Lost Secrets of Master Musicians: A Window Into Genius

by David Jacobson

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Author: David Jacobson

Publisher: SFIM Books

Paperback:
ISBN 10: 0996957901
ISBN 13: 978-0996957908

Can Talent be Explained? The "Secret" Techniques of Great Musicians

In this groundbreaking look into the world of "classical" music, David Jacobson interweaves his educative experiences at the Curtis Institute of Music with his quest to understand how performers such as Jascha Heifetz, Nathan Milstein, Vladimir Horowitz, and Glenn Gould achieved such unsurpassed levels of musical expression and technical skill. What were their "secret" techniques and musical insights? Can students learn the principles of musical expression the greatest players used?

Jacobson has spent many years analyzing the approach of these and other master players uncovering their "secrets" (including how note grouping, "laws of phrasing" and alignment with the meta-pattern of music--MPM-- affect the technique and musical expression of playing) which he explains in clear, precise, non-technical language, supplemented by color diagrams, photographs and annotated musical examples. (YouTube videos can now be played at 1/4 and 1/2 speed at pitch. Go to "settings" and select the speed.)

His conclusion: the methods, paradigmatic shifts and musical approach of these masters are essentially the same, yet, fundamentally different and often opposite to what is taught by contemporary music teachers and accepted methods--such as those of Ivan Galamian and the Suzuki method (which are both critically examined)--for string playing, orchestral instruments, piano and voice.
Jacobson's dissatisfaction with contemporary pedagogical methods, which tend to be based on the personal beliefs of particular teachers, led him to search for a more rigorously researched pedagogical platform (by studying the methods of great masters) that could serve as a fundamental paradigmatic model for the teaching of all instruments and voice applicable to any genre of music. The rediscovery of these techniques and concepts will:

Provide a paradigmatic pedagogical model for the teaching of all instruments and voice
Make playing easier and more expressive
Improve the effectiveness of teaching; the principles of expert playing are clear
Develop talent naturally, without impediment
Create many more outstanding performers and composers
End the need for a conductor's presence in orchestral performance
Change our ideas about the nature of genius, talent and our own potential

In an unfinished treatise, the great cellist, Emanuel Feuermann, wrote:

"It is surprising how few rules and principles there are and still more surprising how completely they change the entire style of playing..the really outstanding string players, whether Kreisler, Casals, or Heifetz, are similar to each other in the way they use their muscular systems and handle their instruments and bows. The main difference lies in their different personalities, talents and ideas, and only to a very small extent in their techniques..."

Lost Secrets of Master Musicians argues that:
Music has a meta-pattern (MPM).
This pattern is discoverable.
Great players' technique and musical expression emerge from this meta-pattern (the ones studied in the book).
This may or may not have been a conscious alignment, but represents a gestalt shift in perception.
The field, and educational organs of classical music, as a whole, derive their teaching of technique and musical expression from analysis of the printed music.
Printed music is an abstraction of music. It's patterns are fundamentally opposite and incommensurable with the meta-pattern of music.
Fundamental mental (conceptual)/physical settings determine potential, both individually and systemically.
The great players studied in this book learned to play from printed music.
Yet, the mental/physical settings of these master musicians (the ones studied in this book) were aligned to the meta-pattern of music. Physically, mentally and expressively they were in congruent relationship with their medium. (to continue, go to See All Editorial Reviews)

Review

"Why has the audience for classical music declined? David Jacobson's painstaking studies of the performances of past master musicians support a provocative and original hypothesis: The quality of musical expression has declined over the past century. Important reading for anyone concerned with the future of classical music and the training of classical musicians."

--Robert J. Flanagan, The Perilous Life of Symphony Orchestras: Artistic Triumphs and Economic Challenges

"Musicians become virtuosos in many different ways, and David Jacobson has extracted common principles and codified them to help us all achieve higher levels of mastery. Thorough and engaging."
-- Dr. Daniel J. Levitin, author of This Is Your Brain on Music

"Mr. Jacobson's unique idea, what he has termed the "bel canto instrumental technique," eschews the idea of individual musical talent in favor of exploring--and challenging--how music itself is approached and taught from the most basic level of instruction to the pinnacle of performance."

"The unique "Bel Canto Instrumental Technique" as described by master musician, David Jacobson, in Lost Secrets will shift the way we think about the very nature of musical genius and talent."
-- Chanticleer Reviews

"Jacobson challenges sacrosanct beliefs and opens a Pandora's box of questions...he analyses in great depth the genius of past masters and controversially questions Galamian's and Suzuki's teaching methods. Jacobson exhorts us to see, hear and feel anew."

--Mary Nemet, Austa National Reviews editor

"To demonstrate that talent and skill can be investigated, understood and learnt, Jacobson has developed from his analyses a scientific performance approach: "bel canto instrumental technique"...Jacobson's part-autobiographical narrative is logically structured and fluently written...and is accessible to a wide readership. "

--The Strad

"A tremendously enlightening book brilliantly written by a truly renaissance man. Every musician should read this."
--Endre Granat, The Heifetz Scale Book

From the Author

Contents

Author's Note ix
Preface xi
Introduction xix

ACT I GENESIS
Chapter 1 Beginning 3
Chapter 2 School 9
Chapter 3 Jake Krachmalnick 17
Chapter 4 Philadelphia 21
Chapter 5 Meadowmount 27
Chapter 6 Curtis 29
Chapter 7 Center City 35

ACT II THE PLAY, EDEN, AND THE FALL
Chapter 8 The Play 39
Chapter 9 Eden 47
Chapter 10 The Fall 59

ACT III EDUCATIO
Chapter 11 Confusion 81
Chapter 12 Opportunity 85
Chapter 13 New York 91
Chapter 14 Paradigm Shifts 95
Chapter 15 The "Secrets" of the Masters 101
Chapter 16 "Laws" of Music, Visualization, and other Discoveries 119
Chapter 17 Skeletal, or Compositional, Thinking 163
Chapter 18 Technique: A Three-Part System 187
Chapter 19 Religion 217

ACT IV POWER AND IMPORTANCE
Chapter 20 Instruments and Violin Dealers 227
Chapter 21 Mentors and the "Importance" of Importance 235
Chapter 22 Conductors 247
Chapter 23 Agents and Soloism 261
Chapter 24 Composers 269

ACT V TEACHING--VALUES CREATE CULTURE & POTENTIALITY
Chapter 25 The Suzuki Violin Method 277
Chapter 26 Galamian 309
Chapter 27 Responsibility 351
Chapter 28 On "Feeling" in Music and Life 365
Chapter 29 Altered States 371
Chapter 30 The Development of Intelligence and Talent 383
Chapter 31 Return to Curtis 403
Chapter 32 Can We Change? 409
Chapter 33 Some Answers 417

Appendix 425
Sources 443

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Lost Secrets of Master Musicians: A Window Into Genius