Hi, Richard!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

AH>  Improvisation   -- what we do when the music falls down

RW>  Also what we do when we're running out of songs to play
RW>  and want to make them last longer.


          Yup.  :-)



AH>  Chords          -- something organists play with one finger

RW>  Depends on the organ I guess, but never was able to do that
RW>  with a Hammond b-3 (and glad that wasn't available there.)


          I imagine you know more about such things than I do!  The
definitions were meant to be taken with a grain of salt, however, and this was
the first in a group of three which IMHO made a rather nice parallelism...
[chuckle].



AH>  Time Signatures    -- trivial details often irrelevant
AH>  to drummers

RW>  WOrked with a few who resembled that remark .  I
RW>  endeavor not to.

RW>  For drummers for whom that was true often dynamics are
RW>  trivial as well.


          Some people may be attracted to certain instruments because they
like making a lot of noise and/or because they believe (erroneously) that they
won't have to work as hard as others do.  I've known folks who took up drums
in order to avoid learning to read music... I've known folks who took up the
sax because they thought it would be easier than the clarinet... and I knew
one who took up the trumpet because she thought it could play only three
notes!  As a teacher I was often asked which instrument was easiest.  My
response was "Whichever *you* want to play more than any other."  I figured
they'd be having such a good time it wouldn't seem like work at all.  But
whatever the reason(s) for their choice people use an instrument in a manner
which reflects their personality....  :-))



AH>  Melody             -- an ancient, now almost extinct art
AH>  in song writing

RW>  Oh yeah, that's for sure.  Back when I was doing studio for
RW>  hire I did a rap album for a young man.  Never again!!!


          Uh-huh.  Rap isn't my cup of tea either....  :-)



RW>  Then there was the alternative band, not bad melodies, some
RW>  good words, but they wanted to run their vocals through
RW>  these awful guitar stomp boxes and a guitar amp and have
RW>  that track dominate over the actual capture of the singer's
RW>  voice in the room.  


          I'm reminded here of the younger teens who rehearsed in a back yard
a few doors down the street when I was a music student.  They obviously wanted
to make an impression... and they got a bit carried away with amplifiers too. 
;-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
 * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)