Author Topic: You'll always have an "accent", if you started to learn music after your young teens (Marcus Miller) (Read 443 times)

edwin · « **Reply #30 on:** August 13, 2012, 11:47:25 AM »

I wasn't born with it and probably still don't have it but I have a lot of fun, get paid and people seem to like what I do, so while I usually cringe when I have to listen back to myself and sometimes while I'm playing, I'm not going to let any of this deter me from keeping on keeping on. I got to play in Civic Center Park in Denver this past weekend through a booming PA in front of a few thousand people and at one point, I turned off my stage amp (experimenting with bridging my QSC CX1202V and apparently it's too loud for one of my guitar players. Oops!) and just listened to the PA fill the park (the sound guy loves bass) and it was a great feeling, which is what it's all about. The rest of it is just athletics and politics, which are not so interesting to me in the music world.

10,000 hours is probably a conservative estimate of the time I've spent practicing and I started playing music when I was three. So, starting early and putting in thousands of hours is still no guarantee of anything, but is evidence of sheer hard headedness.

(Message edited by edwin on August 13, 2012)

jazzyvee · « **Reply #31 on:** August 13, 2012, 02:07:04 PM »

Correct me if I'm wrong, You guys started learning English way before you got to your early teens and from what I could hear you all clearly, still had American accents when I met you guys at the California meet earlier this year. It was only Steve and myself who had authentic English voices therefore no accent. :-)

Mica's accent is pretty cute tho so I guess she started learning English after her early teens....

lol

Jazzyvee

keith_h · « **Reply #32 on:** August 13, 2012, 02:59:42 PM »

J-V,
You bring up a funny point. I have a cousin that has been in the London area for 25 or so years. As we grew up she had a southern US accent (although not the accent of the deep south). We had a chance to talk recently and I noticed she had what I would consider and English accent.

I grew up with as an Air Force Brat. This meant moving every two or three years. I found, much to my parents chagrin, that I would adopt the accent and speech of the area I was living in. To this day if I return to the areas I lived as a child I find I will drift into the local tongue after a day or two.

As far as who speaks the correct English, the only thing that comes to mind is people separated by a common language.

Keith

hankster · « **Reply #33 on:** August 13, 2012, 04:28:16 PM »

An accent as in Gilberto singing the English words to Ipanema? Or Flora Purim singing You're Everything?

I love Marcus, but his observation about accents is meaningless. Everyone has one, no matter what language, musical or otherwise, they are speaking. And many are beautiful. What would a pure, unaccented sentence, or musical expression sound like? You'll never know, because you'll never hear one.

piotr_c · « **Reply #34 on:** August 13, 2012, 04:39:16 PM »

Well I can tell you who has a nice slooooww swiss accent..... my fingers straining to play semiquavers at 70 bpm... and I need to get to be able to play them at 144 bpms to try out school days... When you're born in Switzerland, it must be genetic... Practice, here I come...!!!

piotr_c · « **Reply #35 on:** August 13, 2012, 05:14:15 PM »

Talking about lightning fingers, anybody knows this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGTbW1nuSic&feature=youtube_gdata_player

The name is Vicenzo Maurogiovanni. Certainly has an Italian accent when speaking english, but wow... he really masters his craft...! Lots of other non-slap stuff on youtube, but sound is really not great. First time I see this guy... Seems to have won the euro-bass day 2007.

peoplechipper · « **Reply #36 on:** August 13, 2012, 10:23:16 PM »

The more I've read this thread, I realize that Marcus Miller is coming from a very narrow perspective; a studio guy trying to fit into any gig doesn't want an 'accent' even though some producers hire them because they perceive one in their playing...everyone else NEEDS an accent in order to be useful and relevant...just like a drum machine should not be able to replace your drummer, a bass program should not replace your bassist...Tony

brianclarkebert · « **Reply #37 on:** August 18, 2012, 01:36:09 AM »

I agree with the 10,000 hour principle, but as others have said music is a journey without a destination. I surpassed that benchmark quite a long time ago, i love to practice but yet i'll never be satisfied. It's just Miller's opinion, he's not God. B.

terryc · « **Reply #38 on:** August 18, 2012, 10:11:53 AM »

I agree with all above, it can be quite damaging for any young player(13 and above) who may look upon that interview and give up before even trying.
Someone of his stature should not be quoting statements ' rhythm can only be learned at infanthood' He should be encouraging players to keep practicing their instrument what ever it may be.
Mark King didn't learn to play the drums until he was in his teens then he moved to bass when he was 21 and he can definitely can give Mr Miller a run for his money.

jazzyvee · « **Reply #39 on:** August 19, 2012, 10:49:59 AM »

Here is Victor Wooten's viewpoint on music as a language.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yRMbH36HRE

Jazzyvee