When I started back playing the piano a few months ago, after a 35-year hiatus, I found myself being drawn to Great American Songbook tunes as my favorite thing to play. So at the moment probably 90% of my playing falls at least approximately into that genre. Since I play from worked-out (published) arrangements and often don't really know the tunes I always download Ella Fitzgerald or someone doing the song to get a feel for phrasing and expression.

Here's my guilty secret. I don't really, really like the actual songs. Not that I dislike a good performance of an old standard but there's other types of music I'd rather sit around and listen to for an hour at a stretch. Let the tunes themselves, the chord progressions and melodies, some of the rhythms and "grooves" are purely awesome. And doubly so played on piano.

Anyone else in the same boat? There's nothing I'd rather play than these old songs but they probably don't even rate in the Top Five among things I want to listen to someone sing (as much as I admire the musicianship of some of the great singers like Ella, Nancy Wilson, et. al.)

Brent,

I believe we are all in that same boat. There is a huge disparity between the music CREATION side, and the music CONSUMPTION side. Music “creation” meaning the composition, performance, and maybe even the production of music; and music “consumption” meaning the attendance at a live performance, or listing to recorded media, or hearing Aunt Matilda play in the parlor.

When we are on the creation side of things, we are completely engaged in the act. The mental complexity and physical involvement are, in and of themselves, satisfying. If the result is musical, that is all-the-better, but the simple effort itself is frequently most of the goal.

However, when we are on the consumption half of the equation, watching and listening, absorbing, our focus is entirely different. Things that might be exceedingly rewarding to compose, and even exhilarating to perform, are frequently not that satisfying (or even interesting) to listen to. That is the magic of the artists you mention - they have the ability to take fairly banal raw material, and elevate it to high art! Perhaps I have become somewhat jaded, but it takes something very special to move me as a listener.

Thinking about this in terms of the majority of individuals on this Forum, most of us get a huge thrill from our own playing. One might even record oneself, and take satisfaction and pride from having produced music. BUT, from the other side of the table, REALLY LISTENING to that self-same playing is far, far from rewarding.

What was the quip from the irrepressible Groucho Marx? “I would never belong to any organization that would have me as a member!”

Ed

Not me, I listen to them, too.
I didn't grow up listening to them (so much), so I need to hear them to learn them and to see which ones I like. I have been listening to Sarah Vaughn stuff lately. Really impressed with Nat King Cole, too.

I listen to them on CDs in my car and when I go back and forth to other CDs or the radio, man, there a huge volume difference! Some of the remakes are a bit louder, but they still don't match up with the current stuff.

+1
Nice post, LoPresti!

Brent - I've enjoyed your posts to date, but this one is a little confusing - you're drawn to these songs and you enjoy playing them and you like a good performance of them by the great vocalists of the past...but you don't like the songs and you don't like listening to them? Huh? There seems to be a little internal contradiction here...care to elaborate?

Trap

Trap,

I'm saying that while the tunes are great, when it comes down to listening to even a great vocalist sing the actual song I just can't get into it.

Lately I've been listening closely and repeatedly to these singers as part of my process of learning some songs. But when I go on to listen to other tunes I'm not actively playing or learning it just doesn't do much for me (outside of admiring the talent and craft that went into the performance).

This morning on the way to work, for the first time in weeks I listened to some other music that's among my real favorites. It made me realize I was connecting with those songs in a way that wasn't just technical or academic but really musical and emotional. So there's some things it feels good to listen to and very different things it feels good to play. That's all I meant.

I have the same experience with country music and my electric guitar. I don't enjoy listening to country music. Not at all. But for some reason I find it's really fun to play on the guitar. Some of my band mates wanted to add a couple of country-ish songs to our classic rock set lists, and I've had a lot of fun with them, learning to improvise in that style.

Brent -

We meet again...I am with you on this one. I struggled with this a bit when I was working with the Sudnow method, since he really was focused on these great tunes. I did learn to enjoy the Ella Fitzgerald "Songbook" series, but my primary listening choices were much different. These tunes are fun to play because you have a lot of harmonic material to work with to come up with your own arrangement - whether "on the fly" or as a fixed arrangement. So, I see what you are talking about here and I would not be surprised if there are others who feel the same way.

Though Robert Conti is a jazz guitarist all the way, he has said that his "guilty pleasure" is 60s rock. This is not uncommon. Stuff we grew up with is stuff that is a part of us, whatever that may be.

Tony

I rarely listen to spirituals but today I found free sheet music for Swing Low Sweet Chariot and it is really fun to play!