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 1 response by zerobias

@edcyn  " but if you’re a working fiddler you can do more than fine when you got five figures in your pocket."

Got to laugh at this one.  My son was a concert violinist, and studied through college then quit to get a steady job (software engineer).  We were orchestra parents (as opposed to soccer, or football parents) and schlepped him around to concerts and workshops all over the Country.  I remember an occasion when we were at our local Renaissance Festival here in Colorado, my son was 7, and he was watching a "working fiddler" playing Celtic music in costume.  Got to talking to him about when he started, and how he started playing.  He chuckled and said he was a Suzuki kid, learned to read music, and taught himself the rest.  He then said he never spent more than $100 on a fiddle.  Interesting guy, funny, and a great fiddle player.

As for my son, he does not have a fine audio system, does not "get" my fascination with audio, and listens to his music on earbuds and computer speakers.  I admire him, and envious that he can enjoy his music without angst and the constant obsession with equipment and systems, and no, you do not need to play around with an instrument to be an audiophile and appreciate good sound, but you do need a degree of pathology going on.