Interesting thread. There are those that are 'purists' and wish to present this piece of music, or any other as close to its original form as possible, through tunings, articulation and tempo.The achievement of this dependant only upon the skill, both as a performer and musician, of the person playing. Having a definite tempo whilst practising is both helpful and useful in understanding the melody and mood of the piece of music being played. It also helps with improving the skill of the instrument played. Having someone brave enough to suggest a tempo for this piece of music is a great help for those starting out, or learning this piece as part of a new repertoire.
However, performing the piece of music live in front of an audience is not about what tempo, tunings, etc. should be used - that is what rehearsals are for. Performing music live to the public is about engaging them in what you want to show. And ultimately this is something universal - the beauty of the music. Whether it be music to listen to - or music to dance to. And in this forum there is also showing the beauty of the instrument played as well. To what extent you are able to engage your audience is learnt through experience - being flexible to adapt - the example given of speeding up or slowing down the tempo of the music is a skill much needed in dance music; especially if the beer is flowing. You can only do this by knowing the music you are playing. And this comes from rehearsing and listening to the other musicians you are playing with. On the other hand, there are those that just 'go for it'. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. That's live music. We can all be intelligent and knowledgeable about this instrument and music - myself included, but as someone wrote, 'the true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination. Music evolves, traditional as well - even changes time signatures and tempo. That is the creative process - imagination - having and wanting to say something. Tempo is a tool to aid in this process -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hurdygurdy" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy The rules of posting, courtesy, and other list information may be found at http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm. To reduce spam, posts from new subscribers are held pending approval by the webmaster.
