Making Music: A Matter of Feel, Logic or Both?

Is it possible to make music by just playing it by ear and coasting on talent? Do you really not need any knowledge of music theory to become a good musician? There are actually plenty of real-life examples, including Bert van den Brink — one of the Netherlands’ most well-known jazz pianists, who prove that you don’t. While he’s a natural when it comes to making music, Bert did decide to deepen his knowledge and argues that a musician needs both a feel for music and some understanding of the underlying theory.

Mythologising

There are plenty of musicians who boast that they can’t read music and know nothing about music theory. They play everything by ear, by which they mean to say that they’re talented by nature. There are no doubt natural-born musicians out there, including some of the biggest names in music, but as an innocent bystander, you should always wonder if said claims hold water. It could be that a musician has burned more midnight oil than they want to admit. After all, ‘mythologising’ your musical talent can be really tempting. But say some ‘uneducated’ musician’s claims are true. If so, would they not be an even better musician if they had actually studied music? Ray Manzarek, the late keyboardist of The Doors, once said in a documentary that he had always benefited from classical piano lessons and that without them, he would’ve never come up with the intro of Light My Fire.

Peanut Butter Sandwiches

What does an extremely talented musician think? Bert van den Brink is one of the Netherlands’ most well-known jazz pianists. Bert was born blind and has well-developed perfect pitch. He can even tell which notes make up compound sounds, including the harmonics. As a kid, he could already effortlessly play along to every tune in the top 40 chart, including new releases he’d never heard before. “There was no thinking involved. Everything came naturally and happened automatically,” Bert recalls. Perfect pitch and that much talent — who doesn’t want that? It’s everything any musician needs, so why bother deepening your knowledge? Bert disagrees: “I did study music to deepen my knowledge. Had I not, you probably wouldn’t be interviewing me right now because I wouldn’t have come as far as I did. If I had kept coasting on talent and innate abilities, I simply would’ve been a dabbler all my life.” Bert believes that the classical piano lessons he started taking when he was five were his saving grace. Later, Bert enrolled in a classical piano course at a conservatory. He also learned jazz on his own accord — first by playing it by ear, later by studying the theory. “I found playing classical piano pieces to be difficult. As opposed to playing pop songs, I really had to peg away at it. Then again, if you simply stick to the easy bits, you’re never going to progress. It’s like having peanut butter sandwiches for lunch every day. Classical piano lessons taught me how to climb mountains, which is never easy.”

By Ear

Due to his visual impairment, Bert relies on his ears even more than most other musicians. How does that work when it comes to classical piano pieces? Can you play the piano entirely by ear? Bert explains: “Louis Braille, the inventor of the braille system, also came up with a tactile writing system for music notation. That’s how I learned classical piano pieces. I read them bar by bar, drilled them and then tried playing them off the top of my head. It takes a bit longer but it works.” Bert mainly plays jazz and other lighter styles by ear, aided by his knowledge of music theory. Generally, music has a logical structure, which certainly helps. While Bert’s perfect pitch helps him instantly recognise almost every note, there’s definitely music that takes him a little longer to decipher. “There’s an incredibly talented, young guy from England, Jacob Collier. You can find a lot of his work on YouTube. He writes and produces all of his songs. He also sings and plays all of the instruments himself. He even makes his own music videos. Some of his compositions include harmonies that I can’t immediately deconstruct. That kid is fabulously talented, a real gift for us all. He’s part of a select number of exceptionally gifted musicians who get everything right from the get-go and don’t even know what it’s like to make mistakes. If you ask me, Jacob Collier is just about up there with Mozart.”

Egerländer Music

“I want to be a musician and researcher at the same time. I want to understand how music works and where it comes from,” says Bert. “If I didn’t, I’d be nothing more than a parrot. In the realm of classical music, examination is less warranted because you can easily come up with a rendition of a classical piece without fully understanding the theory behind it. Jazz, on the other hand, does require in-depth understanding. Take a jazz boffin like Clare Fischer. I just need to understand where he gets those wonderful chords from. You should always want to understand what’s happening in not just jazz but other styles, including pop. If you lack that desire, you’re always going to stick to clichés, become lazy, and just copy others. All that being said, a musician can make the deliberate decision to focus on one thing and get really good at it — without being able to explain how they do it. Take Egerländer, the rhythmic folk music originating from the Czech Republic. This is a style that’s characterised by unique grooves that I could never replicate. It’s awesome. What’s more, Egerländer musicians themselves couldn’t tell you how they do it, and they’re the ones who grew up with it. Jazz drummer John Engels, who’s played with Stan Getz and Chet Baker, once told me: “Know who’s got good timing? Local chapel musicians that only know how to play one way.” And he’s right. When you’re limited to a certain style, you can get incredibly good within the confines of that style.”

Get Out There and Explore

Bert believes that if you want to broaden your musical horizons and expand your knowledge, it’s imperative that you get out there and explore. “Exploring is distinctly different to dabbling so take your time. Play a chord, then play it ten more times and look for differences. Imagine someone asks you to play the same chord but with a darker timbre. How would you do it? You need to have the ability to satisfy such requests and translate into a way of playing. You need to know the notes and understand the harmonies. And yes, music theory can be a tad boring, but at the same time, the art lies in bringing the boring bits into practice. I talk to musicians sometimes who claim they get into ‘the flow’ when they practise. When that happens, you’re no longer practising — you’re performing, which is something else entirely. Practice demands analysis.” Making the effort to expand your knowledge beats pretending to be a good musician who knows nothing about music theory, Bert argues. “There’s actually a surprisingly large group of musicians who choose to do the latter, even in the professional scene. These are the kind of musicians that want to give off that ‘look at me, I’m so original because I know nothing about music’ vibe. It’s kind of provocative if you ask me. The second you try to have a conversation with them about it, they get insecure. Can’t be bothered to learn how music works? Fine, but quit bragging about it. And realise that sooner or later, you’re going to hit a wall.”

Getting In the Way of Yourself

That’s it for the knowledge-or-no-knowledge discussion. There’s another phenomenon that can hinder musicians: getting in your own way. Bert: “Some of my students suffer from this. They’re not one with their instruments. With good musicians, there’s zero friction between them and their instruments.” The road to get to that point is full of obstacles that need to be overcome. “One significant obstacle is performance anxiety, which makes sense because when you’re on stage, there’s always pressure to deliver. You can often see it in a musician’s face right before the gig. Sometimes, the pressure goes up to unbearable levels. That’s nothing to be ashamed of. You’re only human, but you do need to work on your ability to relieve that tension.” How do you do it? “A big part of being a musician is having to repeat the same thing endlessly. You can’t avoid making mistakes either, so don’t be too hard on yourself and accept your imperfections. On a related note, I feel like there’s too much focus on right and wrong notes in music lessons, and not enough on how those notes are played. It’s important that there’s a physical connection between you and your instrument.”

Sometimes, it’s better to draw attention away from your instrument, for example by practising while you’re watching TV or reading something. While it sounds counterintuitive, lowering and shifting your focus can help you get closer to your instrument. “Pianist and organist Cameron Carpenter is someone who’s incredibly good at this,” Bert remarks. “Look him up on YouTube and check out his organ rendition of Chopin’s ‘Revolutionary Etude’. He plays the bass with the pedals in an inimitable way. What’s even more mind-blowing is that at one point, he starts explaining what he’s doing while he keeps playing. He’s one with his instrument, so much so that he can disconnect mid-performance. Cameron is a natural and in a league of his own. Also, he doesn’t just rely on talent, but actively broadens his knowledge.”

Engage and Release

‘Examine and analyse’ is Bert’s doctrine when he’s at home honing his skills in his studio. This also goes for the way he handles his instruments. “As a musician, you can’t be indifferent towards your keys, strings or whatever is between you and the notes you play. When I practise, I strive to experience the pressing and releasing of the keys as viscerally as possible. Releasing the note is just as important as conjuring it, which is something that a lot of musicians tend to forget. The way in and the way out are equally essential, so you need to literally stay in touch with your notes from start to finish. That’s what music’s ability to move people boils down to.

About Bert van den Brink

Bert van den Brink was born in 1958 and took his first piano lesson when he was just five years old. In 1976, Bert started training to become a classical pianist and graduated cum laude in 1982. That same year, he started as a piano teacher at a conservatory. He’s been improvising on the piano and organ from a young age and is a full-blooded autodidact when it comes to improv. Following graduation, Bert played classical concerts for a while. Later, he focussed more on improv-heavy styles like jazz. Bert has played and still plays with various big-name musicians and you can find the music he’s made as a pianist, organist and accordion player all over the internet.