I think it depends on the purpose for which players post their videos.
Stuart often posts some of the Foscarini pieces I am transcribing and I'm
sure he wont mind my saying that they are not polished professional
performances. Often they are done in a hurry as well.
But I find them enormously helpful - because I can hear someone else playing
them and think about ways of improving them. I am pleased that he thinks
they are worth exploring.
The same is true of the things on my web site - people's comments and
queries are invaluable.
Of course we should avoid saying really tactless things (and perhaps I am
sometimes guilty of this). But I think we should be free to express an
opinion.
At least as far as this list is concerned we are surely all friends.
Monica
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stuart Walsh" <[email protected]>
To: "Sauvage Valéry" <[email protected]>
Cc: <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, January 11, 2010 10:42 AM
Subject: [LUTE] Re: constructive critical commentary
Sauvage Valéry wrote:
So I'm not sure Youtube is the place for constructive commentary, but
more
for sharing music we love
I've put up some youtube videos. Is it folly, vanity, lack of
self-awareness? Sometimes it's like a goal to aim for - to choose a
piece, practice it, video it, and upload it as a sort of resolution... and
then move on! Sometimes the little video I have uploaded has been an
example of something.
Like Valéry, I know (or think I know) much of what is wrong with my
playing. And - like most players of musical instruments, ever - I'm not a
professional, just an amateur trying to play as well as I can. And so I
know nothing of, nor have any skills at all in the presentation and
stagecraft of music - of communicating to an audience. But youtube doesn't
have an audience in that sense - just people dipping in and out watching
perhaps just a few seconds and then clicking away. And a video of a
farting cat on a unicycle will always get the big hits anyway.
But I do agree with David that people constructive criticism could make
me, and others play better (and perhaps Valéry too?) - and see things in
the music and interpret some things better and offer technical solutions
etc etc (probably quite a lot of etcs). After a very long time I've been
looking at some English lute music and the ornaments and it would be
really interesting to get comments from people who are steeped in all
that.
I'm not a fan of ning ("Cuthbert is now friends with Melanie" etc) but I
could see the use of something like a ning site dedicated only to
constructive criticism of performances lute/allied plucked intruments -
where you have to sign up to comment and preferably you sign up on the
understanding that you submit something. And each person would indicate:
beginner, amateur, professional in their performances and in their
comments. Better still would be link from here to somewhere dedicated to
constructive criticism if that is what you actually wanted.
Stuart
To get on or off this list see list information at
http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
