts
to get at that thing we love. The only way a music progresses is by
the relentless application of everyone-who-is-so-inclined's best
efforts to make something of it. In that sense, _no one_ should be
deterred or 'punished' for trying, as a composer, performer,
theorist or listener.

As my granny used to say, "Go TO it!"

Happy Sunday,

Pete