With Feeling.

There is no Music without Math. 

There is no Music without Patterns.

But without Emotion, Music is not alive.

Art.

The question, “what is art and what is not?” has been a great debate for many centuries. Following that question is usually a stream of other questions such as, what makes art good? What makes art bad? Should art only be a tangible thing? Can art be messy? Should art be vulgar? Can art be ugly?

There is a difference between a person who can display technical knowledge and ability and an artist. That difference to me, is emotion. Feel… To me, art should elicit some type of an emotional response and cause a stream of thoughts or consciousness. The next time you hear or see something and you think it’s ugly or simple or stupid, try and focus on how you actually FEEL.

As a musician, I think that its is possible to play or sing or write something emotional, but it lack “feeling”. You can know notes, chords, progressions, groove and fills and the correct way to play them and still lack musicality. Mechanical vs. Musical… A musicians feel is articulated by a variety of things. From good use of dynamics (not just volume, but intensity as well) good rhythm, note lengths, and spaces between them. 

The most beautiful thing about art is that although you can connect it to theories, styles, and patterns, above all else is feeling- and THAT is something personal.

“The main thing is to be moved, to love, to hope, to tremble, to live.” – Auguste Rodin