What’s the Point of Playing Music?

When I was a little boy, I fell in love with the sound of the guitar. It was so exciting and fun to get all these incredible sounds out of my instrument. The fun of playing is what attracted me originally. As I grew in my commitment to my craft, I started tracking how long I was practicing, rather than whether I was particularly enjoying it or not. I wanted to become great and knew that this required dedicated time and effort. However, this created great technical ability and often a disconnect to my deeper creativity or passion.

“This is what often happens in music education. The original magic of playing gets lost in a sea of rudiments, scales and exercises.”

Music doesn’t necessarily live within these parameters. Many music students are currently playing in states of stress, in order to try to grow their musical skills. The problem is, music doesn’t live in stress. Music is the opposite of stress. Music is harmony, alignment, sensitivity and stability. If we’re feeling stressed while we play music, we’re not really embodying what it is to be musical. We’re not focusing on the right elements of what truly makes something musical or not.

What music theory needs now, is a balanced approach that includes a theory of rhythm, tone, connection, and listening. There is too much emphasis on intellectual-only components to music, like practicing very unmusical sounding exercises to develop technique only, while sacrificing musical feel.

Having fun while we’re playing is really an incredibly pragmatic part of music. Having fun unlocks our creativity. There are many popular songs that aren’t particularly intelligent (or appropriate), but they are incredibly fun and playful, which makes them highly enjoyable. An audience will often respond much more to who we are and what we’re feeling within our music, rather than our technical ability. Feeling is really what it comes down to and great feeling thrives in playfulness, beautiful tone, and solid rhythm.

Having fun while playing is a massive component of music (and your life) and if we’re not having fun, what’s the point? If you’re not having enough fun or aren’t getting the results you want in music, get in touch with us now to improve your playing rapidly while having a great time doing it.

Ask about our current specials for classes and private music lessons.

Curtis Madigan, is a music education visionary and has created a revolutionary new music system. After graduating from Berklee College of Music and performing with many notable artists, he is sharing the knowledge he developed with aspiring musicians and professional musicians alike. Madigan leads workshops, masterclasses, and one-of-a-kind trainings in his innovative new approach to learning rhythm and music.