Gibson101 Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Heres a video of some cute and slightly creepy kids playing guitar. http://www.break.com/index/north-korean-kids-have-amazing-guitar-skills-2084866 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 I must work harder. . . . - and maybe get a bigger guitar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Heres a video of some cute and slightly creepy kids playing guitar. http://www.break.com/index/north-korean-kids-have-amazing-guitar-skills-2084866 Very high on the creepy scale, in my book. Only the North Koreans could come up with this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvar Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Very high on the creepy scale, in my book. Only the North Koreans could come up with this one. I've seen this before, I don't think it's all that creepy, except all those kids look/act like robots, but, I don't think those kids really know what's going on- You can teach anyone to play, by rote-(memorization) if you drill it into them enough times, they will learn where to put their fingers. They do have to have some sort of sense of timing though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 . Stepford children. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drathbun Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 They bow like The Beatles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Very high on the creepy scale, in my book. Only the North Koreans could come up with this one. As I see it there's no doubt that there's a lot pain behind this act/level of skills. Acknowledged as well as unacknowledged. But I wonder if there is joy – and I mean real joy – in there too : The pleasure of getting better and actually end up somewhere useful – the bonding and feeling of co-destiny between the tiny players – the yellow shoes and things like that. Of course nothing can replace a free-spirited, still fairly tight, safe childhood, but there might be an alternative gain in this far too strict upbringing – and it might show itself further up the road. I once knew a famous violinist, who sent his only 5 year old son to a teacher with a micro violin (small pieces of red tape on the neck). And think about our ballet-dancers. They go through hell (and maybe some kind of heaven) as children - feet looking like beetroot, minds looking worse. Every culture have a strip of this extreme and the Korean version here takes it to the limit. Like many others btw. How about those baby-Buddhas, shaved and brought inside some temple when they should be playing hide'n'seek close to their parents, , , or all the places on the planet where kids of no age just work. Our own forefathers 4-5 links back might have been field/mine/factory workers, , , even drummers in battling armies or in the girls case worse. Ouhh gosh, we have a tough ride behind us. . . . But basically I'm with you Nick and see exactly what you mean – Something in the Korean ensemble just isn't right. Young ponies should run free. . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duende Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 They are pretty damn amazing - feel, technique and also a good performance too In the west we have a wave of discipline that is sweepings it's way through America and Europe. Less and less people sadly, seem to understand real cast iron discipline IMHO - that kind of real focus and diligence that can make you achieve way more than you ever thought possible! People in the far east do understand this and when they get something in their teeth, they will keep going until they have achieved their goal. Incidentally, I posted this on facebook and all the comments came flying in (mainly from guitarists), ranging from 'the kids were probably beaten and forced to play' to the frankly racist view that Asians in general, lacked soul and were just technicians. A lot of panties got in a twist over it anyway - Anyone of any age, background that makes good music gets my admiration. If evidence comes in that suggests some type of foul play then that is of course another matter, but I try and take everything as I find; until proven otherwise. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 ..... Less and less people sadly understand real cast iron discipline in my opinion. That kind of that can make you achieve way more than you ever thought possible. ..... ...I try and take everything as I find; until proven otherwise. Sure, these very young children perform well in this video. In the USA many states have laws requiring teachers to report suspected cases of child abuse, because proof can sometimes come at the ultimate cost. So I raise a suspicious eyebrow on this kind of obviously drilled performance work. The Jackson 5 looked like they were having fun and performing great too, and then the horror stories came out about beatings. I'm not saying that's what's going on here, but it's certainly suspicious, especially coming from a county known to abuse human rights. I wouldn't argue that the terms/methods "cast iron discipline" and "real focus and diligence" should never come into use in the development of a young person, but IMO such terms/methods should not be used on children of such a young age as those I see in this video. That's just my dumb old westernized opinion. B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
passthej45 Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Wow , children of the corn guitar ensemble ! Mega-creepy. Couldn't they at least have gotten them Baby Taylors with nylon strings or that little Martin travel guitar.....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Wow , children of the corn guitar ensemble ! Mega-creepy. Couldn't they at least have gotten them Baby Taylors with nylon strings or that little Martin travel guitar.....? I've looked at this whole video again, and it still strikes me as creepy. Maybe it's because I view this in the context of the country that produced it, which has a long history of giving promising children "opportunity" by selecting them to be athletes, dancers, or whatever. The music education of young children is tricky. All the girls in my family got piano lessons when they were very young (whether they wanted them or not), and one of them turned into a really brilliant pianist. (She turned into a really good classical guitar player late in her life as well) As a boy, I wasn't "forced" to study piano, but sang in choirs and choruses from a young age, which at least gave me some basic music education, for which I am still grateful. When I got semi-serious about piano as a teenager, it was really too late to develop the necessary skills to be other than average, and I deeply regretted not being pushed into it when young. At the same time, we've all seen and heard the horror stories in our own culture of kids forced into sports, music, or any number of other obsessions their parents may have, often to offset the parents' own feelings about "wasted youth", personal lack of achievement, or a desire for reflected glory. This is never a simple one, but in the case of the North Korean kids, I'd like to see how many of them are still playing guitar 20 years from now. That will be the real test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelR Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Creepy. and still the greatest guitarists in the world will come from the west..go figure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duende Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Creepy. and still the greatest guitarists in the world will come from the west..go figure With classical guitar and also many other classical instruments there are just as many top players from the far East. This young lady for example, is one of the biggest names in the classical guitar Xuefei Yang http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9rrbFqRA-Y Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 With classical guitar and also many other classical instruments there are just as many top players from the far East. This young lady for example, is one of the biggest names in the classical guitar And then there is the Chinese classical pianist Lang Lang. There is no doubt that the Asian emphasis on education of the young can yield awesome results, particularly in music, where early imprint is critical to achieve at these levels. I suspect, however, that these young Korean guitarists are getting more than twice-a-week lessons from Mr. Choi at the corner music store. There needs to be balance somewhere along the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duende Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 There needs to be balance somewhere along the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 In all modesty I had a very clear'n'clean voice from an early age. First performance with the school Santa Lucia choir when I was 6, holding a candle with wax rolling down my hand while singing. No trauma - maybe merely a certain insight regarding the connection between pain and song. 4 or 5 years later my mom asked me if I would try to audition for the National Radio-Boy-Choir. Being 10 or 11 and severly into rock'n'roll I told her NO ! Never regretted it a second. I sang when I sang – in school, on the pavement on the way home from school, with a pal or 2 and in my bed. No one could ever have forced me into nothing, especially not music – I would have gone Oliver Twist. At the other hand nobody could ever have kept my inner songbird grounded. It all followed a rule of it's own and I'm glad it happened that way - even with the delays it may have cost. In fact being my own master was the whole drive for me – it was the gasoline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDuff Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 There is a lot to be said for the level of discipline necessary to reach that point and the kids are obviously wicked talented. However I don't think it is fair for an adult to force a child up to that level of mental discipline. It is one thing if they chose to work that hard because they truly love what they are doing enough to sacrifice their childhood on their own. But as such small children they are probably incapable of making such a decision. Not to mention while they have gained tangible instrumental skill they have probably lost out on a lot of psychological development that comes with acting like a normal kid. I am not saying all of these kids get beat if they don't practice but believing that they all chose to get where they are without any outside pressure seems naive to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickax Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Decidedly creepy on a number of levels... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eltonwce Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 They always say there is joy in music. Let's hope these children find joy in their music. I hope they are all progidy and have been exposed to the music in a nurturing way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rover Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Not a lot different from "your acoustic performances" section really :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Yes - cute and creepy at the same time, BUT my first guitar lessons were in a large group class and a video of that would be pretty creepy, and with very slim musical results! Free choice - the huge amount of starters (30?) dropped like flies after a number of weeks, until there were only the hard and dedicated few, though I must admit I was going to quit a few months later until the teacher started to show us - 'Guitar Boogie Shuffle' - now we are cookin'....... BluesKing777 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Very high on the creepy scale, in my book. Only the North Koreans could come up with this one. Yeah! Get ready, thats what your up against.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I must work harder. . . . - and maybe get a bigger guitar And you'll need to get some of those yellow shoes, Em7! Oh wait, maybe that was the girls. never mind. Everything is so perfect ..... even their head-turning is choreographed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 And you'll need to get some of those yellow shoes, Em7! Oh wait, maybe that was the girls. never mind. - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duende Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I know off topic, but I wonder why here aren't more Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi guitarists? Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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