From: Steve (scatanzaro4_at_cox.net)
Date: 2004-07-04 18:56:42
sorry, I couldn't help myself!!! (july 4th and all...)
matt;
i don't want to get off on a rant about castro; (although I do find it
funny that u say teofilo stevens *is* a national treasure, meanwhile
fidel *has* a national treasure. u ask "what kid should have any respect
for george foreman" and his millions; I ask, what kid should have any
respect for fidel and *his* millions; I mean, fidel's been listed among
the world's wealthiest men for a lot longer than george foreman. foreman
earned his the old-fashioned way...thru sales. but castro earned his the
really old fashioned way... thru pillaging.
and further, by criticizing arturo for leaving cuba, are u thereby
criticizing all the musicians who have left? What about gonzalo, who
also lives in fla., and said he just wanted to leave cuba 'cuz he was
missing work opportunities? Is it really "greed" to want to provide hot
running water, toothpaste, and 2 ply toilet paper to your kids?
Something like 3 million people have left cuba under castro, and about
60,000 have died making the attempt to get away from the worker's
paradise. are they all traitors? even fidel's own daughter left.)
but ENOUGH about castro! i want to get back to the main point of the
thread; does capitalism hold back the art of music.
now, u have spoken of cuba's advanced music education. but i ask this
simple question; what great, creative musician ever really had first
rate music education? there are some, but they are in the minority.
think about it. when chopin went to vienna (1829 or so, I believe) he
was hit up by the main piano teacher in the world at that time, who
offered to give him free piano lessons. chopin demurred, preferring to
go his own way, and in doing so, changed the face of music.
that's the point. u can't really *teach* creativity. in fact, in a
certain sense, music education might actually "stifle" creativity.
the greatest musicians didn't have formal music education; the 2
greatest american composers, duke ellington and george gershwin, were
mostly self-taught. arguably the greatest songwriters in the last half
of the 20th century, lennon and mccartney, were self-taught and couldn't
even read music! do u say, "yes, well think how great they would've been
if they had music education?" but, when people asked duke ellington if
he shouldn't go study at juilliard, he said he was afraid if he went
he'd lose everything that made him unique.
gershwin went to paris to study w. ravel. when ravel found out how much
money gershwin was making, he declined giving him the lessons, saying
"maybe I should come to new york and study with you!"
In america, we have very prestigious music schools; juilliard, new
england conservatory, berklee, north texas, curtis institute, peabody,
indiana u, usc, etc... but most of the greatest, most creative musicians
have a record of either avoiding these schools or just going for a year
or two.
miles davis dropped out of juilliard, citing its overall whackness.
charlie parker never had formalized training. ditto monk, horace silver,
etc. and whoever else u want to name. in fact, it is said of berklee in
boston, that if u *do* graduate, u must not be very good, otherwise
you'd have gotten a gig and left b4 your time was up!! this is the case
with daniello perez, keith jarrett, mark de clive lowe, etc. etc.
so, i on this july 4 hereby declare that "independence" and "school" are
oxymorons.
there are things musicians need more than a teacher or teachers leaning
over and showing them the "correct" way to do things. they need good
equipment, and a place to *market* their music.
and isn't it funny, that even in a rank capitalist society, the cream
will often rise to the top? with all the new music constantly being
pimped out there, with all the new 12" and cd and mp3 assaulting us all
the time. u can still pick out a nu jazzanova track within a few
seconds. they, amon tobin, roni size, and whoever else, have done what
no school can teach u. they've come up with a high quality, recognizable
sound that stands out from the pack. and they did it all without any
music training whatsoever!!!
and now they're getting PAID! that's freedom! that's ingenuity. that's
capitalism!!! take that, fidel. happy 4 of july!