Mark, your point about the power of music, and the musical sum which
is greater than all of the parts is well taken, but anyone who played in
their High School Marching Band will tell you that it doesn't matter who
made the instrument when it comes to the talent of the player.
The artistry inherent in creating an instrument is far different from the
artistry in using that instrument to play music. Everyone has a voice,
yet some people are tone deaf. I can't recall all the times I have seen
a musician make use of someone else's instrument, and make it completely
their own through the playing of it. Itzhak Perlman can make *any* violin
sing, not just a Stratavarius (sp?).
A DJ doesn't make the turntables (well, maybe *some* do), and steals more
than just the instrument that another musician plays. He/She takes the actual
notes, the actual riffs, and recycles them. Is that art? I don't think so. Is it
a craft? Most definitely. Does it take talent? You bet. I can't do it, but I can
play a mean set of drums. Can one appreciate it? When it is well done,
yes, but it is entirely separate from the live experience.
The mere playing of records takes no talent whatsoever. Good scratching,
matching, and sampling takes practice and discipline, and can be appreciated.
Can anyone learn to scratch? I can say from experience that *not* everyone
can learn to play an instrument. When a DJ is good, are we celebrating the
talent, or the *technique*? There are those musicians that are purely
technique....like Billy Cobham or Al Dimeola. It takes a true musician, like
Peter Erskine or Pat Metheny to make *music*.
> I have sat my guitar on my lap
> and lost myself in meditation of all the people, of EVERYTHING that
> had to happen for the guitar to get in my lap, for the knowledge of
> music to evolve and make it's way into my head, for music to be made,
> recorded, played and make it's way into my soul for inspiration.
> Anytime someone takes part in music, what they become part of is far
> too complex for a mind to understand. You join the flow and do what
> feels good. All those pointing fingers and comparing and naming and
> judging, they usually just get in the way, but music is too powerful
> for them to cause harm.
>
> Mark Norman
Michael Faulkner--------pyramus@wavenet.com
Actor, Musician, Theatre Co. founder, Mac whiz, and all around good guy.
GT/CS -d+ H- s+:- g+/- a- w++ v++ C++ ?U P? L- 3- E--- N++ !W M+ -po+
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