Comments on: CMU student who cannot read music teaches guitar to others

By: Mixhael

Mixhael — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 03:20:47 +0000

Cool article. I always wanted to do that. I love
music, but I can’t read music for my life. If he can do it, I hope I can. Think of jimi Hendrix, the greatest guitarist ever!! He never knew how to read music, but he’s by far better than all of you at guitar. Keep up the good work! PS: what you’re doin is pretty BA too!!!

By: Kirst

Kirst — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:24:56 +0000

One could say the same thing about whatever type of music you listen to: “nobody cares about it.” Clearly people care about Maxim Rubtsov, because a lot of people attended both his masterclass and his concert. And with the amount of jazz festivals in the world, you should think twice before saying that “nobody cares about it.”

I really don’t have a problem with this guy, my main beef is with CM Life. I appreciate getting to know different kinds of people on our campus, but between this and the cougar story…why on earth can’t they come up with some real news?

By: Guitar lover

Guitar lover — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:35:46 +0000

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By: Not musically inclined

Not musically inclined — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:18:04 +0000

Its apparent this kind is not going to pursue music in his future…says it in black and white in the article. ITS A HOBBY and he enjoys doing it much like I do — Its a stress relief.

People enjoy what they can relate to — which is why nobody cares about a Russian floutist or a Jazz Festival. Most college students love listening to a guy sitting on a chair singing some popular tunes and drinking a beer. Most people are not musically inclined, therefore, they don’t appreciate that type of talent … they just apprecaite songs they can sing along to and enjoy listening to!

Congratulations, you’re musically inclined, don’t expect anyone who knows nothing about music to care unless you play something they will enjoy listenting to!

By: Adam

Adam — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:59:06 +0000

I can tell you..it’s not good to start a musical bases without knowing how to read notes. It sets you up for harder times down the line if you really want to get good..

By: Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 04:06:05 +0000

Perform in the nood. That’ll get their attention.

By: Kirst

Kirst — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:45:33 +0000

I am inclined to agree with both comments in different ways. No, we never see articles about the wonderful concerts going on at the School of Music on a regular basis, and some of them do have intriguing enough elements. For example, in the spring we premiere a piece written by a composition student for a composition competition, and they are always awesome.

I can also live with the fact that many musicians cannot read music. As long as they are not looking to formally study music at the college level and STILL not read music, I think that’s acceptable. It’s all about what level you’re looking to get to. I think it’s great that Ryan loves music and has found a way to teach others about something he cares about. Visual/physical learning like this can be very helpful to people with dyslexia, or people who just can’t learn only from reading. And I do appreciate that he says it’s better to teach them by having them practice rather than read.

However, my main problem simply lies in the title. They make a huge deal about the fact that OH NO HE CAN’T READ MUSIC HOW EDGY IS THAT. Nothing special. Plenty of people teach guitar who can’t read music, only read tabs, or don’t read either. It’s really nothing out of the ordinary, and they make it sound like he’s the first person who ever thought of doing this without being able to read music.

It seems to me like CM Life is scrambling for news lately. It’s rather disappointing.

By: Alex

Alex — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:41:39 +0000

I guess I should have thought about the being able to read music part. It was just really incensed me. But, seriously though, there are 100′s of AMAZING concerts all year that get nothing.

We host a big Jazz Weekend where we host high school jazz bands from across the state and all we get is like a fourth page article.

I’m just saying that we have an enormous asset on campus that no student takes advantage of besides the people who study there.

By: Mick

Mick — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:34:45 +0000

However, I absolutely agree that the concerts held by the school of music should get way more attention than they do. Problem is, these concerts might not be radical or peculiar enough to grab attention.

By: Mick

Mick — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:32:20 +0000

That is very interesting, Alex. How many of these “Musicians” write/perform their own music and/or compositions? Write lyrics? Some of the most amazing song writers in the world, i.e. Thom Yorke, couldn’t and still might not know how to read music. Music doesn’t mean much on a piece of paper, it’s beauty is portrayed when it comes flowing out of our souls.

Set your pretentious garbage aside for a minute and stop judging. You are missing a lot.