I think the point George is making is that questions about minutiae are just
that, and perhaps there are more important questions to be asked first.
Sure the gear and technical details are interesting to many, but they easily
get put before the music. While I'm not the biggest fan of George, I don't
think that his choice of pick has a profound influence on the way he sounds.
If I heard Django (ok, not possible, so maybe Stochelo Rosenberg) play a
mind blowing solo, I certainly hope I would have the restraint not to ask,
"That was great, what kind of pick was that you were using? And how exactly
were you holding it? Ahhh.".
On the other hand it can be difficult to ask meaningful non-technical,
non-gear related questions. (e.g. "George, if your playing were a tree,
what type of tree would it be and why?" or "What was the inspiration for 'I
drink alone'?").
----- Original Message -----
From: "vance wood" <vancew...@wowway.com>
To: "Lute List >" <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>; "Stuart Walsh"
<s.wa...@ntlworld.com>
Sent: Monday, October 12, 2009 8:19 PM
Subject: [LUTE] Re: The End of the Golden Age
To someone who plays the instrument (what ever that instrument might be)
things like picks, string tensions and string materials become important
and interesting questions. As of this day and age discussion over the
quality of reproduction Lutes, the way they are strung (octave or unison)
and tunings with the use of additional frets are fodder for detailed
discussion around here. If the professional being queried about such
things thinks those subjects are irrelevant to the music then they are
either lying or they do not want to reveal how they get the kind of sound
that allows them to play the afore mentioned music in such a way that
their performance becomes significant. After all thing are said and done,
at least as far as "ancient music" is concerned, composers and their
compositions and the matrix within which they occur have been discussed in
great detail for many years. What is there about the music that we do not
yet understand? What becomes important in this context is the
performance; which brings us back to the original premise in the first
sentence of this reply.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stuart Walsh" <s.wa...@ntlworld.com>
To: "Ron Andrico" <praelu...@hotmail.com>
Cc: <dwinh...@comcast.net>; <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>
Sent: Monday, October 12, 2009 6:27 PM
Subject: [LUTE] Re: The End of the Golden Age
Ron Andrico wrote:
I'll add my two cents worth on the other thread. In a Guitar Player
magazine interview from the 80s, when asked what kind of pick he
used,
George Thorogood's response was, "If you can't think of something
more
interesting to talk about, this interview is over." I guess we're
not
discussing the same genre but amusing anyway.
OK - but not the same genre and not really the same fundamental issue. As
a parallel, if a lute player were asked for details of the string
tensions they used, then maybe Thorogood's (?) response might be in
order.
But Crawford Young's ideas on plectra - on the face of it - seem to
fundamentally different from just about all other plectra... on any
instrument. It's a bit like saying of someone who plays the lute with
gloves on: look forget the gloves, just listen to the music, that's all
that really matters.
Ron Andrico
www.mingarda.com
> Date: Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:26:08 -0700
> To: lute@cs.dartmouth.edu
> From: dwinh...@comcast.net
> Subject: [LUTE] Re: The End of the Golden Age
>
> Very well put indeed. To realize the unforced, unedited perfection
> that IS attainable- albeit by nearly superhumanly talented
> performers- just go back to earlier "Golden Ages" of recording,
like
> the old 78 rpm days. Studio recordings as well as live recordings
> done in one take. At the moment I am recalling the likes of Django
> Reinhardt and Art Tatum (who at least were taped- earlier
recordings
> were not only uneditable but the performers also had to tailer the
> movements to the time constraints of what could fit on one side of
a
> 78 record surface. Without sacrificing performance standards!)
>
> Dan
>
> Unfortunately, this exceptional cleanliness is produced via a
> huge number of digital edits which will be undetectable and
therefore
> in a sense, "natural." The problem with this is that the edits
where
> never conceived of or performed as an organic whole so that
finished
> product, while smooth, often lacks life. Imagine if Martin Luther
> King Jr. would have recorded his "I have a dream" speech by
reciting
> it 50 times, re-saying certain problem clauses or stumbled words,
> then having some audio engineer piece the various takes (some
perhaps
> comprising a single syllable) together with 900 edits. Yes, his
> voice as an object might technically sound "better" once the
quivers
> and explosions were taken out, but would it have the same sense of
> outrage and urgency? What would be the point?
>
> Chris
>
> --
>
>
>
> To get on or off this list see list information at
> http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
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References
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