STEAL 'EM BLIND!
I am opposed to “hero worship” – it means “you can’t do it.” Imitation, however, is another matter. We learn to walk by imitation. We learn to talk by imitation. Mirroring is a thing.
If a student imitates enough different artists, something original will evolve – if the student is capable of originality – and most are.
These may be apocryphal, but here goes:
- “A good composer does not imitate; he steals.” – Igor Stravinsky.
- “Immature artists copy, great artists steal.” – William Faulkner
- “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” – Steve Jobs
These are not:
- “In every art form, you imitate something you admire, and then it grows into your own.” – David Letterman
- "In order to outflow music, you need to inflow music." – Phil Teele
- "When I'm about to train a new opera, I first listen to how Jussi Björling did it. His voice was unique and it's his path that I want to follow. I would more than anything else wish that people compared me with Jussi Björling. It's like so I'm striving to sing." – Luciano Pavarotti
- “Personal style is synthesis of theft.” – Bob Sanders
And:
Branford Marsallis shares some wisdom here.
In Short: LISTEN – endlessly – steal them blind! (You can steal from singers, too.)
That said, Caveat Emptor!
AND . . . LISTEN when you play with others. I'm not a conservatory graduate. I dropped out of Cal State Long Beach (that is not the best path these days) to go to work in the Disneyland Band. I stumbled through 30 years in Pacific Symphony on the theory that "She went to Julliard; I didn't. Maybe I'll play it that way next time."
Or as Stan Getz said, "You can read all the textbooks and listen to all the records, but you have to play with musicians that are better than you." I learned as much playing duets with Phil Teele for a year or so as with any of the great teachers I studied with formally.
LISTEN!! – IMITATE!! – LEARN!!
STEAL 'EM
BLIND!
STEAL 'EM
BLIND!