Music Diversification??

[rattley]

I've noticed a trend among musicians and am disturbed by it.  They seem to pigeonhole themselves into specializing in one genre of music.  I'm 58 years old and remember "top 40" radio when I was younger. Any genre of music was played on the radio as long as it sold. One radio station would play old rock, new rock, country and whatever else was popular. I was also a trumpet player in grade school and high school.  In band we played everything!!  Sometimes when I play I think I am the only one in the world playing a particular tune because it is so diverse.

I am still the same way today. My choices of what songs I play on my Genos are off the charts. One night I can play polkas and then I switch to county......or rock.....or rock and roll.....or Latin........or........

I pride myself into thinking that my musical diversity is a good thing.  I feel bad for those who can only devote their talents to one type of music. My musical talents and abilities may be limited but I feel I excel in music appreciation.  I hope I said this right............. -charley

[panos]

I think that maybe if you devode to one genre of music it makes some things easier for you.
Each kind of music has it "tricks" of how it is played,so if you learn many songs of the same genre,when you encounter the same rythm,chord progression or the way triplets are played in that genre, your fingers and mind are allready familiar with them.

Furthermore the professional musicians have to make a living by their job so if they play lets say in a jazz club they have to be good at playing jazz and they focus on their job.
Or a professional musician who plays folklor music for specific bars of that genre and for weddings.

I am just an amateur and I will agree with you that if there is no variety in music you are playing you are missing a lot of great music that there is out there
(and a lot of great styles/voices that there are in there )
But if someone feels good by playing just one kind of music I can understand that.

[markstyles]

I agree, learning different genres of music can be good for us as musicians.  On the other hand if you stick to a specific genre, and that's what your gigs need.. you should focus on that field of music..

I sometimes find when I hear a new Rolling Stones song, is it new, or  45 years old, and i happened to miss it?  It depends on the musician..

Bless't be the musician who masters a bunch of styles and then creates a hybrid genre of music by mixing the various styles together..  I really don't care for the current young trendy music..  Most of it is just is just what we might have called a 'song fragment' extended out to 4 minutes..

Still the wonderful thing about music is  it is so variable.. And it serves various functions.

[mikf]

I have usually found that decent keyboard players especially if they started on piano are quite versatile and able to move around from jazz to pop to swing and often to classical as well. They may have a preference but have usually dabbled in a wide range. One of the best I ever played with had a music degree and could run off Chopin etc effortlessly, had studied jazz under a world class teacher, played synth in a rock band, and organ in church. He sat in with my band many times and played pop covers perfectly all night with no rehearsal or music. Just tell him song title and key and off he went.
Mike

[travlin-easy]

Charlie, as you are well aware, I am much older than you, but we agree on many topics, including this one. I play and sing just about everything from country, to big band, to jazz, to show tunes. My theory is that in order to become successful in show biz, you must be able to read your audiences, which is something I have always prided my self on. I can look out into the audience, determine their ages and quickly determine what songs they wish to hear in a matter of seconds. I guess that's what I managed to last for nearly 40 years in show biz and would still be there if my health had not forced my retirement.

All the best, Charlie,

Gary

[Pianoman]

Hello Charley.

I totally agree with Gary.

Best Regards.
Abby.

[TiasDad]

I'm a little younger than many on here (circa 1963),  but I don't look at genres. To me, each song has it's own merits and I treat them all as a challenge. I was brought up listening to my parents 78 rpm record collection, Ronnie Ronlade - The Windmill Song, Eddie Fisher - Cindy Oh Cindy etc. My elder brothers and sister had 45rpm collections of 60's songs, most of which I have revisited since. I'm recently going theough a Beatles phase as I love the chord progressions which are a challenge all of their own lol. I also play a fair aount of more modern music, synth instrumentals etc. They all have a place in my repertoire.

Genre is immaterial, pleasure is everything