Did I Hear It The Way You Played It?

I’m a fingerstyle guitar enthusiast! So much so that I volunteer to write the Toronto Fingerstyle Guitar weekly newsletter. I’ll post my articles here for your musical pleasure. Be sure to check us out online at http://www.fingerstyleguitar.ca

I spend a lot of time listening and enjoying recorded music. Music fills my life almost 24/7 and has since I was a little girl. I know a lot of pieces note by note and can usally be found humming along to the melody, the bass line and, in more complex pieces, the other musical elements that make up the composition.

My life is also blessed with many family members and friends who play an instrument - the guitar, the flute, the piano, the clarinet, to name a few. They too know many pieces note for note.

So why is it that when any two people play the same piece of music, it invariably sounds different?

That’s where musical interpretation comes in.

Musicians seldom perform a piece of music exactly the same way during repeated performances, whether the music is notated and read while being performed or played each time from memory. This is what’s known as the interpretation of music by the performer and it is this aspect of performance that makes music “come alive” and “breathe” whether the music is Mozart, jazz, flamenco or fingerstyle.

I’ve heard many of my favourite pieces played live and am always pleasantly surprised when a performer’s interpretation differs from the running soundtrack in my mind. Music is an emotional art. To play a piece well, you need to feel it. Upon hearing familiar music, the listener often has certain expectations as to tempos, dynamics, timbre, etc. When the performance changes any one of those elements, it offers an element of surprise for the listener.

If you’re a regular at one of our Open Stage nights, you’ll certainly have heard this in action. Maybe the piece being performed sounds different from the recording you’ve studied. Maybe the piece as played by Randy sounds different that the same piece played by Dunstan. Each performer brings their own unique interpretation to the performance. Spend some time on YouTube listening to a favourite piece played by different performers and you’ll see what I mean.

Keep in mind though, that music is subjective. That while your performance of a piece is based on the emotions that piece evokes in you and how you express them, my experience of your performance is also interpreted through my own experiences and emotions. While no two performers play the same piece in the exact same manner, it can also be said that no two listeners hear the same piece in the exact same manner.
And the funny thing about music is that I may not even hear the piece as you’ve played it!

Music may be the only art that has the ability to be interpreted differently by both the performer and the listener.

Come to one of our Open Stages and see for yourself!