I've noticed a recurring theme here and on other forums in the way different people address questions.

There seem to be two distinct camps and one hybrid:

1) the TECHNICAL musicians ( who are usually the product of structured musical training, and who are more knowledgeable about theory and classical technique)

2) and the EXPRESSIVE musicians (who are often self-taught musicians who play by ear, but who have a natural sense about music and can often duplicate passages or whole songs after hearing it briefly)

3) and there are some lucky individuals who are both.


Van Gogh would have been an expressive artist. He spurned the classical technique of the day and forged a new path that made sense to him. I'd bet that he often heard comments like "Vincent, there's a place for large splotches of color, but it's certainly NOT in portraits of the human face"

But van Gogh probably thought "Why not?"

The story is told of a famous musician who was asked "Do you read sheet music" and he replied "Not enough to hurt my playing. "

This exchange is a good illustration of the divide between technicians and expressionists.

Which one are you?

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ey71h8ep047758h/AAC12jNM0Hz9Q8zsh5iDeqNHa?dl=0