Dave Wirth
Possibly the coolest thing about blogging is that it's an opportunity to keep working on problems and seeing to their solutions.
"How do you learn a song and still love it just as much when you get done learning it?"
I'm still a little speechless. In the previous posts, I was exploring the philosophical sides of this question. However, there are some logical answers that I think might help someone out if they are having trouble with this question.
First, learning only the guitar part means that one learns only one aspect of the song. In lessons, I love rationalizing why I have the music turned down low while we're playing. Of course it's good to be nice to neighbors, but it's even better to force ourselves to really pay attention to the song. I like to help people even forget that they are playing guitar and encourage them to remember they are playing music. Same deal with the learning the guitar part in a song. If we learn it, we can pay more attention to the rest of the song.
Second, if you plan on learning a song, be prepared to let it go. I learned a difficult jazz solo one year in college, and I felt that I got it, but I also felt that all the mystery of the solo was drained. I still can't listen to that song, and it's too bad. It's a good one. The moral of the story is that if there is mystery and you don't want to lose it, try not to be tempted. In addition, why couldn't you save songs and decide to never learn them? I know this might sound odd, but it's an idea. There is a song that I absolutely love, but the truth is that I have never ever learned it. Why? Because it still is beautiful. Why would I want to spoil it?
Perhaps this still comes down to a major philosophical question that musicians must contend with. Which is more important: The Mystery or the Mastery? For me, mystery is far more important. I never want to lose my love of playing music.
