You may have noticed that Lessonface has an Italian Mini Course in progress this month. This language conversation course is the first of its kind on Lessonface, and I see it as a fun and fitting addition to the typical music class offerings. As a flamenco and classical guitarist and Spanish speaker, I've had a lot of experience learning both skills, and the learning processes have quite a lot in common:
Proficiency requires the right balance of study and just going for it.
When you’re fluent in a language, you don’t diagram the subject, direct object in every sentence you write, nor do you think about making the gender of your adjectives agree with that of your nouns as you converse with friends. But if you speak, read, and write that language at a professional or academic level, you’ve had to study those things at some point in your development. Even if English your mother tongue, any standard school curriculum includes English grammar at an academic level, and that education comes through even in your casual writing.
Similarly, plenty of musicians have good ears and can pick out tunes and chords on their instrument without any guidance. But if they want to play their instrument seriously and in a professional context, they’ll need some guidance in proper technique and music theory.
Still, no amount of grammar study, technique, or music theory will get you to a level of proficiency if you don’t learn to just trust your instincts and go for it. Grammatical perfection does not enable you to hold a conversation with a stranger. Technical perfection is meaningless if you can’t put your heart into what you play and make your listener feel something in response. In language, regular conversation practice is absolutely critical right from the start and is really one of the end goals. Likewise in music, regardless of where you are in your technical development, you need to learn to relax and just play music -- for yourself, and, when you’re ready, for listeners. You can have a basic conversation with a vocabulary of ten words, and you can play an intro-level song knowing just three notes. Communicating and expressing yourself in both language and music depend as much on creativity and resourcefulness in the moment as they do on careful practice and preparation.
Daniela Busciglio, who is teaching the Italian conversation course this June, explains the concept excellently in this article. She discusses how language-learning apps are fun and useful, and can help you learn the basics of a language up to a certain point. But an app can never be a substitute for real conversation. Real conversations are dynamic, unplanned, and never the same. Part of learning to communicate is learning to understand and respond to new and unexpected situations, and no app or exercise can predict those for you.
Cultural and context matter.
Music and language are inextricable from the cultures in which they arose. In learning a language, you have to learn about the culture that speaks the language. Words, phrases, and sentence construction reflect the culture’s customs and the ways people think. The variation of a language you choose to learn (for example, Spanish spoken in Mexico versus Spain, or British versus American English) will drastically affect your accent, vocabulary, and grammar habits.
Likewise in music, in order to interpret music appropriately, you need to understand the historical and cultural context in which the style of music evolved and/or the piece of music was composed. If you’re living in North America playing rock music, you might not need to think about this, because you’re living in the culture in which it arose. Even so, if you’re covering a classic song, it certainly helps your act to know something about the historical context in which the song was written and released.
In most of classical music, Italian musical terms are standard for giving instructions about language and dynamics. Language study is an integral part of a conservatory curriculum for classical and opera singers. Most have to study Italian, French, and German at the very least. It’s impossible to sing lyrics and express the melodies effectively if you don’t understand what you’re singing.
When I’m teaching even the most introductory flamenco class, I teach Spanish vocabulary for certain flamenco techniques. Student also need to learn how flamenco guitar evolved - in the southern Spanish culture, and as an accompaniment instrument for flamenco singing and dance - in order to understand what they’re playing and how to put it together.
It helps to start young -- but don’t let that stop you as an adult
Both language and music learning are surrounded by a lot of information and misinformation about starting young. It’s entirely true that learning languages happens most naturally in one’s formative years. That’s when its easiest to internalize pronunciation and accents. And musicians who start playing their instruments at a young age have a tremendous head start if becoming a professional is their goal.
But I’ve found that the emphasis on young start is a bit exaggerated and can be needlessly intimidating to adult beginners. It’s great to have your kids learn languages and music -- they learn a ton and it helps develop their minds in really And for certain aspects of language acquisition (accents and pronunciation), there are certain things that are best learned young. But an older student who approaches their language or music studies with the right attitude and dedication will have at least as much success as a young child. Adults tend to have clear, internal motivation for learning a language or instrument. They know themselves better and can articulate what they don’t understand. And their self-discipline and time management skills are infinitely helpful in practicing well.
What are your experiences in learning languages versus learning music? What languages do you speak and what instruments do you play? Do you find the processes similar? What are your thoughts about starting young? How much does it help? What advice do adult learners or ‘late-starters’ have for each other?
Regarding the culture and music, what are some more musical styles that require an understanding of the music’s culture? Who studies a style of music that is from a country they’ve never visited? How has your understanding of that culture grown by studying the music? What sorts of cultural information do you typically learn in language course, and how is it relevant?
Greetings from the relatively cool Pacific Northwest:
Thanks for this thoughtful article. It would be of interest to me to see you take your thoughts a step further and discuss the relative purposes of language and of music. Are the same? It seems that the purpose of language is a little more straightforward: basically, we use word symbols to convey meaning. Is it the same with notes on a page of music? How about musical phrases? Of course, I am thinking of "wordless" music such as classical guitar. What is the purpose of the musical component for songs with words? How about atonal music, both worded and wordless?
Que lastima! If one needs to thoroughly understand the culture that produced the music he is attempting to understand and play, what about those of us who are playing music originating from Spain, France, Germany, etc.?
Oh, well, enough navel-gazing for now. Thanks, Leah. Tim
Hi Tim, these are such great questions, thanks for asking them!! I've been pondering then for a few days...
Your language and music questions make me think of Hans Christian Andersen’s quote ‘When words fail, music speaks’. I do think music and language serve very similar purposes, though both are good at different things. Words are certainly more practical and necessary in everyday life. But they can’t cover everything we need to express, and that’s where music (and all art forms) come into play. I do think of notes as similar to written language. You can play music and not read notes. In some genres (flamenco for example), you can play professionally and . But written music serves a really valuable communication role if you’re trying to coordinate many musicians at once. And it has been indispensable in the evolution of composed music throughout eras before recording technology. Before we could record, written music was the only way to that a musician could play music written by a composer he didn’t know (and maybe lived on another continent, or had died centuries earlier.)
As far as music with words… I don’t see it as that differently than instrumental music. To me the words are like an additional instrument. But that said, if whatever you’re playing has lyrics, you need to understand them (or at least get a good translation). Otherwise its like ignoring a band mate.
Regarding atonal music, I don’t consider it different from tonal music in its intentions. However, it’s trying to break out of communication patterns that we are very accustomed to. To unfamiliar ears, it’s almost like listening to a foreign language. The words (music) have a hard time affecting us because we’re just not used to associating meanings with those sounds.
In response to your second theme, I don't think ALL music absolutely depends on a deep understanding of the culture/language in which it originated. You can play all the Debussy and Bach you want without speaking a word of French or German. But understanding the era and general context in which a piece was written DOES help you to understand the music itself. The internet is infinitely useful in this regard. A quick google search on any piece you’re learning should give you some context on the era, composer, and, hopefully, backstory.
For example, if you’re playing ‘Recuerdos de la Alhambra’, you should know what ‘recuerdos’ means (memories) and what the alhambra is (a beautiful, expansive mountainous estate/garden/palace in Granada) at the very least. The knowledge that the music was inspired by a beautiful landscape and architecture is important. Likewise, you should know that the Astor Piazzolla’s ‘Adios Nonino’, which has been transcribed for guitar, was written for his late father and during an especially low period in the composer’s life (check out this wikipidia summary) . Can you imagine the interpretive consequences that could result if you didn’t know, or even mixed up, the backstories of the two pieces? The result might still be musically beautiful. And you could also make the point that what’s important is what the piece means to YOU, the player -- not the composers intentions. But whether you choose to incorporate the background information and intentions into your playing or not, the backstory exists, and has huge potential influcence on how you interpret the piece.
The examples get even more complex. Take Shostakovich’s Symphony 5, for example. When it was written, Shostakovich’s previous few symphonies had been criticized for being too progresive and unpatriotic. Symphony 5 was originally titled “A Soviet artist’s reply to just criticism,” <and it> brought him back into the good graces of the Soviet authorities… (cited from this article). How you interpret the symphony 5 depends on how you listen to it. In one light, it sounds upbeat and patriotic. In another, it sounds forced and almost ironic… as if it contains a sort of mocking political joke.
If you’re playing flamenco genre, which is inextricably tied to southern Spanish culture and history, there is a lot of background you need to understand to play it even halfway decently. You need to know that the guitar evolved as an accompaniment instrument to singing and dance. Everything we play as soloists derives from that context. You need to know the moods and rhythms contained in each palos. You might be able to play solo flamenco guitar pretty well with good technique, interpretive skills, and general historical knowledge. But without knowledge of the singing, language, culture, and historical context, it would be next to impossible to accompany singing well. It’s about so much more than just melody and harmony. The great flamenco guitarists reflect their understanding of flamenco singing and dance even when they play solo.