Information Overload
Last week has been very intellectually overwhelming for me.
Imagine yourself in front of two time portals: one transports you to the conventional past while the other leads you to the far-reaching future. If you were a scholar, where will you first go to discover things unknown to you?
I am currently enrolled in two subjects of almost the same contents but of different perspectives: Music Theory on Thursdays where my teacher is Sister Emelita, a traditional type of educator, and Historical Survey on Satudays under Ms. April Sta. Maria, a liberal one.
To give you an example, both of them asked us to define music. To Sister Em (as how we call her), music is an organization of sounds of silences that is pleasing to the ears and delivers a message. On the other hand, Ms. April modified this definition by stating that music, as I recall, is a combination of sounds and silences that appeals to the senses OR the intellect. There might only be a slight difference, but the point is, the liberal thought suggests that music does not have to be regular or pleasing to the ears, as long at it has a message, as Ms. Sta. Maria always gives contemporary music as an example.
Moreover, we were only starting to review the different elements of music with Sister Elemita last Thursday when while Ms. Sta. Maria introduced that some of the elements will be lost in the contemporary music.
What I like about both them is that I can get two different points of view when it comes to music theory, which is good for any discipline. However, for a student who has only started learning or re-learning music, this is somewhat frustrating. I, for one, am only learning how to play the violin, a classical music instrument, and a member of an orchestra that always plays baroque music. I can not grasp all the advanced concepts of music when I’m only a beginner.
I asked Ms. April about her comment on one needs to be good at the classical or conventional before going to the liberal or modern aspect of music. She said that it may be good for other disciplines, like visual arts, but in music one has to be open-minded at the start. Although I am somewhat accustomed to the conventional mode of learning, I agree.
So what was your answer on the question above? In my case, I would split myself into two and experience both worlds at the same time – as what I am doing now.
Tick... tock... tick... tock... BOOM.
Imagine yourself in front of two time portals: one transports you to the conventional past while the other leads you to the far-reaching future. If you were a scholar, where will you first go to discover things unknown to you?
I am currently enrolled in two subjects of almost the same contents but of different perspectives: Music Theory on Thursdays where my teacher is Sister Emelita, a traditional type of educator, and Historical Survey on Satudays under Ms. April Sta. Maria, a liberal one.
To give you an example, both of them asked us to define music. To Sister Em (as how we call her), music is an organization of sounds of silences that is pleasing to the ears and delivers a message. On the other hand, Ms. April modified this definition by stating that music, as I recall, is a combination of sounds and silences that appeals to the senses OR the intellect. There might only be a slight difference, but the point is, the liberal thought suggests that music does not have to be regular or pleasing to the ears, as long at it has a message, as Ms. Sta. Maria always gives contemporary music as an example.
Moreover, we were only starting to review the different elements of music with Sister Elemita last Thursday when while Ms. Sta. Maria introduced that some of the elements will be lost in the contemporary music.
What I like about both them is that I can get two different points of view when it comes to music theory, which is good for any discipline. However, for a student who has only started learning or re-learning music, this is somewhat frustrating. I, for one, am only learning how to play the violin, a classical music instrument, and a member of an orchestra that always plays baroque music. I can not grasp all the advanced concepts of music when I’m only a beginner.
I asked Ms. April about her comment on one needs to be good at the classical or conventional before going to the liberal or modern aspect of music. She said that it may be good for other disciplines, like visual arts, but in music one has to be open-minded at the start. Although I am somewhat accustomed to the conventional mode of learning, I agree.
So what was your answer on the question above? In my case, I would split myself into two and experience both worlds at the same time – as what I am doing now.
Tick... tock... tick... tock... BOOM.
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