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On 5/11/12 1:19 PM, <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:kos@panix.com">kos@panix.com</a> wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:Pine.NEB.4.64.1205111203050.8704@panix1.panix.com"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">I tell my students that studying Schenkerian Analysis is like studying a
musical instrument: You can't hope to be competent in it without many, many
hours [really: years] of instruction and study.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
In Malcolm Gladwell's book, <i>Outliers</i> (2008), he refers to
the "10,000-Hour Rule" (based on the work of K. Anders Ericsson),
which basically states that you need about 10,000 hours of
practice/experience to master a task and achieve success. To recast
the Rule in topical terms: if you're really into studying
Schenkerian theory and analysis, then at 20 hours per week it will
take you about ten years to "master" the topic. (And even more, if
you want to remove the quotation marks from "master"!)<br>
<br>
When I first read Gladwell's book, this Rule reminded me of a remark
that I encountered once, which I believe was attributed to the
Princeton-based music theorist Godfrey Winham (1934-75). He said
that he wouldn't discuss a Schenkerian analysis with someone if they
hadn't produced at least 100 graphs of their own (or whatever the
actual number was). In other words, if someone didn't have a great
deal of experience (100 graphs -- 10,000 hours -- or somewhere in
between), he knew they would not be able to discuss the matter with
understanding and intelligence.<br>
<br>
Or, as was remarked earlier:<br>
<br>
On 5/11/12 1:19 PM, <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:kos@panix.com">kos@panix.com</a> wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:Pine.NEB.4.64.1205111203050.8704@panix1.panix.com"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Personally speaking, I would certainly not dare to criticize a methodology if I
had only a rudimentary understanding of its principles.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
--David<br>
<br>
David Carson Berry<br>
Associate Professor of Music Theory<br>
University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music<br>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New
Roman";"></span>
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