Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Musicians?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 71 posts

Re: Ask HN: Musicians?

#61

Post by Flemlord »

axod wrote: post #27

I mess around on the piano, which I bought this last year. Love it to death, it's great to just play when you need a break. (BTW I cannot recommend the Yamaha GT2 enough). I'm absolutely terrible at reading music, but I can play anything by ear, I wonder if that's usual for hacker types. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=y6UPJJqwc1k

> I can play anything by ear, I wonder if that's usual for hacker types.

I think it has more to do with how you learned the instrument. Most classically trained pianists I know couldn't sound out a Doors tune to save their life. On the other hand, once I started playing in bands, just about everybody I met could listen to a song and have it figured out within an hour.

I (a hacker type) was better than most classically trained types at sounding out music, but still had difficulties compared to most people in the band circuit. I usually couldn't really nail a part unless I found the music in a magazine somewhere. (this was pre-Internet, today this wouldn't be an issue)

Re: Ask HN: Musicians?

#62

Post by Flemlord »

ntoll wrote: post #53

Regarding music and hacking. Personally, music theory and the compositional techniques I learned as a student "feel" very similar to hacking: writing an examination fugue in the style of J.S.Bach involves complex thinking and problem solving within a (semi) formal system with an additional (and essential) appreciation of conciseness, grace, style and aesthetic. Also, hacking music is fun! When I was learning to progr…

You just brought back a pleasant memory. Back in my C64 days I wrote a program that created Bach inventions. One of my few early hacker accomplishments that impressed my non-techie parents.

For anybody who doesn't know what that is, here's Bach's most famous:

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/js-bach-invention-13-rendi...

(Originally written for the harpsichord I believe.)

Re: Ask HN: Musicians?

#64

Post by dag »

I play in the church band every other week, that week involves 3 hours of practice and a 5/6 song set. I highly recommend this as this setting includes other people who require you to participate, and encourage you to play well.

Almost everyone in our band has a bachelor's degree, some have grad school, and there are a couple PhDs and an MBA. Some of the musicians are amazing.

Re: Ask HN: Musicians?

#67

Post by xiaoma »

Flemlord wrote: post #61
axod wrote: post #27

I mess around on the piano, which I bought this last year. Love it to death, it's great to just play when you need a break. (BTW I cannot recommend the Yamaha GT2 enough). I'm absolutely terrible at reading music, but I can play anything by ear, I wonder if that's usual for hacker types. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=y6UPJJqwc1k

> I can play anything by ear, I wonder if that's usual for hacker types. I think it has more to do with how you learned the instrument. Most classically trained pianists I know couldn't sound out a Doors tune to save their life. On the other hand, once I started playing in bands, just about everybody I met could listen to a song and have it figured out within an hour. I (a hacker type) was better than most classicall…

I have very little training myself, but my grandmother is a "classically trained type". She was a cellist at Oberlin Conservatory and has perfect pitch. I can send her into another room while I hit six keys on a piano and she can name all the notes. I can kick a metal garbage can and she can say what notes the resulting sound are closest to. While I was studying piano for a short time myself, I tested her abilities pretty thoroughly. Writing out (or just playing) a pop song is trivial for someone like that.

From what she's said to me, those skills weren't that exceptional. Many good strings players have perfect pitch, and even those who don't or those who play other instruments have excellent relative pitch. I don't see how a classically trained pianist would have problems with a Doors tune, especially considering how few chord progressions pop songs use.

Re: Ask HN: Musicians?

#68

Post by nickfox »

I've been playing guitar and singing for a good number of years. I'm working on my second music video. It's the song Patience by Guns n' Roses. My first music video was Across the Universe by the Beatles. I don't have very good "stage presence" in my first video but the one I'm working on now will be much better. Here's my first video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7zro5VpUf0&feature=chann...

Re: Ask HN: Musicians?

#69

Post by cperciva »

antiform wrote: post #37

My pet theory is that playing a musical instrument is less common a hobby among programmers now than it was a generation ago, because now programming tends to be associated with "Computer Science" as its own discipline, rather than a subdiscipline of math. Near the end of this interview [ http://tex.loria.fr/historique/interviews/knuth-clb1993.html ], Don Knuth says that one way CS graduate students have changed sinc…

My pet theory is that playing a musical instrument is less common a hobby among programmers now than it was a generation ago, because now programming tends to be associated with "Computer Science" as its own discipline, rather than a subdiscipline of math.

I'd say you have that backwards. Mathematicians and Computer Scientists have always been interested in music; but Programmers haven't. These days if you look around a computer science department -- at least, if you look at the students -- you'll be looking mostly at programmers, not at computer scientists.

When I was in Oxford, I saw a mix of "people interested in computer science" and "people interested in programming" -- and as far as I could tell, every one of the CS people was interested in music, while not even one of the programmers was.

Re: Ask HN: Musicians?

#70

Post by timothyandrew »

dag wrote: post #63
timothyandrew wrote: post #12

I play bass. Used to play the piano.

Same, but played trumpet in between (I find that bassists have often played trumpet in the past).

Well, it's always easier to learn a second instrument if you have a firm grasp on basic music theory. I hated playing the piano, but in retrospect, it's really helped me pick up the bass faster/better.
Post reply on HN