I was at my son’s concert and they sounded great. That got me to wonder if I could hear the difference if a Broadway Orchestra played the same music. If so, what would I hear differently
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It depends on in which musical environment you hear them and which piece of music you hear from them. You could be listening to a mainstream pop radio station one day and a “great musician” could be playing down their actual skill level playing a generic 4/4 pop song with no distinct personality and no freedom to showcase their true range of skills. An “above average” musician would be able to perform the same pop song and you wouldn’t really know the difference. But great musicians usually become great by challenging themselves and by surrounding themselves with equally great musicians. When we start shifting the boundaries and increase the difficulty and the style of the music, the cream rises to the top.
The virtuoso skills of great musicians are highlighted when they perform (and create) music that has a strong sense of individual expression through their creativity and more often than not, a strong understanding of music theory with melody, chord choices, scales etc all coming together in unison. Then you add challenges such as tricky time signatures, polymeter and other progressive elements that requires technical skill whilst staying locked in with other instruments in the song. However, it must be said that even fairly straightforward music can be full of great musicians – see Stewart Copeland, Bernard Purdie, Mark Knopfler, Freddie Mercury.
For a more modern example, listen to some drummers like Danny Carey, Matt Gartska, Gavin Harrison and then listen to the playing of Lars Ulrich or Chad Smith.
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