Where Did I Come From?
This article has been inspired by my 17 year old son, who is a budding bass player, drummer, guitarist. He has a high degree of “natural ability” when it comes to picking up instruments. Not surprising when you consider his mother is a pianist and his father a guitarist. In our house, if you can’t play an instrument you’re kicked out of the family.
But what I actually wanted to write about was musical influences and the generation gap, and how it seems to be a one way street.
My boy loves Metallica, Korn, Slipknot, etc. No problem there other than he listens to it with total disregard for anything else.
Dad on the other hand, who is a slightly older vintage, grew up on a staple diet of The Beatles, Elvis, Hendrix, The Doors, etc. All of whom gave birth to what we have now, be it directly or indirectly. Likewise, it’s true to say that they too were influenced by guys like Buddy Holly, Bill Haley, Nat King Cole, Ritchie Valens, and on and on it goes, back to the great black jazz/blues men of old.
My son is under the misconception that Marilyn Manson is a total original, but then he has never seen Alice Cooper. Granted, Marilyn Manson pushed shock rock over the cliff. As for slipknot, how many of you remember Kiss? They were 4 masked bandits of rock back in the ’70’s.
This brings me to my point. I know of Marilyn Manson, but my son knows nothing of Alice Cooper. OK, I was there when Alice was kicking, but I wasn’t around when Buddy Holly and crew were strutting their stuff yet I am all too familiar with their work and legacy. This is chiefly because I always kept an open mind to all forms of music despite it’s era or heritage. This is what makes a well rounded musician.
If you really are a fan of metal, it would pay you to have a listen to a man who I consider the father of metal. He lived in Austria a while back, and his name was Ludwig Von Beethoven. A total rebel. You can still get some of his albums. Or if you like thrash metal, try on some Batok. Maybe rap is your thing. Ok, time to see if you can get your hands on some of the great beatnik street poets of the 60’s.
Always keep an open mind, and open ears. Whatever your personal musical preferences are, it will pay great dividends to take a trip back in time and have a good look at where your favourites came from. A bit of music history 101 should be a regular part of your music education.
Technorati Tags: music, musician, music lesson
June 18th, 2006 at 3:20 pm
Perfect pages… tnx