INTP and guitars

[onesteptwostep]

I'll get straight to the point: do you think it's possible for an INTP to coherently have a constant flow of emotion by singing and playing on the guitar?

Other instruments are simple. On the piano you just play it, the violin, you play it. etc. But playing AND singing??

I find this really hard to do. I find myself being more immersed and distracted in the technicality of how to play rather than focus on the emotional aspect of music. It just... I can't seem to get a constant flow, unless I'm at like my best condition and in the most comfortable enviornment, which probably happens like, never.

I also wonder if there are actually bands with lead singers who are INTP.. that'd be interesting.

 

[Seteleechete]

I think it is a matter of learning to play the guitar on instinct, before you can sing to it as well. I can easily start a classical music segment and start singing to it and I don't imagine it would be different if i played the segment, as long as I did it from instinct and was not actively thinking about it.

 

[TheManBeyond]

Recently i saw a enterview with one of my favourite metal bands singer (joe duplantier from gojira, probably an ENFP) and the guy was saying something like that for their last album they wanted to create atmospheres rather than just finding the right triggers (backbone breaking riffs) for our violence, that way he could sing in a more emotional way even if he's screaming his vowels out. So he's a master with both instruments plus a feeling type probably and he still struggles with mixing technique and emotion. And you see live videos and you are like, how can you say you struggle with it?

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suG-c_i2fBQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWuwPFe2otA

But obviously, just by listening to his vocals how do you do to differentiate between emotion, power and technique?
Maybe you just don't actually like what you are doing (i don't mean you are not made for playing music, i mean you don't trully are in tune with the song or the mood to perform perfectly).
Relevant.

 

[Jennywocky]

I don't think it's type related.

It's a musician thing. If you can get into it and you know the instrument instinctively and have the talent, you just do it without even thinking. But that takes a lot of familiarity with the instrument(s) and a wilingness to trust the experience versus being in "analytical mode" all the time. If necessary, you redirect your brain to thinking about how things fit together as you go and how you can add what you're doing right this second to what has come before, to create a seamless experience.

 

[TheManBeyond]

I have a istp friend who bought a guitar and he's always saying things like, i learnt the scales, i learnt the arppegios, i learnt smoke on the water (shitty disgusting riff) and similars but when you ask him how much does he play the guitar he goes like: "when i have guitar classes and sometimes when i'm bored". That's obviously not passion.
I remember when i got my first guitar i used to be playing all day long locked up in my room, that was 0 comunication with the exterior, what nanook calls to be an introvert. When i got out i constantly got blind from light... and to this day i think hahah.

 

[Helvete]

I'll get straight to the point: do you think it's possible for an INTP to coherently have a constant flow of emotion by singing and playing on the guitar?

Other instruments are simple. On the piano you just play it, the violin, you play it. etc. But playing AND singing??

I find this really hard to do. I find myself being more immersed and distracted in the technicality of how to play rather than focus on the emotional aspect of music. It just... I can't seem to get a constant flow, unless I'm at like my best condition and in the most comfortable enviornment, which probably happens like, never.

I also wonder if there are actually bands with lead singers who are INTP.. that'd be interesting.

Your post lacks a lot of sense to me. Yes, I think an INTP, as well as any other type can achieve what you describe with a guitar.
How simple the instrument in question is dependent on the musician; some may find the guitar to be an extension of themselves and a violin to be a complete hindrance, thus causing disjointed playing and singing. It's just down to their experience.

I do not know how you are at playing but it is just a matter of practice and becoming naturally coherent with the guitar, or any instrument to the extent of not having to think about it. Then you may decide to play drums or cook some food or sing maybe whilst you're able to shed some concentration someplace else, with all the emotional coherence you desire.

 

[onesteptwostep]

I've played for a while actually; I think it's been over 10 years, in fact.

I have a istp friend who bought a guitar and he's always saying things like, i learnt the scales, i learnt the arppegios, i learnt smoke on the water (shitty disgusting riff) and similars but when you ask him how much does he play the guitar he goes like: "when i have guitar classes and sometimes when i'm bored". That's obviously not passion.
I remember when i got my first guitar i used to be playing all day long locked up in my room, that was 0 comunication with the exterior, what nanook calls to be an introvert. When i got out i constantly got blind from light... and to this day i think hahah.

I think I don't have passion for music but rather a want for expressing/venting emotions that I have inside. It works sometimes and sometimes it just doesn't. Like I would start with one song.. then suddently after a while I become self-aware and the emotion just dies out, and then I start being all technical.. then I just start losing interest in playing. This is sort of what I mean when I say is it possible to have a coherent flow of emotion.. yeah I know this must sound pretty weird for some people. x_x

It's a musician thing. If you can get into it and you know the instrument instinctively and have the talent, you just do it without even thinking. But that takes a lot of familiarity with the instrument(s) and a wilingness to trust the experience versus being in "analytical mode" all the time. If necessary, you redirect your brain to thinking about how things fit together as you go and how you can add what you're doing right this second to what has come before, to create a seamless experience.

Hmm yeah, it could just be a musician thing too. I was sort of wondering if this was type related though or just me.

Oh and cognitively what would that, "redirect your brain to thinking about how things fit together" be then.. Te and Si?

 

[Jennywocky]

Oh and cognitively what would that, "redirect your brain to thinking about how things fit together" be then.. Te and Si?

Why are you trying to assign this to functions? Who bloody well cares? It's like stepping backwards, not forwards.

Music talent transcends type.
Music talent transcends type.
Music talent transcends type.

if you want to be a good musician:
1. Practice.
2. Practice some more.
3. Listen to LOTS of music and how other musicians "solve problems."
4. Play for people and see how they respond to your music and then change what you do in order to involve them in your performance.
5. If you can "feel" it, then feel it. Embody the music.

I've played the piano for 40 years (and other instruments are shorter time) and been in various musical groups and led one for awhile. I've composed a decent amount of pieces. Really, it's about the above. If you don't have ability, you at least might get to the point where you enjoy playing. If you do have ability, the more that you play in a variety of settings and stretch yourself, the more of you that will "awaken" and the more experience you'll have. (My own abilities have been limited by my own lack of listening and practicing, to be honest; I should be better than I am.)

This is exactly what all musicians do. They play. What sounds "amazing" to non-musicians or less experienced musicians is really to a large degree familiarity with a huge quantity of musical choices and learning to hear where things have gone and could go. I knew one ragtime/blues pianist who had listened to 30,000 songs or something ridiculous; his playing was impossibly magic to me, but really it just came down to being technically proficient, familiar with many many ways to approach something, and feeling what was going on and not being afraid to follow those instincts.

 

[Architect]

Why are you trying to assign this to functions? Who bloody well cares? It's like stepping backwards, not forwards.

Music talent transcends type.
Music talent transcends type.
Music talent transcends type.

Actually, from a person who was considered a prodigy I'd say the idea that there is a music talent is bullshit

if you want to be a good musician:
1. Practice.

Now we're getting somewhere.

 

[Architect]

I'll get straight to the point: do you think it's possible for an INTP to coherently have a constant flow of emotion by singing and playing on the guitar?

Guitar is an interesting instrument. The classical guitar at least has the most color of probably any instrument out there. The crooners that get on stage singing popular tunes are imposters. Learning to be a classical guitarist is terrifically difficult. I studied interpretation from one, taught me more than any of the big names did like MTT, Ashkenazy and YoYo (yeah name dropping bullshit).

On the voice - nothing special there in this sense. Every musician who gets to university level learns to sing. I sang in a-capella quartets, octets and larger groups. It's easier than an instrument because you already know how to use it - mostly. Just learn how to breath from the diaphragm (which you already know as an instrumentalist probably) and how to get a pitch dead on.

Otherwise, on the relation of music to type, there's been studies for a long time on this subject. It's well known that Introverts go to music, who are then shoved up on stage creating a problem. In the top non professional ranks you see a mixture of N's an S's, professionally I think S's come out on top with a scattering of N's. A friend of mine I played with went professional after going to Curtis (I quit when the next step would have been a career). He's playing in a 2nd tier orchestra, at any rate he's an ISFP and always wanted to park his ass in a symphony chair his whole life.

The best example of a NT musician is Glenn Gould. Poor guy couldn't graduate from Bach - hated Chopin for example. He said that he didn't have to practice anymore, he just thought about how to play the piece and then he could play it. Which is true, it's interesting how our brain works when it comes to learning music, I could talk about that here. But the point is that it would take an NT to actually say that. The S musicians have to actually physically play it, because they want to.

 

[silver_writer]

I definitely think it is possible to sing and play an instrument. It's just a matter of being able to play the instrument without thinking about it, then adding vocalizations. I've been involved with music since a young age, and sing and play guitar/piano frequently. To me, music is a way to release unwanted emotions, if that makes any sense. When I feel an emotional wreck waiting to happen, I deter it through music. I hope that makes sense, I'm truly horrible at describing things.

 

[onesteptwostep]

To me, music is a way to release unwanted emotions, if that makes any sense. When I feel an emotional wreck waiting to happen, I deter it through music. I hope that makes sense, I'm truly horrible at describing things.

I can relate. I use music to understand what kind of psychological state I'm in. Music just starts playing in my head whenever there's a strong emotion arising which I use to pinpoint what that state of mind is. Once I realize what the emotion is, I try to ride on that, or try to reverse it if it's going towards a direction which I think is bad.

Oh and I think there's a word for that- catharsis.

The best example of a NT musician is Glenn Gould. Poor guy couldn't graduate from Bach - hated Chopin for example. He said that he didn't have to practice anymore, he just thought about how to play the piece and then he could play it. Which is true, it's interesting how our brain works when it comes to learning music, I could talk about that here. But the point is that it would take an NT to actually say that. The S musicians have to actually physically play it, because they want to.

I read him up on wiki when you first posted this- he seemed like an interesting person. Looking back on it- He died of a stroke in the head though, before he was 50.. and he seemed like he had a case of paranoia, maybe due to a fall out with a lover (who was married and had 2 kids?). I wonder if he had religious or spiritual beliefs.

 

[RunForWord]

Geddy Lee from Rush is labeled intp by some and he plays bass guitar and sings. Kate Micucci from Garfunkel and Oates also plays a guitar and sings at the same time. I get what you're saying though as far as feeling it goes. It seems when im playing drums sometimes i become immersed with trying to play perfectly and l lose the emotional connection to the song. Playing feely/swingy stuff is what gets me to focus less technically and more for the feel of the song. Pink floyd type stuff works for me, as well as some funk type stuff like the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

 

[Alias]

I identify more with the saxophone. Its unique sound is more typical of my emotions than the guitar. I'm not sure about musicians, unless Bo Burnham, an INTP comedian who does a few songs on the guitar counts (but the songs aren't emotional).