2. misc-audio
  3. 158145-3130

Why Don't More People Into Music Reproduction At Home Play Around With Musical Instruments

 In the pursuit of music reproduction in the home it is my firm belief that you must listen to live music every now & again so that you know & understand how real music,with real instruments,in real physical spaces sounds...
 With that as a foundation I used in judging equipment's "voice" I also believe that playing around with a musical instrument is an excellent way to gain first hand experience with musical sound...EVERY person that reads this can learn a few musical notes,on ANY musical instrument on the planet..For instance I play around with electric guitar.NO I can NOT play,but I can play the notes EFG,on first string & BCD on the second string...Now  I know those few notes & easily recognize them in any song..I am just this coming week going to start playing around with an electric keyboard....So I wonder,why don't more audiophiles simply play around with real instruments as part of their pursuit of honest reproduction in the home?Surely the education in reality is worth the $100.00 it takes to get an entry level guitar,keyboard,horn etc...
freediver

Showing 7 responses by edcyn

edcyn
1,876 posts
 
I'm addicted to both playing musical instruments and listening to good audio, but despite the fact that both obsessions have to do with the love of music, society considers them very different beasts.  A lot of society thinks of audiophilia as nothing more than the wallet-emptying exercise of plugging a bunch of overpriced stuff together to get something they could easily get by pushing a button on their car radio.  These same gimlet-eared folks, however, will at least admit that getting good on a musical instrument does take discipline and resolve.
edcyn
1,876 posts
 
There’s lots of misunderstanding when it comes to how much a musical instrument costs. Yeah, the seven figure price of a Strad gets the publicity, but if you’re a working fiddler you can do more than fine when you got five figures in your pocket. A good Steinway grand can be gotten in the $60,000 neighborhood. I haven’t been to the Guitar Center lately but I’d be surprised if Gibson Les Pauls have made it into the five figure realm. Pre-CBS Stratocasters (the coveted ones) currently cost in the low five figures.
edcyn
1,876 posts
 
My garage has two separate rooms in addition to the space for cars.  One holds the bicycles.  The other has my early 20th Century Mason-Hamlin studio upright.  It's great to be able to stumble through my Chopin without getting dirty looks.  I don't care, either, that the piano is now incapable of being brought up to proper pitch.  As Mason-Hamlins always have, it sounds big and wonderful.
edcyn
1,876 posts
 
frogman -- great post!
edcyn
1,876 posts
 
mirolab -- to me, part of the fear you see from non-musicians holding an instrument is simply a matter of the non-musician being afraid they're going to drop your precious instrument, destroying a friendship and being millions of bucks in debt to you.  In any event, yes, I'm happy to intimidate anybody into holding & trying my two cheaper fiddles, but I've yet to let them come close to the expensive one...which truly ain't very expensive, in any case.
edcyn
1,876 posts
 
stu -- As both a crazed audiophile and a crazed amateur musician I agree with a lot of what you say, but the bottom line for me is that the two passions largely remain separate pastimes despite the fact they allow me to worship at the same altar -- music.   Sure, the two pastimes do indeed interact on certain practical levels.  Music I relentlessly listen to on my stereo has indeed led me to buy a new instrument or attempt to play in a new style.  But I also graciously accept the fact that I'll never out-Clapton Clapton or out-Horowitz Vladimir Horowitz.  
edcyn
1,876 posts
 
For me, playing music and listening to music are parallel interests. I seldom equate one with the other on a judgmental level. Yeah, when I go to a concert I'm constantly playing the "Is it live or is it Memorex" game.  But when I'm playing, it puts me in an emotional place where the sound quality is a given.
More to discover