Classical vs Folk

Classical vs folk - two firmly established methods of playing music, each with a passionate following that their way is the right way.

I started by messing about on other people's pianos when I was 5, and fascinated, gradually started exploring sound and deciphering the strange code that is score. So started a love affair- I studied classical music until my A Levels, loving it but still feeling slightly at odds. I decided I wanted to be a full-time musician at 16 but couldn't see how I would do it as a classical musician.

Luckily I went to university to study early music, ditched the score and music came back to life. I also picked up a harp for the first time aged 18 and found my vocation. Since then I've not looked back and now work full-time as a musician and teacher.

I see Classical vs Folk as a result of two different methods - Classical by eye, by score, a very conscious learning; Folk by ear, by heart, often unconcious.

For me the biggest difference comes from the use of score or learning a tune by heart.

Score provides a map to coordinate hundreds of people at once. Grand structures, explorations in sound by one person only - the feted and revered composer. The musicians, the players are merely mouth pieces even though they may be glorious mouth pieces. Perhaps a handful of soloists are revered as great 'interpreters' along with the conductors who provide the link between score and players.

Folk on the other hand is by ear, by heart, jump for the rhythm, a simple melody and even simpler structures, the coordination of only a few at once but with such close, tight rhythm. Instead of big architecture you have personal and intimate gestures - each player following the subtle subtle changes of rhythm and timing, following the groove. Folk music is shape and dancing, and in fact the rhythm of the tunes comes from the dances themselves.

Perhaps the choice of by ear or by score is all down the the mind of player - how do you most easily take in musical patterns? Frequently I find my visual world too much - complicated and busy. Reading and writing are not always easy. However I have no problem remembering a melody and hearing it in detail. I find if I have to use a score I have to concentrate on that so hard and in such an abstract way, my connection, my sense of touch with the sound is compromised.

Many of the classical musicians I've met have a very strong affinity with score, clearly they have no problems with a visual flow of information, it does not impair their sense of shaping or their physical connection with their instrument.

Despite the great divide between classical and folk methods and my own personal preference, I think that each has much to learn from the other. Score is a crucial tool for conscious analysis and making details clear, and in order to give a good musical performance every musician must listen to the shapes they are creating. I believe that all good musicians end up at the same place - with music that they are shaping as they play it that falls easily beneath their fingers. It's just we get there in different ways.