Re: [Harp-L] Real creativity,,,warning,,WAY TOO LOOONNG

[Bradford Trainham <btrainham@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Are we looking then... for "real creativity" or inspiration? 
I've had to learn the hard way... in the name of "tightening it up"
that sometimes, you do play the same thing the same way often. 
But as you say, if the energy is right and all these other variables
innumerable are on the performer's good side of the equasion,
sometimes, those same old licks come off as "inspired" if a little
less than "creative". 
Brad Trainham
On Sun, 06 May 2007 22:12:13 -0700, you wrote:

>SORRY,,but I always liked the idea of the "long version",,
>
>I'm sure that your gripe with "canned repetition" is legitimate, as
>legitimate as those who like to hear the same song played in the same way as
>it was when they first heard it. The legitimacy of your desire to hear
>something freshly interpreted is based on everyone's sad experience of
>having heard something played "as originally written", but without soul,
>without enthusiasm, without heart. There are nuances to playing something
>from the heart that are perhaps there when first performed, that over time
>may get old to the performer, for instance on a night when the artist has
>had a difficult set of circumstances, and is just going through the motions,
>with no particular love for the audience OR the music, but has to perform
>just to fulfill his/her contractual obligations. Then, there are those
>performers who have become relatively well-known, made some large cash, and
>have no particular desire this night to "give it their all". That's
>unfortunate, if you happen to have paid some "large cash" to attend.
>
>I think all artists have their "off nights", though some are more given to
>provide a good show for the attendees than others. Some performers at times
>become so embittered over their present circumstances as to have almost NO
>concern as to what kind of show they put on. They lash out at the band, kick
>over equipment, and throw tantrums on and off-stage. Even the most
>well-known of artists have their "hissy-fits". It takes a truly
>self-controlled and graceful artist to avoid wearing their emotions at times
>"on their sleeves", as this is part of performing, having a willingness to
>be approachable, vulnerable, and at times, emotionally available to the
>audience.
>
>I hate it when I happen to attend a performance that bombs, but hey, we're
>all just people. Sure, performers "ought" to just hike up their pants, and
>"suck it up" until after they entertain their paying public, but not
>everyone can do that, it would seem. Some artists have had reputations for
>being fairly incoherent onstage, though at their best, they seem to shine.
>
>In terms of classical music, many are appreciative of one who can accurately
>re-create a wonderful piece, reliably, time after time, with seeming
>flawless accuracy. Yet even then, there is an "interpretation", if only in
>the speed of a particular passage, or the delicacy with which it is
>navigated.
>
>Pepe Romero, the well-known classical guitarist, who teaches at USC, said to
>his masterclass students that "every performance should be an
>interpretation". I tell my son this. He plays classical guitar, and well. He
>was going to play recently for a group of women associated with the Orange
>County Performing Arts Center, and I told him, "What these women want to
>see, is a young performer who is not only technically proficient, but also
>in touch with his feelings, with respect to the music, and is emotionally
>available, not just playing notes, but demonstrating a sensitivity to the
>music. Lean into it when you perform. Get immersed, emotionally invested in
>the music."
>
>I noticed, when I attended a performance of Pepe Romero's recently, that he
>"leans into" his guitar, caressing it, making love to it. Music should have
>that element.
>
>Watching Adam Gussow's harmonica lesson clips on youtube.com, I noticed that
>he refers to the performer as a "warrior", a "lover", and a "painter", in
>the sense of having a fighting intensity, to bring something musical to
>completion no matter what, loving it to take the time for doing it right,
>not just rushing through it, and being creative, painting a picture, knowing
>when it is "enough".
>
>If only all performers could make it happen every time,,
>
>When they're "off", there's something missing, some "crispness", some
>subtlety of phrasing,,but it's all due to how "prepared" the artist is, how
>"available", not only in technical execution, but even in how nourished or
>how well rested they may be, or on the negative side, how affected they may
>or may not be by some variety of chemical use or abuse. A refreshed yet
>relaxed performer is often a good one. How one finds that balance is an
>individual matter. There are so many variables, making the difference
>between a "hollow man" going through the motions, and an entertainer.
>
>Entertainment is an art. It's not just a matter of the mechanics.
>
>So,,I like repeat performances,,if they are crisp, and fresh. But when even
>the performer isn't inspired, how can the audience be? "Creativity" begins
>within. If the song was good the first time, it's good every time, if it
>retains that "living edge", and that depends on the performer. It's the
>difference between playing it "tight", or "not quite right". A living plant
>has both a zone of new growth, and some deadness, ready to be discarded. If
>the performer is "dead", without life, the performance will seem like a dead
>leaf, falling to the ground. If, however, the performer is "alive", the
>performance will be like a flower opening.
>
>One thing I like about music, and performing,,is that the music can be
>freshly "discovered" each time it is played. This kind of musical
>"discovery" is what will get an audience to stop and listen.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "Barnum, Ansel (Ansel)" <Ansel.Barnum@xxxxxxx>
>To: "lil Buddha" <ltlbuddha@xxxxxxxxx>; "Harp-l" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
>Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2007 8:52 PM
>Subject: RE: [Harp-L] Real creativity
>
>
>> I'm not looking for them to change styles, I'm not even asking them to
>change songs (although that would be nice). All I want is to hear *some*
>innovation, which usually takes place during the solo--that part of
>blues/jazz which distinguishes the genera as one of improvisation. Instead,
>I hear the same solo rehashed as it has been since the first time I heard
>it.
>>
>> I don't think variation in standards would alienate fans. They're
>expectations are based primarily on the mood of the music, and secondarily
>on the song itself. Both can be preserved while at the same time innovating,
>even if it is only limited to the solo (whose adultery thereof few fans are
>going to take offense at).
>>
>> Nor do I think that exceptions should be excluded because they're
>exceptions. On the contrary, it is the fresh exception to the tired rule
>that I seek, for therein lies the source of inspiration: Those exceptional
>minds which break through the barriers of convention to pave an new path to
>creativity.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: lil Buddha [mailto:ltlbuddha@xxxxxxxxx]
>> Sent: Sun 5/6/2007 2:03 PM
>> To: Barnum, Ansel (Ansel); Harp-l
>> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Real creativity
>>
>> Ansel,
>>
>> Setting aside the physical and psychological aspects of creativity and
>> aging, there is a very good reason your heroes do change their style;
>money.
>>
>> The unfair dilemma fans often out on their idols is this very question. If
>> you are the same all the time, some of your listeners will get bored. If
>you
>> change, you risk alienating many fans. This seems to be especially true of
>> Blues.
>> If you have a fan base willing to buy your music, attend your concerts and
>> request your songs on the radio, you have no incentive to innovate.
>>
>> Please, no Miles Davis referrals. He is an exception, as is Jazz. There
>are
>> other exceptions, but they are just that; Exceptions.
>>
>>
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>
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