Solo, I think the thing I miss most about some forms of music is exactly what you speak of. A strong rhythmic feel is missing. There are books telling people how to listen to classical music, what to look for, listen to, how to appreciate it. If a person has to take a course in how to enjoy something then maybe something's missing, something really obvious. Maybe there should be a course in how to see the forest whilst looking at the trees. If even primitive, so-called unrefined cultures can appreciate a "beat" then it would seem to me that we in the western world have educated and "improved" ourselves right out of touch. Taterbug
On Mar 23, 1:56 pm, solofiddle <[email protected]> wrote: > The Joshua Bell experiment was certainly interesting. What maybe some > folks didn't consider is that fact that many people simply do not like > Western Classical music, no matter the music or the instrument nor the > player! > It's often used to drive teenagers out of malls and coffee shops when > they hang out too much. Why do you think so many symphony orchestras > around the USA are struggling so much? Because many folks don't care > about that music and don't support it. > > A friend of mine, an ethnomusicologist (and old time musician amongst > many other things), has spent a lot of time documenting the music and > dance cultures of very remote regions on forgotton islands around the > world. In one rain forest, where he lived on and off for two years, > they had no electricity, but he had a solar rig to charge his > batteries for his video camera and he also had a cassette player. He > played for various tribes of natives all sorts of music he had brought > with him - folk, Bluegrass, big band, all sorts of music from around > the world, including several types of Western Classical music. They > responded positively to almost everything except the Classical music! > Why? NO RHYTHM, of course! Oh, sure, you could argue that there is > rhythm there, but often it is too buried beneath the emphasis on > melody and harmony and thematic structure. Some guy in an orchestra > playing a few rolls on a set of timpani or doing a couple of crashes > on some hand cymbals is hardly my idea of rhythm. > (Don't get me wrong - I like much Classical music, just usually in > smaller combos.) People respond to rhythm, so why hide it? --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Taterbugmando" 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/taterbugmando?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
