Originally posted by Mr. DNA
What parallels can be drawn between music and tradingâ¦
you are usually better off with solid gear, than a strong knowledge of what your work may entail for that dayâ¦My trading setup is more like the keyboard setup Rick Wakeman usedâ¦
So, where's the art in this?â¦
It has a physical manifestation. ... Is this the result we are to observe as Art? Or is it in the reading and subsequent analysis of the traders performance culminating in the execution of tradeâ¦
What elements of Art forms can be drawn upon to enhance ones trading technique?
Are there traders that just trade by feel?â¦
the flow of the markets and what-notâ¦.
I, too, am a musician. I play piano and keyboards, plus I compose and arrange. I've been playing music since I was 3, and I've played professionally since I was 14. Attended a conservatory after high school as a Piano Major, with studies in both Classical and Jazz forms. Had my own music production company for 5 years, but decided to separate making music and making money a number of years ago. I still pursue music, but as art now, instead of commerce. I made a decent living with music, but I would never get to do the music that I really wanted to do, because there was always some "customer" to please. Back in the days of Bach, there were patrons of the arts. Now, if you want to have freedom of expression, you need to be "self-patronizing". J
My commerce pursuits took me from sales (good way to make real money if all you have is a music degree!), to computer programming (almost as fun as composing!), to my current situation, which is trading professionally with a prop firm. Trading is the best.
Here are the parallels between trading and music, as I see themâ¦
Whether people are aware of it or not, or want to believe it or not, both trading and music are driven by underlying rules. Even when someone saysâ¦"hey man, this new music breaks all the rules!", they are still following some new set of rules. Otherwise, it would unrecognizable as music. Same with trading. Even those who seemingly effortlessly trade in and out of a stock all day long, are still following rules. What they've achieved, though, is the same virtuosity as a great musician. They've internalized the rules so well that they're not "thinking" about what they're doing, they just acting. It's this confidence and swift, sure action that makes all the difference. An experienced musician can listen to a piece of music, and fairly well guess where it probably going to go next. An experienced trader can look at a stock chart and have a good idea where it's probably going to go next. This is because both music and the market work according to underlying principles.
Musicians have charts, so do traders. In music, an increase in volume signifies an increase in emotional intensity. Same with trading. Music charts can have multiple parts or lines all on one chart. Traders can have multiple indicators. As a pianist, I can look at a music chart with 10 or more data items per beat, but I don't see them individually. The information gets "chunked up" to higher levels of abstraction, so I see scale fragments, chord formations, and so forth. A good trader can look at a chart and do the same thing. The brain gets "programmed" to recognize and process the chart information as larger patterns, which become immediately recognizable.
In music, a crescendo doesn't last forever, it typically peaks, then is followed by a decrescendo and a resolution. Same with trading. Music can have a rapid tempo, or a slow tempo. Same with trading. A certain composer's music has a recognizable personality, even though each piece is different. A given stock will trade with a recognizable personality, even though each day is different.
Before you can even start to approach being a great artist or trader, you have know the fundamentals of your craft. You would be amazed at the level of musical technical information that professional jazz musicians draw upon when they're "freely improvising"! Whether it's scales, chords, and melody, or it's support, resistance, and volume, this provides a basis, as well as the vocabulary you will need to effectively learn from masters of your craft.
You can read books on both music and trading, but to be great you need a teacher, coach, or a mentor. In some ways, the EliteTrader board provides this to some extent for people who don't have access to a trading room. Both music and trading require something that is not easily expressed in books. Call it a feel, a sense, or an instinct. This process can be accelerated by observing great musicians or traders plying their craft in real time as it's happening. After watching (or listening) enough, eventually it all starts to come together in your own brain.
If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0735201447/mhw-20">Trading in the Zone</A>. This book will help get you started in the right direction.
I hope I haven't given you a "long-distance runaround", but it sounds like you are "close to the edge" of this thing. Yes?
Proves your point I suppose. 
