July 31, 1997, 9:12 p.m. (Message 8389)
<<CD producers will not produce the CDs you want unless you tell them what you want. The use of musicians is not an option for many groups. cheers Peter Hastings Royal Observatory Edinburgh>> <<From: Benjamin Stein <xxxxxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx> No, the situation in the States is no better for most of us. Boston, New York, LA, San Francisco and their ilk may be able to afford to have live music for the classes but those of us out in the "boonies" with one or two sets for the class just can't pay the bill. . . . We are happy to be able to import a live band once or twice a year for a social occassion. For classes we still depend on recordings. Ben Stein Burlington, Vt. USA xxxxxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx>> <<From: Stefan Barthel <xxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxxxxxx.xx> To: "Strathspey-Server" <xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxxxxxx.xxx-xxxxxxxxx.xx> Subject: RE: wanted CD tracks Celia Wright, Rochester, New York, wrote: > I hate to point out the obvious, but live musicians can generally > provide whatever number of bars and repeats are needed for a given > situation. > > Develop your local musicians, and this subject becomes moot. Sorry, I take efforts to develop local musicians, but the interest in becoming a band for SCD explicitely is low in Germany I can't do more than beeing prepared with sheet music for the chances to come, not beeing a musician myself. -------------------------------------------------------- Stefan Barthel email: xx@xxxxxx.xx Spardorfer Strasse 40a D-91054 Erlangen http://nuernberg.netsurf.de/User/barthel >> Dear folks, It is saddening to hear a topic develop based on the assumption that recorded music is, should be, and ever will be the norm. Hardly anyone else seems uncomfortable with the idea. Yes, there are places in the world where live music is not an option, just as there are places where SCD is not an option. I respectfully submit, based on my own experience, that those places are far fewer than the SCD community assumes. Thesre are assumptions and attitudes that I continue to run across that are wearing and demoralizing to the point that I wonder why I want to play SCD music. Yet the fact remains that I do, and that I know others out there who do. We want to play at least as badly as you want to dance. We are not among the superstar musicians, and most of us are unlikely ever to be. We do not live in Scotland, in Boston, New York (City), LA, or San Francisco, or in Toronto or Sydney. We are, nevertheless, competent musicians who persist in believing that our "live" music, that is, music produced on the dance site, not emanating from sound reproduction equipment, is at least as worthwhile to dance to as what is on record, having the advantage of the energy exchange between dancers and musicians and the possibility of immediate response to the situation. We are also aware that to become more competent at it, we need opportunites to play. As for groups not being able to afford the fee, I'd like to know what fee that is. I've been playing Scottish for some years now, and have rarely gotten paid. Here in Rochester I work with three melody players who are among the most in-demand musicians in Upstate New York for contra, English country, and family dances, for which they are nearly always paid. Not one of them has yet said that she wouldn't be available to play for the local SCD because of the lack of pay. Both Tucson and Rochester pay as generously as possible for special events, and are lavish in their appreciation, enthusiasm, and food, but do not pay musicians fees on a weekly basis. They still have live music for classes at least some of the time. Yes, we would rehearse more if we got paid regularly; I'm not denying that there are *some* economics involved. Yes, many musicians would rather play contra, or Irish, or Bluegrass, or whatever. You want the ones who are compulsive enough to think playing 8 bars of a reel, then 8 more bars, then 16 (or 12), then some strathspey, is an enjoyable interaction. In general I believe, based on experience, that any North American community which has well-developed music for contra and/or English has the potential for finding musicians capable of conceiving a passion for Scottish county dance music. I don't claim to be able to speak for other parts of the world. As long as RSCDS member groups hang on to the poverty mentality that "We don't have enough ________ to _______ (fill in the blanks)", they will have the current situation. When they start assuming live music as the norm, it will start to happen. (I know one well-known SCD musician, frequently mentioned on this list, who refuses to make recordings because "I'd be putting myself out of work.") Would this require work? You betcha. Does it require work to build a dance group, get teacher certification, find a good hall, or train a demo team? Has it been worth it? Will your local musicians sometimes fall short of perfection? Will they have immediate mastery of the style and nuance of the music? Will you still manage to have fun? Would your group be stronger and richer for the effort of developing local musicians? The real question, in most locales in North America, is whether SCD wants live music. Unlike with rabbits or hamsters, it only takes one musician at the beginning. Musicians tend to reproduce their kind, because we're all missionaries. Ideally, the SCD musician is also a dancer, since this makes it easier to understand what 4x32S means, and why you call it a 3-couple dance when there are 4 couples standing in the set. But it is possible for teachers and musicians to communicate on this (there comes that work thing again), and there are some sets in print out there. There are even teachers, like Mr. Barthel, who keep sheet music handy and his mind open, just in case. Bless you, sir. You deserve good musicians. My earlier message was an attempt to challenge your assumptions on this topic. I'm still trying. Celia Wright xxxxx.xxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxxxxx.xxx Rochester, New York, USA