Simpedia

Mark M., New York

There are so many ways you could talk about this. At one point I’d given an analogy on Simpedia, but I forget what it was! Here’s one, though.

It’s important to have a balanced diet across different food types / nutrients. That’s breadth. The main level, the primary level, and having variety at that level.  And that’s like, e.g., learning a lot of songs.

But it’s also important to not eat the same foods day after day. It’s healthier to have a more biodiverse diet, different species mixing it up all the time in each food type, nutrients coming from different places rather than always the same place. That’s depth. Taking each of the options on the main level and finding a qualitatively new kind of variety, variety along a different axis. And that’s like, e.g., learning a lot of different versions of each song and doing all sorts of different things with them, finding new possibilities with each of them.

We become better musicians with this kind of breadth and depth for the same reasons that our bodies become healthier with a breadth and depth of nutritional variety.

Elisa J., New Jersey

I remember, Mark! My question at the time was how to explain breadth and depth to my young students. I hope I get this right…Mark said when you’re learning the foundation songs it’s like getting a new doll/action figure. When you learn arrangements, variations it’s like getting the accessories for your doll/action figure. I happen to love this analogy because of how simple it is so I’ve used it for my adult students as well….thanks again, Mark. Please correct it if it’s not quite right.

Terah W., Kansas

Likewise, for all you exercise aficionados: working out with weight resistance training works, too. A fitness coach will tell you not to neglect any muscle group–at least rotate them. Then, too, most muscles have a ‘counter’ muscle–e.g. biceps and triceps. You can’t (or shouldn’t, rather) neglect one for the other. And really, what’s the point of really strong arms when the rest of the body is weak? The preference is definitely every muscle group, and system working at optimum. Not only does everything work better, but one feels better.

Likewise, the more we cross-pollinate with all the streams crossing back and forth and integrating all the new info we are learning as we are exposed to it, the more profound the musical experience overall and in the long run.

Hope this adds to the medley of analogies to share!

Sheri R., Californa

Can totally relate to the exercise analogy, just came from the gym! Here’s another: I sometimes talk about all the different streams (foundation, variations, arrangements, accompaniment, reading rhythm, reading intervals, jazz, etc.) as all representing individual communities in a local area. Over time the communities grow so it is hard to see where one starts and another ends, and we have any major metropolitan area that you can think of, such as Los Angeles.

The same with what and how our students are learning, each stream grows and after a while creeps into every other stream and so everything becomes integrated. And then you have the metropolis of music-making.

Hey, while writing this just realized this is a perfect analogy for the Simply Music graphics! (Wow, I’ve been using this analogy for years before the graphics were born, how cool is that?!) Love it!

Mark M., New York

These analogies have potential, but I see breadth but without depth, one axis of variety without the other. Both metaphors can easily be extended to add the other layer.

All the muscles and muscle groups need to get worked out, absolutely. And if you keep working them each the same way, they “get used to” the exercise and plateau in their response to exercise. This is why many longer-term workout programs are based on the concept of muscle confusion, where new ways of using the muscles come up every so often, to confuse the muscles and show them that they need to be able to respond to new things, not just the same old things. So now not only are all muscles/groups getting worked out (breadth, a variety of muscles/groups), they are also each getting worked out in another way — depth, a variety of ways of working each muscle/group so that they can keep developing.

Likewise, the communities are varied, and they each grow and relate to each other. Each community, though, needs a certain of variety within, otherwise it will collapse. At the same time, if there’s to be a strong relationship among communities in a larger region, each community also needs to specialize somewhat, so that people from different communities will find value in going to others for certain things. The fact that there are different communities is the breadth. The variety that makes each community strong within, and the other kind of variety that makes each community unique from the rest, that’s the depth.

Sue C., Australia

I would like to add a suggestion to analogies. Something that is much easier than exercising is a vibration machine. All I have to do is stand on it.  SM is like this, easier than traditional. Takes less time with great results.