Yes!

As a self-taught hobbyist with a full time day job, “pastime for dabblers” literally describes my composing. But I don’t feel like I have much choice in the matter, the musical intrusive thoughts won’t leave me alone until I get them on paper! I think people should engage with the art form in whatever way and to whatever degree makes them happiest.

@GregHarradineComposer

Ай бұрын

Well said! I agree completely.

You have redeemed yourself Greg. :P I read the quote on Facebook and it did prick my ears a little too though I declined to comment. I think it's the posturing that people don't like, it's the inference (consciously or not) that someone is less than if they are playful in how they go about things. At the heart of Music (all Music whether the composer is aware of it or not) is play.

@GregHarradineComposer

4 ай бұрын

Thank you, Kevin. I'm glad I have redeemed myself! Kind of scary (but understandable) how people can draw totally different assumptions from a quote out of context online. I feel that we are on precisely the same page. You put it so well when you say that at the heart of all music is play. Maybe you should have made this video instead, you expressed the point very clearly!

Fantastic !! Thanks for sharing👌🙏

I definitely fall on the serious side of the equation despite being a non-professional, although the actual germ idea for everything i’ve made so far is probably conceived in the “dabbling” manner for sure.

@GregHarradineComposer

4 ай бұрын

I think that’s a great way to be - dabble to generate ideas and then seriously go about turning them into compositions!

Extends of dabbling and seriousness exists on a spectrum, and one can find oneself in different positions. Each to their own circumstances and ideals. Seriousness may but need not equate to being a professional or not. In a nuanced note, we can be serious or dabble, or both at different points, yet for that common love for music, whether professionally or for life. I both started and stopped learning music officially in my teens years, but still learn, play and compose music for both leisurely dabbling, and for more serious ways ( in terms of personal expectations of a compositions to be published or learning and a piece I want to play well ). Anyways, this a very well-made, relatable and thought-provoking video! Thanks for sharing!

@GregHarradineComposer

4 ай бұрын

Yes, well said. Great to hear your thoughts on the matter.

@AwKeShen.

4 ай бұрын

@@GregHarradineComposer Welcome !

Hahah great video! I laughed multiple times throughout and wholeheartedly agree. :D I, myself, have been stimulated in 'dabbling' by my first (and current) piano teacher from a young age and it has certainly paid off, I believe. Improvising is now my go-to for when I need to quickly let off some steam, work through some impressions, or need to find some ideas. :) I am a 'dabbler' for sure. Unfortunately I berate myself for it a bit too often, which is really ironic since it's my perfectionism that also paralyses me. Seems like we've got that in common... I'm mostly stuck on the 'gritting your teeth' part... I've got too many ideas (unfinished sheet music, voice memos -- you name it) lying around and I never seem to finish any of them due to lack of time/discipline... But I think I've mentioned that before in my comments, so I'll stop here to avoid repeating myself even more. ;) I hope you're doing well! I've yet to catch up on your latest works, though I'll get to it, eventually. All the best, Pjotr

@GregHarradineComposer

4 ай бұрын

It can be so hard to stick with an idea all the way through to completion. I'm totally the same with having too many ideas lying around in various forms - but I just force myself to stick to the schedule of completing at least one piece per month. That makes me at least expand some of my ideas to full pieces! Sounds like you have a great piano teacher! So important to find a teacher you connect with and who stimulates you.

@pjotrkolster

4 ай бұрын

@@GregHarradineComposer Yeah I did that for a while and it worked pretty well... I should probably get back to it once I take my gap year. And I'm really grateful for my piano teacher. :) We click so well and every time we talk we gain some new insights on music or life in general haha. It's fun for sure!

Funny quote. My friend John would definitely see the funny side of how "schoolmasterly" it sounds. There is a reason why my friend John, and myself also, try to avoid teaching technique - which is that technique is largely a personal thing, and one should avoid trying to assert the supremacy of one's own 'way of doing things' over a student. Any time we share our technique we are offering a snapshot into our world in a 'take it or leave it' kind of way. I always prefer that approach to being like, "Composition is an art, not a pastime for dabblers." Yes, it's hard work, but I don't draw a line in the sand that attempts to gatekeep it above a certain skill level. The most experienced among us are comfortable looking like foolish beginners.

@GregHarradineComposer

4 ай бұрын

Absolutely, totally agree Cameron. Well said!

I am very much a dabbler, almost all of my works, be they classical compositions, pop songs, or weird experimental metal, start out with me noodling on a given instrument, and trying different variations of the noodling until an idea sticks, theory can function as guidelines for continuation and arrangement of these ideas, but sound comes first. If I find some weird note that is not theoretically explainable (at least with my limited knowledge), but I like the way it sounds, then that is the note that shall be. Writing is very much a dabbling activity for me, even though I write a lot. Practice on the other hand, I take very seriously, once a song is written, and I intend to play it, I will spend hours going over every transition, melody, riff etc. etc. until it is engrained in me.

@GregHarradineComposer

2 ай бұрын

Sounds like a good combination of "dabbling" and serious practice!

Dear Greg. I have just watched this video two times and I have been following your posts on social networks. This is a more serious business than it initially appears. Yes, the statement can be really funny or really hurtful. In fact, it is too strict. Out of context, it can be understood more as a rule or law than as a personal opinion of the author. On the other hand, we must open our minds (if the author is not tolerant, let us be) and try to understand that human thinking (and, therefore, the way we communicate and understand each other) has changed a lot from the last century to the present day. I mean that ways of expressing oneself that, at a certain time, were unequivocal, can lead to confusion and even misinterpretation in another. My personal opinion on the matter is not so radical, I am not totally in favour or totally against it. Many human activities (and that includes artistic activities) can be practiced at different "levels of professionalism." Many people have got hobbies. Just because you are not a professional fisherman does not prevent you from going out to the river this afternoon to catch a trout. Just because you're not a professional athlete doesn't mean you shouldn't go out this afternoon to jog a few kilometers (it's also good for your health). The same thing happens with music: many of my piano students (and I guess the same thing happens to my fellow piano teachers) are not going to be music professionals: they just come to learn an instrument, have a funny or entertaining activity, or, simply looking for some music therapy. Why couldn't the same thing happen with composition? Why couldn't a dabbler compose music?

@GregHarradineComposer

4 ай бұрын

Thanks for your thoughts, Carlos. It is a complicated issue, but your point about opening our minds is well put. Of course we are free to work hard and free to dabble, and as I said in the video, I am totally in favour of composers dabbling when and if they want to. A mixture of hard work and play is surely the best way to live.

Absolutely agree with you, Greg,- work under composition is serious work, not entertainment,- very interesting video !!❤😊

Some think you aren't serious about composing (or to be dismissed) unless you've studied composition academically...it's not so much dabbling versus the serious, but professional versus amateur. Amateurs like myself take our composing very seriously... and I don't think for someone with your skill, playing around on the piano represents dabbling...it's more noodling out of which can come interesting and promising ideas...your level of commitment is what makes you serious and not a dabbler...whether you are just having fun at the keyboard or working on a large scale project, you have a long term abiding passion for music. Dabbler would be synonymous with the other derogatory term "dilettante"...I think if you scratch the surface historically about who is considered a dilettante it would be the "amateur"

@GregHarradineComposer

4 ай бұрын

I guess so much depends on one's personal definition of "dabbling"! But you make a very important distinction, that of professional vs amateur. Dilettante - great word! Thanks for your thoughts, John.

I consider myself a composer, and despite finishing up a bachelor's degree in music composition this semester, I solely dabble in composition. It is a creative hobby of mine in which I have an academic interest. My professional interests lie in the world of mathematics. Adding the music degree onto my math degree ended up not costing me anything because of an incredible opportunity offered by my school. In the fall, I'll be entering a mathematics doctoral studies program. I am solely a dabbler, but that doesn't mean I'm not a composer. It might just mean I'm a fine composer instead of a great composer. I'm okay with that. If my career were tied to the music I write, I'd have to change careers because I wouldn't be able to keep up with the demand and workload. I can barely keep up with the demand for my composition lessons.

@GregHarradineComposer

4 ай бұрын

Wonderful to hear. I think one person's definition of "dabbling" is quite different from another's. You sound like a very accomplished "dabbler"!

@memyselfishness

4 ай бұрын

@@GregHarradineComposer Obviously comparing one self's to their peers can bring about things such as impostor syndrome, but when compared to the other composition students at my school, I probably produce about a tenth of the music that they do both in terms of length and complexity. My pace is much slower than theirs.

@GregHarradineComposer

4 ай бұрын

@@memyselfishness Quality over quantity, etc! Comparing oneself to others is always a dangerous game. I think if I did that too often I'd never write a note. I try to only compare myself to my younger self, and there one can hopefully see progress!

Very interesting. I definitely do a lot of dabbling but I can see how the author of a composition textbook might have a hot take there.

@GregHarradineComposer

4 ай бұрын

Haha, just imagining him having his hot take back in 1947!

Alexander Borodin is a +1 for dabbling.

Interesting video mate! Im definitely more of a duck 🦆

@GregHarradineComposer

4 ай бұрын

Haha, nothing wrong with ducks! Fine, fine creatures.

Great video greg well where do I start if you want to be a composer that needs to pay the bills it's can't be a dable it's got to be serious or ya on the park bench lol but if it's a enjoyable pass time it can only add enrichment to ya life if for example you take Chopin studies they are for the student who must dable before taking on the task and all the guitar studies by aguado for the student no one is ever born serious they have to dabble to get the interest and that's my view but to leave this hear Yehudi Menuhin once said virtuosity is nothing without musicianship and musicianship is nothing without virtuosity. Best wishes Phil 👍

@GregHarradineComposer

4 ай бұрын

Thanks for your thoughts Phil! I would say that even a composer who needs to pay bills may benefit from occasional dabbling, but of course it can only be for say 5% of their time, as they need to work seriously for the other 95%. Some combined measure of work and play is surely better than too much of one or the other.

Inspiring video! Is there a way to contact you directly?

@GregHarradineComposer

3 ай бұрын

Thanks! Yes, feel free to email me: info @ gregharradine . com

You can't swim without a bit of dabbling first. Like a duck.

@GregHarradineComposer

4 ай бұрын

Precisely!

My email to that address bounced back. The same with greg @ ..

@GregHarradineComposer

3 ай бұрын

I’m sorry, I have been having email issues but they should be fixed now. I just tested those addresses and they work fine, please try again and comment here if you have any problems. Thanks.

@hamidassadi1438

3 ай бұрын

No problem. I sent an email and it did not bounce back - thanks.