Ear vs. eye

Ear vs. eye should be the real subject of all education. Hannah Arendt's Reflections on the subject in The New Yorker back in the 70's was about precisely that: Nothing in her education had led her to trust her ear: everything was eye-based. Alas, so much music training is eye-based. Composer Marlon Feld chose music for his PhD because "it is harder than everything else." (As my 10-year-old student, when it became clear that his eye so dominated his brain that he lost interest in a piece of music the instant he memorized it photographically, I threw out all print and trained him entirely by rote. His mother told me his reaction: "You have no idea what that woman makes me do.")

Over and over again I have struggled with ways to give the ear priority while seeking with all my might to go beyond the printed page, to dare to invade the composer's ear-brain. I know I succeed when listeners respond with uninhibited warmth.

Is your ear accessible to you? What gets in the way? I can help you work on this fundamental issue: It is the story of my life.