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INTP (good) musicians?

Beholder

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I play piano, guitar, bass, and drums, and dabble in a few others, but I never got past ~beginner level with any instrument, because I just can't get myself to practice at all. I have a decent understanding of musical theory, and a great feel and intuition for it, but close to zero technique. I jam a lot with friends, so that's the only time I actually play, but I play mainly drums, so I'm only really (decently) good at drums.
So my question is, are there any INTP musicians out there? How do you manage to practice? IT'S SO BLOODY BORING!:twisteddevil:
 

0gr0

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I know exactly what you mean! I play keyboard/piano but never practice and I'm still good. And the worst is that I would like to be a music composer :c
And INTP Musicians? I don't know any :c
 

Cogwulf

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That's quite good. I always think it's a shame that most professionally mastered music almost always seems to have the bass guitar level so low that it fades into the background.


Music is a really, really great thing to spend time on. Jamming to evolve, and then adapting songs, and then jamming to them. Beats sex in the long run.
A guitarist called Devin Townsend once remarked that kids when he was young got so good at playing because they didn't have women or porn.
 

The Gopher

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Well I have never played the instrument I wanted to (long story) however I was getting mildly good at a few until I injured my arm. Couldn't be bothered to practice to the point I used to be.
 

Beholder

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So no one (intps) really practices right?
Jamming to evolve, and then adapting songs, and then jamming to them.
that perfectly describes my relationship with music.

A bootleg version of Led Zeppelin doing No Quarter that I've never heard before is playing on the radio :D Then the guy said "anything I play after that will just be pathetic, so we'll just take a commercial brake"
 

Proletar

Deus Sex Machina
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@Cogwulf: Yes, my feelings exactly. The bass is such an interesting instrument playing at those low frequencies, and seeing that it evolved just 40-50 years ago, it is really something completely new.

@Beholder: I'm INTP, and I practice.
 

Jennywocky

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I play piano, guitar, bass, and drums, and dabble in a few others, but I never got past ~beginner level with any instrument, because I just can't get myself to practice at all. I have a decent understanding of musical theory, and a great feel and intuition for it, but close to zero technique. I jam a lot with friends, so that's the only time I actually play, but I play mainly drums, so I'm only really (decently) good at drums.
So my question is, are there any INTP musicians out there? How do you manage to practice? IT'S SO BLOODY BORING!:twisteddevil:

I'm actually way out of practice, and it was always a struggle for me... especially because so much of it was intuitive for me that I could get away with not practicing.

But basically, either you have a set time each day that you never change, and commit to that period of time in actually practicing, and have material picked out to practice.

Or you do it by "need" -- i.e., be part of a group where you get a songlist together, and then you need to woodshed in order to get the pieces down correctly.

For piano, I would try to use Hanon and/or some scales books, set a goal ("15 minutes without stopping, going through the book or starting at a certain page", etc), and then meet it. Don't make any excuses for not doing it, don't adjust to any circumstances. Practicing is a war, and you cannot afford to take prisoners because they will try to turn you, you must shoot everything dead as soon as you see it. ;)
 

Cogwulf

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I had keyboard lessons from the age of around 8 or 9 until I was 16, I was never as good as I could have been due to lack of practice. I meant to carry on playing it once I stopped but didn't. Around the same time I stopped I took up the guitar, but only played it on and off for a few years, I've started again properly recently, although I'm currently hindered by the lack of a chair I can use to play it or space to stand.
 

Proletar

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I was a pretty damn good drummer for awhile, but I practiced very little. I could do some pretty impressive rhythms, but anything that I learned from books ended up very sub-par as I was uninspired. Videos like this made me realize I was not destined to percussion greatness:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsgV5oQ6f28&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL0401C34597DE9751


Oh please! ;)

(4:50)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THXCi3H3NzM


What I learnt from this video is that speed isn't everything. The most important thing is to be in tune with the ones you're playing with, and being a part of a certain soundscape, or a mood. I mean look, he looks ridiculous doing that and is not original by any means.
 

Cogwulf

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I mean look, he looks ridiculous doing that and is not original by any means.

It's pretty much the de facto song for world record attempts. It's less about actually playing a good piece of music (although I'm sure he can anyway) and more about bragging.

If you let people choose whatever they want when they do world record attempts, they can pick stuff which is easier to play at that speed.

I agree though, speed certainly isn't everything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q0WGQbJbso
 

psion

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I've been playing guitar for almost 10 years, when it started my parents put me in lessons and I hated practicing. After I finished a year of lessons, I stopped playing for a couple years. Eventually I picked it back up because my family only had one computer that my dad was always on, so i had to find something to do. To practice I just started learning songs that I liked, I sucked but got better with time.

I would kind of have periods of playing guitar, I would play a ton for a handful of months, then not play for the rest of the year, and so on until a few years ago when I started playing again and kept with it. Once I was good enough to start playing music that wasn't just chords and could write my own music that I didn't hate, I enjoyed playing more. So I think you kind of have to get over a bit of a hump.
 

Architect

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I'm a classical pianist and brought it to the level where I needed to consider whether to follow a professional career. Toured in Europe, performed with a top 3 orchestra, competed, etc, so made it past beginner level. How did I do it? Actually music is what taught me to go beyond myself - exceed my programming as it were, an invaluable skill as I left music for other interests (science and engineering).

I don't know what to say other than if you want something bad enough you'll be willing to do almost anything to get it. I was raised in an all S family (and strong S), so escaping to the concert hall was extraordinarily important for me. That might have played a part.
 

cerebedlam

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I play the bass guitar...But, I'm a total hack...Never had the discipline to master the instrument...At times, I've been 'fairly good' at best...Totally love bass-heavy music and pronounced, complex bass lines...

But, I'd actually like to learn something else about a possible connection between INTP and music...This is very important for me to understand...Has anyone here, musically-inclined or otherwise, gone through any interval of time where they suddenly became exceedingly creative in realm of musical composition...like freakishly so...

Years back, about eight or so, I went through about a six month period where I just started composing music...At first, I would use my cell phone to come up with melody lines and phrases of differing length...It seemed like an almost endless flow of these ideas, and the cell phone was obviously way too limited in that aspect, so I grabbed a software program which enabled me to compose lines for piano, bass, violin, guitar, synth, etc...

I was very depressed, highly introverted, hiding from the world, and abusing alcohol and drugs at the time...But, I composed about a dozen or so of these musical pieces, without any prior knowledge or training in reading or writing...

I showed them to my cousin, who's a graduate of Julliard, and he said that these pieces are what would normally be expected coming from a learned and accomplished musician with plenty of knowledge of 'theory'...Yet, they just flew out of me at a very bad emotional/psychological time...Any other INTP have any experience with this sorta thing?
 

mu is mu

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I play piano, guitar, bass, and drums, and dabble in a few others, but I never got past ~beginner level with any instrument, because I just can't get myself to practice at all. I have a decent understanding of musical theory, and a great feel and intuition for it, but close to zero technique. I jam a lot with friends, so that's the only time I actually play, but I play mainly drums, so I'm only really (decently) good at drums.
So my question is, are there any INTP musicians out there? How do you manage to practice? IT'S SO BLOODY BORING!:twisteddevil:

Many people have told me that I'm a good musician, others are somewhat sad that I haven't chosen to pursue music further in college, and I always advanced to the honor bands back in middle school and high school. I also have perfect pitch and have written a good number of songs. I think that if you could put yourself into a situation that demands musical competence on your part (e.g., school bands like I was), you could probably accomplish some great feats and get past this boredom barrier you're facing. I can also attest that the more skilled you become with an instrument, the more fun playing the instrument--even practicing it--becomes.
 

Proletar

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I play the bass guitar...But, I'm a total hack...Never had the discipline to master the instrument...At times, I've been 'fairly good' at best...Totally love bass-heavy music and pronounced, complex bass lines...

But, I'd actually like to learn something else about a possible connection between INTP and music...This is very important for me to understand...Has anyone here, musically-inclined or otherwise, gone through any interval of time where they suddenly became exceedingly creative in realm of musical composition...like freakishly so...

Years back, about eight or so, I went through about a six month period where I just started composing music...At first, I would use my cell phone to come up with melody lines and phrases of differing length...It seemed like an almost endless flow of these ideas, and the cell phone was obviously way too limited in that aspect, so I grabbed a software program which enabled me to compose lines for piano, bass, violin, guitar, synth, etc...

I was very depressed, highly introverted, hiding from the world, and abusing alcohol and drugs at the time...But, I composed about a dozen or so of these musical pieces, without any prior knowledge or training in reading or writing...

I showed them to my cousin, who's a graduate of Julliard, and he said that these pieces are what would normally be expected coming from a learned and accomplished musician with plenty of knowledge of 'theory'...Yet, they just flew out of me at a very bad emotional/psychological time...Any other INTP have any experience with this sorta thing?

I do that. To study music for me is to, well, listen to music. It's right there. In a matter of weeks, I realised that I could do anything with the pieces I had, and then it just kept flowing.
 

cerebedlam

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I do that. To study music for me is to, well, listen to music. It's right there. In a matter of weeks, I realised that I could do anything with the pieces I had, and then it just kept flowing.

For me, it was restricted to a very small timeframe...I really believe it had to do with my particular personality type, the amount of time I spend 'in my head', combined with the fact that I was at a psychological crossroads at the time...I actually read something on the subject since then, something that described situations where people will experience this type of hyperpriming and surges of creativity...

But, I'm a person who quickly becomes distracted and loses interest in things...Just when I was actually becoming quite proficient at musical composition, I was off to other pursuits like screenwriting...If I ever dedicated myself wholeheartedly to one single thing, maybe I'd eventually master it...Perhaps, fear is what has immobilized and derailed me time and again...
 

snafupants

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Two weeks ago I received a Guild acoustic guitar. Balanced mids, highs, and lows with low action and laudable sustain. An all mahogany, resonant dreadnought. Beautiful. I like playing Beatles and Nick Drake and Radiohead tunes on it. Melody driven music is basically my forte. There are some bridges or progressions, though, that I just can't play irrespective of time and effort, while other complex arrangements prove relatively easy to pull off. Overall I'd rank myself as an intermediate guitar player. I can play the piano too, but I prefer the portability and folksy sound of an acoustic guitar.
 

noksve

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I'm currently studying the double bass with the Streicher school (so, classical). I cannot say that I'm a virtuoso or anything, nor it has been easy, but I've learned quite quickly, specially since I started kind of late. I must admit that all the studying and practicing gets boring and tiring sometimes (sometimes too frequently) (and it is so damn big and painful), but as someone else said, the better you are, the more interesting it gets to practice. I've got myself impressed with how long I've managed to pull this out (two years almost), while most other things I tend to quit after a couple of months.
 

EditorOne

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As I recall one of our characteristics is to pursue anything somewhat intensely until we achieve competence, then get bored.
 

Proletar

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Some memories of my musical progress just came back to me. Probably (almost definetly) my three fondest ones:


First one, my second year of playing music. I was about 10 and in school, we sort of had a voluntary class of music for one hour each week. I played bass, and was showing to be good at it. My teacher at one point said that I was probably born with a bass, but I saw that as a way for him to increase my spirit. One day after everyone had gone, he taught me the bassline of Diving Duck Blues, and the next week, I had got it. Playing it that time, I had some serious adrenalin in my body, I just simply couldn't believe the sounds I made, hearing them on the amplifier. Shaking and ecstatic, I left. That day, me and music just clicked.

Second one was one year later, at my new school with my new guitar teacher. My mother had bought me an electric guitar that summer, and I had picked up the pentatonic scale from a relative. After learning tunes such as Cocaine and the solo of Paranoid, I got to do one of my own to a blues in A. My first solo. Again, I left the place shaken, realising that I could use the scales to improvise. I spent that year by my guitar, finding new ways and new tones, fitting them together like legos.

The third one beats the rest. After elementary-school, I joined a music-oriented program. I hooked up with some music-people there, and on the second year, we went on a study-trip with the school. My ensemble were into progressive blues that year, and I played guitar in it. We were going to a neighbouring town to play a "friendly competition" against their musical program. Of course, there was nothing friendly about it. A sign that they had even said "the ultimate showdown", and they were eager to impress. First that night, they went with their groups. They sucked. The first metal-head on stage let out a "are you ready to ROCK?!" or something like that, dropping the microphone to the ground mid-sentence. They were very basic to sum it up, and then WE got to play. Our ensemble were the first up, and I guess that everyone in my class saw me as somewhat of a wild-card. I was shaking going TO the stage, with loads to prove since all eyes were fixed on me, and since we by no circumstances were to lose to them. Any fuckups, and we wouldn't properly set the tone (pun unintentional) for the rest of us.

I felt that I could barely control my hands as I started to play, but everything just turned out perfect. At the solo, I started to numb out. Even my palate was numbing out, but I was shredding beyond belief! With accuracy and feeling! As if my logical side had given in to all the adrenalin, handing over the controls to my instincts and that the core of me was just observing and giving input. Everything worked out perfectly, and afterwards, I had to sit down for about thirty minutes just collecting what I had experienced.

Everyone got drunk that night at the celebration of our victory, and I was the king, instead of just everyday annoying... Probably the best day of my life.


Truly warm feelings. I've got to play some music. And so should You! :D
 

BurnedOut

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1.4 years of electric guitar. Majorly spent time tinkering with the A minor scale in a bid to improv. I'm posting an attachment. Listen to it and tell me. Personally I feel I'm a slowass fuck who's dumb at guitar. I cannot get myself to finish songs because hell bent on trying to make horrisonant music inevitably.
UPDATE:can't post \.mp3. Posting a link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z_BNn3V93AB1cTvQ1y363SnCStfswvzR/view?usp=drivesdk
 
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