The greatness of music is that it can take us out of ourselves. It can show us depths of feeling that we were unaware of, that we may even find unwelcome. The weakness of music is that the process is aided immensely by better understanding. A person who plays or sings or has studied instruments/theory has a huge head start over any one who hasn't.

Well said, mack. The only drawback I've found to studying instruments/theory is that one can get so distracted by the head stuff, the analysis, the "technicalities" of the music it detracts from the appreciation and enjoyment of it. Like not being able to see the forest for the trees.

When I'm focussed on things like "That's a B diminished chord in second inversion" or "Wow, that fiddle player sure needs more resin on his bow ... and hey, where did he ever learn to hold it like THAT!", the emotional imaginative impact of the music gets drowned out somehow. So, the challenge for me is to find that happy medium between "knowing" music, and allowing my mind to relax enough that the music can just "carry me away".

daylia