RE: [Harp-L] Real creativity

["Barnum, Ansel \(Ansel\)" <Ansel.Barnum@xxxxxxx>]

You're right: There's the premeditated creativity of the composer who carefully calculates his musical thoughts with
consideration; then there's the improvised creativity of the performer who extemporaneously streams his musical thoughts without 
thought. The former is best exemplified in classical, the latter by jazz. (Both are equally impressive, valuable, etc--I'm not 
making a value judgment here.) Blues, however, tends to occupy a middle ground where players often preconceive their solo (a la 
classical) then play variations on it (a la jazz). This hybrid can result in great music as it harnesses the strengths of both 
approaches.

My inquiry into ?real creativity? concerned the apparent stagnation of either means of producing original music. Much of blues 
consists of standard rhythm changes with standard melodies with standard lics with standard solos. Yes, it nevertheless makes 
wonderful, moving music. But eventually after years and years of listening, the patterns start to become apparent and, admittedly, 
tiring. Even more disheartening is when the ?heroes? in ones pantheon of players start to recycle their own songs, lics, and most 
troubling of all, even the solos. When this happens, it seems to augur the end of innovation. This means you?re forced be content 
with what has been created till now, for new ground no longer is getting broken. This is the tragic truth that lovers of classical 
must come to terms with. Fortunately for them, they have a larger catalogue to rotate through.
 
I think it?s a stretch to compare the repetition that plagues blues with the repetition that benefits classical. Yes, in both 
genres repetition can be employed to build and contrast musical ideas. In this case the repetition is *intentionally* used for 
desired effect. However with blues, the unhealthy repetition I refer to is the result of stalled creativity that has settled into 
a comfortable rut for replaying the same thing the same way every time. (Note that whereas classical has its hands tied when it 
comes to playing the notes the composer ordered, blues should be tacking advantage of its freedom from a score!)

Maybe I?m just nostalgic for the early days of initial infatuation with a new love, when everything was titillating with the 
excitement of a first encounter. Maybe I just need to come to terms with the fact that my relationship has entered the 
steady-state of a marriage whose lustful beginnings are gone, replaced by the romance of familiar routine. Maybe I need to have an 
affair: Jazz?


Ansel



-----Original Message-----
From: Vern Smith [mailto:jevern@xxxxxxx]
Sent: Sun 5/6/2007 1:27 PM
To: Barnum, Ansel (Ansel); harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Real creativity
 
Ansel, YOU are the one to turn to for all of the freshness and creativity 
that you demand.  No one else will ever satisfy your thirst for newness. 
However, don't expect that many others will share that much hunger for new 
material.  Material that is new as the harmonica meets the player's lips is 
unlikely to be memorable.

Your definition of musical "creativity" is different from mine.  You seem to 
define it as the ability to improvise something pleasant for the instant 
occasion..  I define it as the ability to craft something of lasting appeal. 
You seem to be thinking of the creativity of the performer while I think of 
the creativity of the composer.

You may overlook the fact that the audiences often demand that that the 
older performers replay their past triumphs.  They like to recall pleasant 
old associations.  Very often, when the old performers try something new, 
the audience is disappointed that they cannot come up with something as good 
as they did when thay were at the peak of their inspiration and powers of 
composition.  With maybe a very few exceptions such as Bach and Mozart, the 
muse doesn't speak to the composer continuously or with equal strength 
through the years.  Many of us still wait for that first inspiration.

You may also overlook that repetition is at the very core of music.  A theme 
such as the ...- of Beethoven's fifth occurs over and over with the newness 
appearing in variations.  Nor does that lessen our pleasure in hearing that 
same symphony many times. Almost every good song introduces a new theme, 
then repeats it, sometimes with variations.  And if the song is really good, 
we like to hear it many times...otherwise recorded music would not be so 
popular.  Audiences crave the familiar.  The clever artist can deliver it 
with enough of a new twist to make it interesting again, but not so much as 
to spoil it's old charm.

The jazz musician comes closest to playing something fresh every time the 
harp meets his lips, but it may appeal mainly to jazz buffs.  Are you one of 
them?

Vern
Visit my harmonica website www.Hands-Free-Chromatic.7p.com



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Barnum, Ansel (Ansel)" <Ansel.Barnum@xxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2007 8:54 AM
Subject: [Harp-L] Real creativity


>
> Recently I'm beginning to become disillusioned with my childhood harp 
> heroes. Last night I heard one of them in concert which was admittedly a 
> great show. However, it was the same one I'd heard last year, the year 
> before, and so on going back to when I first heard them ten years ago. And 
> that seems to be the trend amongst most in my harp pantheon. Yes, they 
> conceived of great music at one point in time, but they don't continue to 
> do so, instead replaying the great ideas they (or someone else) thought of 
> in the past. And even those that do periodically come up with new material 
> on a CD just rehash it like a jukebox in concert.
>
> So my question is: Where is the *real* creativity? Who are the musicians 
> that play something fresh every time a harp meets their lips? I certainly 
> appreciate that the diatonic harp and blues form imposes constraints that 
> chromatic jazz players do not face. Which is why I'm searching for those 
> geniuses able to break through these barriers to that zen state of art. 
> Who can I turn to for inspiration of exciting, dynamic, creative music 
> that continuously flows into the instrument--in this case, a diatonic 
> harp?
>
>
> Ansel
>
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