As we're off and running, once again, down Hypothetical Alley as you must when you continually stick to generalities, how would YOU know what elements of the aforesaid photographic subject were and were not worthy of your time?
What if they were photographs of the gothic Cathedrals of Southern France? Does the subject matter make a difference? It shouldn’t. There’s art in everything and interest in all – unless you voluntarily choose to shut yourself off by self-imposed rigidity of thinking. Or of other kinds when it comes to Britney…
Bramble, I am starting to think you were serious when you mentioned drugs....Do you actually read what I write? You appear to be responding to something other than what you have quoted...
How does a thread titled "Naked Britney Pictures" become one containing photos of the gothic Cathedrals of Southern France?
I think playing the piano is a more apt analogy. I am learning to play the piano. I am not a concert pianist nor have ever recorded an album. I am only officially an ABRSM Grade 1pianist. So, by anyone's standards I cannot claim to be an accomplished pianist or say that I have mastered the art. But this doesn't mean that I can't say that there are
no short cuts to being a concert pianist. You see, if you want to be a good pianist you
MUST put in the time and effort, which basically means you have to sit at a piano and practice. There is NO HOW, NO WAY, NO WHY, that anyone, regardless of experience and talent, not even Angela Hewitt, could convince me otherwise. There are no new piano problems that are being invented (physical abnormalities aside), so the difficulties I have encountered in learning, will be encountered by anyone and everyone who wishes to learn. They have been encountered in the past and will be encountered in the future by everyone. I know the problems that anyone and everyone who wishes to begin learning the piano will face, the main one being attaining hand and finger independence. The fact is that these problems have already been faced and overcome by virtuosos and proper technique can be passed on. They work and they have been tried and tested by millions. Now, you could ignore what I am saying and go out and buy one of those "Easy piano pieces" books, study them and quickly build a repertoire of pieces that will impress family and friends at birthday parties. But, I can assure you, with confidence, that from that moment you have ruined your chances of being a concert pianist.
Care to know why? Simple. All the proper technique (hand and finger movement) required to play the piano can be acquired within 2-3 years following a guided structured route. This does not mean you have mastered playing the piano! It just means you have the proper grounding required to become an absolute virtuoso. Once you have mastered technique you will not have any difficulty progressing to new and more difficult pieces. If you bypass this route by taking the “easy piano pieces” path you run a very high risk of ingraining bad technique and even risking hand/wrist and/or finger injury. You will also, without doubt, eventually hit an impenetrable brick wall with regard to your repertoire. There will be pieces that will remain beyond your ability because you have avoided doing what was necessary to acquire the skill needed to play them. What makes it worse is that once bad technique has been ingrained it is very difficult, if not impossible to unlearn. Trust me on this if nothing else. I practised my Grade 1 exam piece with certain fingering and then a few months later decided to change the fingering I used in one particular bar. Needless to say that I couldn’t get past that bar again without fumbling and eventually had to go back to the original fingering.
I have no doubt that people will completely miss the point and say something along the lines of “Who cares about being a concert pianist if you are happy just playing for friends and family”. That would be a fair comment. However, you cannot claim to be a virtuoso, nor can you hope of ever becoming one if you peddle and practice “easy piano pieces” nonsense.
