Are Musicians Multi-talented?

Subject: Discussion: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Ebbie
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 12:30 AM

It seems to me that musical people tend to be talented and creative in other areas too. Would you feel comfortable detailing your interests and abilities here? For instance, we know that Rick Fielding is a leather carver, Catspaw a hammered dulcimer builder... What about others? Do you paint, draw, illustrate, write, dance?

An old belief holds that where there is one congenital anomaly, look for three. Does that hold true for talent? "Where there is one, look for three"?

Ebbie

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Helen
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 01:11 AM

I'll leap in here first. Yes, I love drawing & painting, and computer graphics (uh-oh, here comes a huge discussion on whether computer graphics can be called art *BG*. As long as the discussion doesn't move into "can techno music be called music?" we should be okay)

I'm into drawing with pastels at present and I want to spend more time getting better at it. I've tried a lot of different art media/techniques and landed with pastels as my favourite - but I like drawing & sculpture too.

Helen

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Peter Kasin
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 01:32 AM

I'm multi-talented. I not only play reels on the fiddle, I also play jigs. But, really, it's a good question, and I do have a wide variety of interests. I sing chanteys, I draw with Rapidograph pen and ink, and I enjoy photography. I've been told I have a photographer's eye and take good pictures, though my camera does alot of things automatically, so I don't know anything about settings on cameras. I occasionally have sea music gigs, fiddle playing gigs. Many people I know who are musical have other creative interests and talents. I think there is a connection, yes. An interesting thread question! Thanks for posting it.

-chanteyranger

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Ebbie
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 01:37 PM

Thanks for responding (and confirming my suspicion), Helen and Chanteyranger! To the rest of you: if you don't want to talk about your own talents, how about detailing the talents of other musicians you know? How am I, I ask you, to do this research if there is no information?

Ebbie

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 01:59 PM

I used to be in theater, and was good at makeup.
I was for years an amateur magician, specializing in close-up magic. I was moderately good.
I was a painter and printmaker, moderately talented, I think.
And of course folksinging, guitar and banjo playing. I'll leave it to others to assess my success there.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: GUEST,Willie-O
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 02:15 PM

Well I certainly am.

But modesty forbids me...ah, hell.
How do you keep a Mudcatter in suspense?

(grin)
Willie-O

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Hypatia
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 02:42 PM

I've noticed a correlation between computer talent and musical talent, both requiring a combination of creativity and inate, intuitive mathematical ability. I'm afraid one could add a certain anal retentiveness, or more kindly, an attention to detail. I make my living as a graphics and multimedia artist and trainer, but have also supported myself as a watercolorist on hand-made paper. Both SDShad, another computer nerd, and I have been involved in theatre and I have actually been paid. SDShad is a lefty and plays a factory left-handed Ovation. I am very ambidexterous, thus in theory am both left and right brained.

The real credit for music, I believe should go to our doting parents, who offered us musical opportunities at a young age when our brains were open to such connections and perhaps gave us good DNA.

--Beth

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 03:07 PM

I don't know about other people's doting parents, but there's not much in my background to show that I would go where I have.

In grade school I successfully lobbied my mother to provide class violin lessons, which a door-to-door salesman had been promoting.. I dropped out within six weeks.

No-one in our family was a musician; no-one in our family had ever shown any interest or talent as to the visual or dramatic arts. I was a surprise to everybody, majoring in art education in college, with a minor in theater. I really didn't want to be a teacher; I wanted to be a creative visual artist, but knew that you had to put bread on the table some other way. I realized during my last quarter of practice teaching, "I don't like this! I won't do this for the rest of my life!" A little later I came to the painful realization that my talent for painting and printmaking, while there, was too slim to justify dedicating my life to it, so I got out of that and into another line of work, relying on my undoubted word-and-language centeredness.

So neither family tradition, and exposure nor doting parents explains my own direction, first into art and theater, then magic (which is really a branch of theater), nor folksinging/guitar/banjo.

To quote the kind of Siam: "Is a puzzlement."

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Sorcha
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 04:07 PM

I have absolutely no "spatial" talent at all--can't paint, draw, etc. but I do do fiber arts. Lots of geometric stuff, and snitch and alter 3-D patterns like the Mudcat quilt. I also garden, and like landscaping, but I am not really very good at it. No theater, as I am not good at pretending.

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Bagpuss
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 04:12 PM

Theres a lot of evidence that people who have some sort of musical training tend to be better than average at maths (must be all the counting the beats in the bar!!!!).

I can't draw or paint to save my life, but i do make very pretty friendship bands and bookmarks.

I have other talents, but they are not particularly creative.

Bagpuss

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 04:13 PM

When it comes to Art/Craft talents, I am a lost cause - I have never met anybody as hopeless as me. I do seem to fit what Hypatia said about music and computers though and have been a keen user since the early 80s and I enjoy the occasional bit of programming.

I am not sure about the ambidexterous bit though. I am left handed and there is very little that I can not do with my right hand and in fact play guitar, etc. right handed but when I did take a test, I show up as being very left brain dominant - I think it was something like 78%.

Jon

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Jeri
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 04:46 PM

The "Kiersey Temperament Sorter" pegged me as "Temperament=Artisan:SP Variant=Crafter:ISTP." I've dabbled in an awful lot of stuff. I used to like oil painting and drawing, and should really get back to it. I've done a bit of bead work, and my latest hobby is tie-dying - I'm getting ready to start batiking things. I'd be thrilled to pieces if an apprenticship for something fell into my lap!

I'm mostly left-brained, but I'm ambidexterous. When I first learn something, I have to decide which hand to do it with. Once I learn, it's difficult to switch hands. Except for using a knife or a wrench, I can't think of anything I can do equally well with both hands.

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Catrin
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 04:53 PM

I did one of these psychometric tests once as a practice for job hunting when i was at uni. The results showed that in maths I was bog standard average, In verbal ability I was 'in the top 2 percent of the undergraduate population' but in visual spatial ability I was so bad i was off the bottom of the scale (i.e. not in the bottom 1% but much, much lower). Not sure what that means though.

P.S. I'm a singer

Catrin

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: GUEST,Ely
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 05:33 PM

I'm reasonably good at drawing. When I was a kid, I was exceptional (for my age) but I thought art was for pretentious, well, artsy types and I made very little effort to keep working on it. I also had some very dispiriting experiences in public school art classes. I have decided to scare myself by taking an introductory painting class my last semester of college. I'm sure I'll never be good enough at it to do it for anything more than a hobby, though (heck, same goes for music).

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Homeless
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 05:49 PM

I play a little bit on ten or so different instruments. I do woodworking, build instruments (lap dulcimers, pan pipes, flutes, and various percussive things), leaded glass, leather work, sewing, contra dance, beaded necklaces, drawing, 3D computer graphics, weave chainmail,

In the past, I've messed with macrame, leather carving, crochet, making fabric flowers, floral arrangement, ceramics, and looked into blacksmithing.

I'm very right brained and spacially oriented. When I took the SAT in high school, I scored the highest in math in the school's history.

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Mbo
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 05:52 PM

Well, I sing, play steel string guitar, Classical guitar, fiddle, pipe chanter, and recorder.

As for other things, I'm at ECU School of Art, working on my BFA in Graphic Design. I'm pretty good at drawing, hut more of the cartoonish-people & detailed inanimate objects kind of person. I can't draw lifelike humans. Lately I've been taking a lot of electives, like Wood Design, Metal Design, Ceramics, Desing II, and other 3D forms of art and am finding that I prefer in miles above 2D art forms like drawing & painting.

I'm also a good editor...they call me "The Hatchet Man" because a returned paper is usually filled with red pen indicating mispellings, grammar errors, etc. I am other called "weird" for enjoying this!

Does being good at barbequing count?

--Mbo

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Homeless
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 06:06 PM

Oh yeah, Mbo's barbeque comment reminded me that I also cook gourmet meals, and create (alcoholic) drinks to complement each course.

However, I wouldn't consider myself talented in any of the above. More like I just showed an interest and followed (usually) directions.

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Bill D
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 06:07 PM

besides a VERY small talent for playing instruments and gettting 'pretty good' at woodworking..(turning on a lathe is now my primary mode of employment...for example)...I can also walk into your house and set the clock on your VCR without looking at the instruction book...I can also estimate time very closely(seconds, minutes, hours), and can pack boxes and re-arrange furniture with the best..spatial relationships are easy.

I use inductive reasoning easily, which means I can figure out HOW to surf the web, download and use programs, use search engines etc...I can NOT program...the insides of computer programs are arcane mysteries.

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 06:25 PM

Homeless, that's very interesting: Right brained, but strong in math. Hmmm!!

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Sorcha
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 06:29 PM

OMIGOD!! Bill D can program VCR's!! This is getting serious, friends. But, I am with him on the inductive reasoning part. Not a programmer here. (My mouse driver is deteriorating,I downloaded a new one, and can't unzip it......)

I am also very ambidexterous, can eat,hammer,saw,write with both. Is this normal for instrumentalists?

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: JenEllen
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 06:35 PM

Multi-talented? I dunno, but I do bore easily. That has lead me to 'try' lots of things just to see if I can do them. Needlework, crocheting, quilting, woodworking, plumbing, cooking, gardening, painting, photography, electronics (kind of goes along with the woodworking, I just built an RC boat), building willow chairs, stained glass...the list goes on and on. I can't do math to save my life, but I have to know how things work, so starting from the bottom up is a great way to expand knowledge.

~Elle (who can do med. dosages in her head, but can't ever seem to get time zones right...)

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Catlin
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 06:41 PM

As well as singing my main interest is fabric. Sewing fabric mainly (dressmaking, costuming, making corsets is my big thing at the mo), but I also enjoy making fabric ie weaving, dying and decorating said fabric, and also fabric arts: embroidery (machine and hand), quilting, beading, applique... anything I can think of really.
I also enjoy 'Art' in all it's forms. I love to paint, draw, sculpt, make jewellery, collage..... whether what I produce at the end is any good is a matter of opinion, but I enjoy it :)
I am always amazed at the multi-talented people that post to the Mudcat. You are all such talented people!
*Hugs*
Catlin

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Jeri
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 06:44 PM

He might have meant left brained, but I think the whole brain-sidedness thing is questionable. I'm fairly good at language, but that's supposed to be a right brain thingie. (Isn't it? I can't keep clear on who's supposed to be good at what.) There's a song in this somewhere:
I got my right brain workin' mama...

Homeless, it is a real skill to be able to follow (or give) directions. Ask a computer programmer. I have a friend who is a better gourmet cook than most chefs in restaurants. He also says he just follows the recipies. (Of course, he usually adds something of his own.) If it were that easy, everyone could do it.

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Homeless
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 06:46 PM

Doesterr - Is math not a right brain activity? Addition and subtraction I do by visualizing groups of dots. Ditto with multiplication. Geometry is almost all spacial and/or visual. Trigonometry is about the same - There are a handful of numbers I had to memorize, but everything else is visualization of triangles and circles. If you can do that then trig is a breeze. Sets/subsets, binary logic - I use the "dot" method above. Same with conversion between number bases (binary, octal, hexadecimal). BTW, I work as a computer programmer and when designing a system I "see" the logic as a kind of flowchart.

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Helen
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 07:43 PM

All right, after this amazing catalogue of interests, I'll give you the rest of my list.

I have done crocheting (oddities like crocheted ice-cream cones, and especially wearable art), knitting, machine knitting (big pictures on jumpers etc), natural dyes for wool, papermaking, sculpture, drawing, painting, writing, tie-dyeing, funny birthday cakes (my two favourites were Big Bird, and a chicken, although the witches cauldron, and Stonehenge were fun, too).

Used to be pretty full-on for quite a while with computer graphics/art. I really get lost to the real world with that but my Amiga computer has been pushed to the background for a couple of years for storage reasons, but I'm about to break it out of its enforced isolation and do some more soon.

Musically I play Celtic harp, flute in a fairly average way, I've got a bodhran but haven't played it much, did a couple of weeks intensive African drumming - loved it, did some classes for dumbek (Egyptian drum).

I'm sure there is more to my list, but that's enough now.

As to right & left brain: my way of figuring that out is that right-brain tends to be visual/conceptual and left-brain tends to be analytical/verbal, i.e. using the right labels & terminology for things/concepts etc. I'm fairly balanced right/left, although I'm notoriously bad for using the wrong terminology, mainly because I like playing around with words and concepts and like coming up with other ways to express things.

I think you can be right brained and good with words in a conceptual way or left brained and good with words in a specific way. My theory.

Helen

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Rosebrook
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 10:32 PM

Awesome lathe work Bill. Mighty pretty.

In general, the musicians that I know are some of the most creative and artistic people I've ever known. If I consider the people I play music with and their other interests, I see woodworkers, pottery throwers, dancers, engineers, writers and more. (The bass player in the group I play with recently took a shipping tube and some hardware and devised an amazing set of bongos.)

Rose

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: GUEST,Joe "The Missing Link" Lindquist
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 10:55 PM

Most musicians are multi-talented. Most of them are also right-brained. There are a few exceptions, such as myself, but the clinical psychologist who diagnosed me as such said I should not attempt anything in music. So how did I ever learn piano and organ (both classical)? Languages are a left-brained skill, and I am a whiz at them. Mathematics is a right-brained field (guess who took Greek in college to avoid math??) I guess this explains why I dropped out of COBOL programming school after investing (???) nearly 8 thousand $$$ in a vain attempt to learn what the aforementioned psychologist said was my only viable career hope!! Really reaffirms your faith in psychology, doesn't it?! Most musicians, unfortunately, are not dancers. I myself didn't get into participatory dance until I was in my mid-forties. Even so, there are some dances I am unable to learn, simply because the natural movement skills that enable one to do them are right-brain-controlled. Hambo for instance (check out the link to "It's Saturday Night" in the "Salty Dog Rag" forum). Or, for that matter, Salty Dog Rag. Contra, English, vintage (especially waltz and ragtime foxtrot), and, believe it or not, Argentine tango, all are amenable to a left-brained person. Perhaps more than the side of the brain, however, is the personality type of the individual (cf. PERSONALITY TYPES by Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson). But this is a whole new area of discussion - - - too vast to be even surface-scratched in a forum such as this.

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: GUEST,Ely
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 10:56 PM

I'm not really a guest, I'm just here on a computer that isn't mine and doesn't have a cookie. Oh, well.

I know a guy who builds his own kooky instruments. He has a folding guitar (yes, with hinges right in the middle of the box--you take the strings off and fold it in half for extended travel). He's also a great musician.

My strangest hobby is model horses. I can make functional saddles, bridles, and harness for four-inch plastic horses. I also cut pieces off, then reattach them, resculpt the muscles, and repaint them. I know it sounds like a big loser hobby but I can talk equine conformation and color genetics so well that "real-horse" people can't tell I'm not one of them. I probably should have been a dentist--I work very well in small scale.

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Alice
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 11:04 PM

Creative people are creative in many different ways. It is only our culture that makes us label and pigeonhole the creativity into small categories (like job titles).

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: GUEST,Potter
Date: 16 Jul 00 - 11:47 PM

I've made my livlihood from pottery for 22 years. Before that I played college basketball, I've played guitar for 33 years. I gotta say that the folks I play music with come from similarly diverse backgrounds probably because music is our first love--but alas, not our livlihood. My wife also says that I...nah, I can't even lie about that to strangers! John

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Bagpuss
Date: 17 Jul 00 - 05:30 AM

The left brain / right brain thing is not nearly as simple as it is supposed to be. Different people can do exactly the same task, but have the activity in opposite hemispheres. Theres evidence that theres a gender difference here. Most people are equally strong in tasks in each hemisphere, but people also love taking tests that categorise them as one or the other. In my work and writing, I am very logical and concise - I don't like waffle. But I am also fairly talented in the musical field.

Often, when the left brain right brain distinction is being talked about, it is merely about whether language skills are concentrated in the left or the right hemisphere, or whether they are distributed across both hemispheres. Psychologists don't usually talk about a person being left or right brain dominant, but a particular function or task being dominant in one hemisphere.

Now I'm boring everyone.... one of my other talents!!

Bagpuss

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler
Date: 17 Jul 00 - 05:39 AM

Been off the 'Cat for a few days, some strange threads out there. This one seems to be more interesting. I have no artistic talents, musical or otherwise but in the UK at least it seems common for bands to come out of Art colleges, but you don't hear of visual artists coming out of music colleges.
RtS

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Ebbie
Date: 17 Jul 00 - 10:54 AM

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: InOBU
Date: 17 Jul 00 - 11:03 AM

Well let's see... South Street Seaport did a show of twelve people who build martime modles, I was one of the twelve BIG BIG plank on frame modles from scratch, the wife said, read my lips NO NEW BOATS after I believe # 28. I sculpt, paint, do cartoons (was the cartoonist for the NYU lawschool paper and a few other credits) was a photographer and member of the Combat Photographers Association, I make low D whistles of varring quality, but I can't wiggle my ears or raise on eyebrow like my old dad used to do. So, I quess that qualifies as multi tallented - though to play the Uilleann pipes one has to be multi tallented in that you have to be able rub your head and tap your stomach at the same time...
Larry PS Moonface Bear, an old pal, used to say I made museum quality Indian crafts - medicine shirts, knives - bows and arrows, that sort of carry on...

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Kim C
Date: 17 Jul 00 - 11:05 AM

Let's see... I sing, yodel, play piano, guitar, fiddle, spoons, bones, tambourine, and learning the bodhran. I'm also a pretty good cook but you wouldn't know it to look at my skinny husband. I am a part-time professional craftsperson, indulging in knitting, beadwork, jewelry making, calligraphy, and whatever else may strike my fancy. I sew most of my reenacting clothes.

I also write songs, poetry, short stories, essays and other diatribes. I am an ace at goofing off when I should be working, like right now. (But don't tell anybody.)

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 17 Jul 00 - 11:12 AM

Cartoonist eh, Larry? Me too. Started out in an Ad Agency, and got fired for "lack of discipline" (who me?). One of the reasons for my lack of interest in Art School was that my dream was to be a hard-hitting political Cartoonist. Not one of the faculty took this seriously. They all said I needed to study Art History and when I countered with, "History is WHY I want to be a political cartoonist", they thought I was a smart-ass. 'Course they were right. I did street caricatures in Cape Cod for a while. Learned how to make the folks with money look better than they really did.

Rick

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Willie-O
Date: 17 Jul 00 - 12:58 PM

OK what the hell. I am just average or less on this list.

I play a bunch of different instruments, from pretty well to not very well, and sing well enough to get by.

I don't do any kind of visual art or craft anything for art's sake. I always say I flat out cannot draw--although I expect I could learn to if I really tried. I have a somewhat spartan aesthetic sense, as in "form follows function"--I like things that are designed to do something well, but stuff that is purely decorative doesn't interest me.

I am lousy at math.

Inductive reasoning, whatever that is exactly, sounds like what I do. I am good at figuring out how to do things.

I am a good writer and can edit or proofread effectively. But I don't do much "creative writing"--I seem to have some kind of mental blockage about making things up.

I am pretty handy with wood and things mechanical. Aside from music, this is when I feel creative. Including interior and exterior finish carpentry, which I like doing because it IS functional--the function being to hide the ugly things behind it.

I have long dreamed of building and restoring instruments and boats, but I'm mostly a dreamer in this regard, although I now have a lot of the skills and tools that I could apply to these projects.

I waffle magnificently and unfailingly. It may be a Canadian thing.

Willie-O

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Little Neophyte
Date: 17 Jul 00 - 01:29 PM

I figure I am multi-potential talented. I have an artistic mind but have not taken the time to develop my skills. I would say taking up the banjo is the first time I have really focused a commitment to developing a musical talent.
The other thing I would like to do is more bead work.

Bonnie

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 17 Jul 00 - 01:50 PM

'Course I left out the fact (inadvertently) that along with having a few "other than music" skills go several "seriously negative lack-of-skills". Personally they run from, total inability to understand how a car, electricity, plumbing, heating, computers, or any form of cohesive time-management work. Can't dance, Can't set the VCR, can't fill out my own income tax form, can barely follow a map without looking at it every five minutes. Geez, enough!

Rick

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 17 Jul 00 - 03:20 PM

Interesting, I may have no art/craft skills but I am quite happy with most of Rick's negatives, I can work on engines, have done small wiring, plumbing, etc, jobs and I have proved to be quite a resonable navigator on car journeys.

These things are easy to me as I can work out a logic to them. The problem I have with Art/Craft is one I dont know how to solve. As an expample, I can try to draw something, I can see that what I am doing is all wrong but I can't see why or what to do to correct it.

Jon

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Little Neophyte
Date: 17 Jul 00 - 03:35 PM

Jon, I think Picasso had the exact same problem.

Bonnie

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Morticia
Date: 17 Jul 00 - 03:44 PM

Hell, I'm not even single-talented

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 17 Jul 00 - 03:45 PM

Not sure Bonnie. I can at least see that what I am doing is all wrong.

Jon

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: GUEST,JohnB
Date: 17 Jul 00 - 04:39 PM

I guess that I am multi-talented, I seem to be able to make or fix MOST things that break. What I probably do best crafty wise is Blacksmithing, probably comes from spending years in the aircaft industry. The unfortunate aspect is, that I pretty much play the guitar like a blacksmith. JohnB, from work, cos I could't fix my fried modem.

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Ebbie
Date: 17 Jul 00 - 05:30 PM

JohnB, I knew a musician of whom it was said that as a bricklayer, he was a great fiddler.

Ebbie

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: Ebbie
Date: 17 Jul 00 - 10:45 PM

You know, this is all pretty impressive. Would you agree that musicians are rarely bored?

Ebbie

Subject: RE: Are Musicians Multi-talented?
From: GUEST,petr
Date: 18 Jul 00 - 08:28 PM

of the musicians I know Id say about 10-15% are quite talented in the visual art. In my case I was heavily into sculpture, & drawing and painting and these have taken a back seat when I got into playing the fiddle again. But Im starting to get back into visual art.

I also think that creative talent has less to do with left handedness or right handedness but something called field independence. In other words to be able to concentrate on a task whether it is listening to a melody or looking at a scene with the purpose of drawing it and reproducing it accurately without being thrown off by pre-conceived notions or outside influences (if that makes any sense). Pattern recognition.