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Name: pluto
E-Mail:
Subject: RE: John & Paul & Mozar, and others (SC)
Date: Saturday, February 06, 2016
Time: 3:34:43 PM
Remote Address: 92.26.121.109
Message ID: 301593
Parent ID: 301586
Thread ID: 301446
I thank you for respecting my opinion Keno, that is most gracious of you, and certainly an advance from not counting lol. It goes without saying of course, that likewise, I respect yours.
Yes it is my considered opinion that no one from the rock world has yet shown from their musical output, that they have anywhere near the musical understanding of Mozart. I make that statement in the full knowledge that my understanding of the theory of music, harmony, modes,scales so on and so forth is at best, rudimentary. It's also true that I might get bogged down or lost pretty quickly in any debate on the nature of genius itself.
However, based on the knowledge I do have, I have never heard anything in rock that demonstrates that anybody from that field had or has the musical grasp of Mozart.
I gave the example of two from the rock world that for me have shown that they have(had) a musical grasp that might set them apart from most of their peers. Of course there might be more, I haven't heard them all.
I know McCartney feels an affinity with Bach, but he always was a pretentious sod. However even he I'm sure would squirm if he found it being suggested he was on a par with Mozart(maybe not lol). Lennon might have responded to the same suggestion with a look that said 'there was ever any doubt?', but of course he did call the other Beatles to a meeting in order to announce that he was God lol.
Alas we will never know what Mozart sounded like as a performer as he was, of course, never recorded. From the accounts of his contemporaries, we know that he was accomplished from an early age on a few instruments. However, when it comes to composing, my examples of Mozart's work as a child were to show that from a very early age Mozart's understanding of music, was beyond that of, and let's face it, what most rockers will ever understand.
From Mozart's work as a child you wouldn't necessarily think 'genius', but it was an early indication that he might be.
What was defining was not that Mozart might be a child prodigy because he was extremely proficient on his instrument. It was the music he was composing, at such an early age.
The other musicians you mention are fine musicians from the pop/rock world, but none of them genius imo. Brian Wilson could possibly be considered as being there with Zappa and McCartney, and had he lived, Brian Jones may have produced music to take him into that group.
On the subject of Brian Jones and multi instrument playing. I think I have to say that being a multi instrumentalist does not necessarily make you a musical genius. Much as I admire the sounds Brian Jones added to the Rolling Stones music, I have never heard anything in his playing to suggest he was other than competent on his instruments. For me what was impressive was his musical ideas, his musical imagination.
I think anyone who has been playing a musical instrument for any length of time gets a certain understanding, and can take up another instrument, and get something from it. I myself could knock you out a tune on tenor banjo, harmonica, guitar, penny whistle, bass, mandolin, descant recorder. I even had a fiddle for a while, and could scrape you a reel, slow and tortuous. The difference between Jones and me is of course, that unlike me he had musical talent and great ability....but not genius.
Superlatives get scattered about like confetti these days, they do too much for my liking anyway(see my light hearted reply to gomper above).However maybe I need to lower my high standard of definition, and accept that all whom you have mentioned are, in fact, to be placed with Mozart in the musical genius category.
Tell you what though, when it comes to output the bold Wolfgang beats them all hands down. You don't count Mozart's pieces, you weigh them.
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