Klarinet Archive - Posting 000447.txt from 2001/07
From: AnneLenoir@-----.net (Anne Lenoir)
Subj: Re: [kl] Re: musicianship was: Another musician honoured!
Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2001 11:26:44 -0400
--WebTV-Mail-24995-1818
I love it! I wish I had studied with your clarinet teacher. I was always
so different (am still am) from everybody else. ANNIE
--WebTV-Mail-24995-1818
Content-Disposition: Inline
storefull-285.iap.bryant.webtv.net with WTV-SMTP; Mon, 16 Jul 2001
06:36:02 -0700 (PDT)
Mon, 16 Jul 2001 06:36:04 -0700 (PDT)
Delivered-To: annelenoir@-----.net
smtpin-102-5.bryant.webtv.net (WebTV_Postfix+sws) with SMTP id
64DB91EC for <AnneLenoir@-----.net>; Mon, 16 Jul 2001 06:36:03
-0700 (PDT)
Mailing-List: contact klarinet-help@-----.org; run by ezmlm
Precedence: bulk
List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:klarinet-unsubscribe-AnneLenoir@-----.org>
Delivered-To: mailing list klarinet@-----.org
Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2001 08:39:22 -0500
From: Frank Garcia <fgarcia@-----.edu>
Message-ID: <798169.3204261562@-----.net>
Originator-Info: login-id@-----.edu
Content-Disposition: inline
Subject: Re: [kl] Re: musicianship was: Another musician honoured!
Ed,
You make very good points. I appreciated reading your perspective. The only
thing I would take issue with is in your summary.
>
> I realize that I am rambling a bit, but to summarize, I think that it all
> seems to depend on how one defines the words musicality and musician, what
> we value as music, and perspective. I myself think that the terms musician
> and genius are thrown around far too much and that they should be reserved
> for the exquisite. Much in the same way as I feel that standing ovations
> at concerts seem to be the norm in recent years rather than the
> exception. But then again, that is another argument.
Who or what determines what "genius" or what "exquisite" is?
My philosophy may sound moronic to some of you, but I am of the belief that
we all possess the ability for fleeting moments of genius. I developed this
idea from Christie Lundquist. During a lesson she showed me a diagram of
how one attains genius (she was a wonderful teacher and human being for
those who never knew her). If any of her former students have this diagram,
I would be very interested in getting it BTW. The diagram made sense to me
and seemed to be not that impossible to attain. The most lasting part of
this diagram to me was the removal of one's "self" from what one is
creating. The removal of self doubt, inhibition, etc. frees one's self to
create. I had a fairly easy time with this concept playing the clarinet. I
didn't *truly* realize it until I began songwriting.
Songwriting and I have had a long and unproductive life together. I'd write
something only to think that other people would not like it, or I would not
like it myself, etc. Or I would take other people's criticism too harshly.
I straightjacketed myself, and in doing so never finished a song until two
years ago. I decided to write as though a song was a puzzle that I needed
to complete, without self-criticism or doubt. Who cares what comes out? It
will be finished! With this experience I realized that I was holding myself
back from creating music. I am no "genius" songwriter. But I now know what
I need to do in order to be creative in this realm of musical invention. Be
free from your "self" and perhaps those fleeting instances of "genius" will
come to your playing.
In performing classical music, I feel the removal from one's self is
imperative since we are mere interpreters of other peoples' expressions.
Some music needs extra help. But master works don't need us in the way in
order to be great music. They need us to play what's on the page and
interpret to the best of our ability what the composer wanted.
In closing, I would like to share a quote from Stan Getz. The quote is from
his Getz/Gilberto #2 cd and relates to this subject. In talking about Joao
Gilberto, Getz states the following: (the asterisks are mine)
"The great artist from Brazil who... really does a lot with a song. *He
doesn't inject his own personality into a song* as a lot of other singers
do. He keeps the story of the song. But still, inside he has a lot of
emotion in his music."
This sums up my philosophy in a nutshell.
Frank
Frank Garcia
fgarcia@-----.edu
http://www.d.umn.edu/music/faculty/fgarcia.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe from Klarinet, e-mail: klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
Subscribe to the Digest: klarinet-digest-subscribe@-----.org
Additional commands: klarinet-help@-----.org
Other problems: klarinet-owner@-----.org
--WebTV-Mail-24995-1818
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe from Klarinet, e-mail: klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
Subscribe to the Digest: klarinet-digest-subscribe@-----.org
Additional commands: klarinet-help@-----.org
Other problems: klarinet-owner@-----.org
--WebTV-Mail-24995-1818--
