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needed CD tracks

Celia.Wright

Celia.Wright

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

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