Been meaning to write this but I haven't had time to do this until recently.
I have seen this in Steven's signature for a while now and I have approached it from many different angles and I am still in the dark. I think I know what it says but there is a strong chance I have 'gotten it wrong'.
What does it mean? Not only to Steven who wrote it (or uses it, it may be an unattributed quote, but I have no reference) but to other pfmers.
It's an interesting concept but philosophically its a bit of a minefield for me.
"Theorising less... and learning more" seem mutually incompatible concepts, especially when "listening more" (what does "more" mean here? listening harder? Listening in a certain way? Spending more hours of the day listening?), you see, to me its corollary, I.e. "learning less" is symptomatic of "theorising less" and assuming you are "learning more, because you are listening more" really, IMV requires theorising more (at least in trying to create links between the structure off audio and music, widening ones vocabulary of elaborating on and describing one's musical experience: getting to grips with the structural underpinnings of what it is you are critically learning more blah blah blah and so on...). By "theorising less" you enable a whole load of assumptions to go unchallenged, these get assumed as fact and that allows learning less because you have already stunted your ability to critically assess by theorising less so you cannot learn more.
Augh! Did anyone follow that? It's why I tippy toed around the signature but it's annoying me now. It seems a bit of a logical aberration.
Ok, frankly its a complete dog's dinner in my head right now, maybe the drugs... but what the hay do I know I'm struggling with the philosophical effects of imposing sine waves on crackly field recordings and calling it "composition".
Is "Theorise less, listen more and learn more" simply designed for fracking with one's head? is that it's intended purpose? Is it some sort of post-postmodern statement or meta-ironic comment?
Iz confused.
I have seen this in Steven's signature for a while now and I have approached it from many different angles and I am still in the dark. I think I know what it says but there is a strong chance I have 'gotten it wrong'.
What does it mean? Not only to Steven who wrote it (or uses it, it may be an unattributed quote, but I have no reference) but to other pfmers.
It's an interesting concept but philosophically its a bit of a minefield for me.
"Theorising less... and learning more" seem mutually incompatible concepts, especially when "listening more" (what does "more" mean here? listening harder? Listening in a certain way? Spending more hours of the day listening?), you see, to me its corollary, I.e. "learning less" is symptomatic of "theorising less" and assuming you are "learning more, because you are listening more" really, IMV requires theorising more (at least in trying to create links between the structure off audio and music, widening ones vocabulary of elaborating on and describing one's musical experience: getting to grips with the structural underpinnings of what it is you are critically learning more blah blah blah and so on...). By "theorising less" you enable a whole load of assumptions to go unchallenged, these get assumed as fact and that allows learning less because you have already stunted your ability to critically assess by theorising less so you cannot learn more.
Augh! Did anyone follow that? It's why I tippy toed around the signature but it's annoying me now. It seems a bit of a logical aberration.
Ok, frankly its a complete dog's dinner in my head right now, maybe the drugs... but what the hay do I know I'm struggling with the philosophical effects of imposing sine waves on crackly field recordings and calling it "composition".
Is "Theorise less, listen more and learn more" simply designed for fracking with one's head? is that it's intended purpose? Is it some sort of post-postmodern statement or meta-ironic comment?
Iz confused.