Thank you Tom, Gary and David for your thoughts. And for the wonderful quote from Barney Kessell!
Ned On Nov 8, 2010, at 5:13 AM, Gary Digman wrote: > As the famous jazz guitarist, Barney Kessell, said, "The first thing you > learn in music is that somebody will always come along who plays better than > you do, is younger than you, dresses better than you do, and is better > looking." > > Gary > > ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> > To: "Stephen Arndt" <[email protected]>; "Edward Mast" > <[email protected]> > Cc: "lute-cs.dartmouth.edu" <[email protected]>; "David Tayler" > <[email protected]> > Sent: Sunday, November 07, 2010 7:31 PM > Subject: [LUTE] Re: OT: Baroque Guitar technique > > >> Hello Stephen, Edward and David, and everybody else, >> Ahh, digital edits. I work with Sound Forge on a regular basis, and the >> temptation is to >> remove all squeaks and splats, and copy/paste good notes over bad, so as to >> render a >> recording "perfect". Listen to a recording by somebody like Walther Gerwig, >> made before >> digital, and you will hear much more of a real performance. Of course, >> razor edits were >> possible, but very dangerous territory as they could not be undone. >> I read somewhere once that we get discouraged from playing and performing >> ourselves >> because we are constantly comparing our own playing to recordings of >> acknowledged >> masters - the top .0001% in the world. We are somehow led to believe that >> if we can't play >> like that we "ain't $#!+". It's a totally un-realistic expectation. While >> it's a noble goal to aspire >> to, we need to remember that there will always be somebody out there who can >> play circles >> around us (unless we happen to BE Paul, Nigel, Robert, or Ron). >> I just named 4 people. 4 people out of how many billions in the world? >> And these people have access to technology that can eliminate all of their >> fluffs and >> marginally played passages. >> So, I guess what I'm saying is that I think we shouldn't be overly hard on >> ourselves for the >> squeaks and splats that, really, are a natural part of playing a stringed >> instrument. They are >> actually a part of the overall sound. We tend to forgive them in >> performance and forget them >> quickly. On recordings they live forever, so that's why the pros do 2000 >> edits. >> One of the down-sides of modern recordings is that we are inadvertently led >> to feel that we >> should give it up and let the pros do it. But, think about people who >> played lutes in, say, >> 1630. They were mostly ordinary folks playing in their parlours for >> enjoyment. They had no >> CD players, etc. It was the only way to have music unless you were >> fabulously wealthy. And, >> while there may have been a high standard amongst performers and teachers of >> the time, >> most of that music was probably fraught with squeaks, splats, and worse. >> So, Stephen, take heart. There will always be a virtuoso that can make us >> look and feel >> puny (I feel like hanging up my guitar every time I see John Renbourn play), >> but we can still >> make a lot of beautiful sounds for our own enjoyment, and probably for the >> enjoyment of >> others as well. >> Tom >> >> Tom Draughon >> Heartistry Music >> http://www.heartistry.com/artists/tom.html >> 714 9th Avenue West >> Ashland, WI 54806 >> 715-682-9362 >>> Hi Stephen, >>> >>> My ability to get through a lute piece without mistakes or "twangs, >>> splats, and squeaks" may be similar to yours. Very occasionally I do >>> question myself about the sense of continuing an uphill struggle, but >>> mostly not. As long as I sense any progress at all - and that may >>> not be daily, but rather like a plateau learning process where a week >>> can go by with no noticeable improvement and then suddenly you notice >>> that a passage in a piece that didn't come out before now does - I'm >>> encouraged to continue. And, beyond that, as with many endeavors, >>> there is satisfaction in the process - in the discipline involved. To >>> face a challenge and deal with it on a regular basis is reward in >>> itself. So I say, be not discouraged. Keep practicing - keep >>> playing! >>> >>> Best, Ned >>> On Nov 7, 2010, at 8:29 PM, Stephen Arndt wrote: >>> >>> > Dear David, >>> > >>> > I had a very mixed reaction to your post. I am in no way a >>> > professional musician, though I consider myself a serious, if not a >>> > very accomplished, amateur (at least in the etymological sense of >>> > the word). Often times I have listened to lute recordings and >>> > thought, "I might as well just quit. I'll never play like that." I >>> > can get through any given piece without an actual mistake (i.e., >>> > playing a wrong note) only one time in a hundred perhaps and never >>> > without "twangs, splats, and squeaks." So, I was consoled to learn >>> > that even professional musicians may have up to 2,200 edits per CD. >>> > Perhaps if I could edit myself "every 2 seconds," I wouldn't sound >>> > so bad after all. It could well be that commercial CDs set >>> > artificially and therefore unrealistically high standards of >>> > performance. On the other hand, your most recent video (I think), >>> > "It's a Wonder to See," has absolutely no "twangs, splats, and >>> > squeaks" or any other imperfections that could be edited out, so I >>> > am back to thin! >>> king, "I might as well just quit. I'll never play like that." >>> > >>> > I am not addressing myself now to the Paul O'Dettes, Nigel Norths, >>> > or Robert Bartos among us (or even to the highly accomplished Daniel >>> > Shoskes or Valéry Sauvages among us), but just to the average lute >>> > player, whoever you may be. Do you have similar thoughts and >>> > feelings? Do you alternate between "I love this more than anything" >>> > and "I'll never be any good at this"? Maybe we should form a support >>> > group. Please let me hear from you. >>> > >>> > Stephen Arndt >>> > >>> > -------------------------------------------------- >>> > From: "David Tayler" <[email protected]> >>> > Sent: Sunday, November 07, 2010 2:55 PM >>> > To: "lute-cs.dartmouth.edu" <[email protected]> >>> > Subject: [LUTE] Re: OT: Baroque Guitar technique >>> > >>> >> Live music is great! >>> >> A typical classical music CD has 800 edits, a typical solo CD, such >>> >> as guitar, lute, harpsichord, etc, varies, but the high and low >>> >> numbers for the albums I hvae worked range from 450-2200 Now 2200 >>> >> edits is a a very large number, that's 2200 twangs splats and >>> >> squeeks that have been removed. Basically, a correction has been >>> >> applied every 2 seconds. So, live music is better. By going to a >>> >> real concert, you hear something that is real, and support >>> >> musicians directly. >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> To get on or off this list see list information at >>> >> http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >>> > >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> Tom Draughon >> Heartistry Music >> http://www.heartistry.com/artists/tom.html >> 714 9th Avenue West >> Ashland, WI 54806 >> 715-682-9362 >> >> > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 9.0.864 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/3241 - Release Date: 11/06/10 > 11:34:00 >
