Notes From the Grid is a bi-weekly column about the Columbia County music scene written by Rob. It is featured every other Friday in the "On the Scene" supplement of the Hudson Register Star. See all »

September 19, 2011

Musical Vignettes and Strong opinions.

Musical Vignettes and Strong opinions.

Phoebe Segel, a toddler just on the verge of becoming a walking human played with me for the first time the other day. Phoebe’s dad and mom are both musicians, so she is used to a lot of organized noise, but no one was prepared for Phoebe’s screaming delight as a number of musicians accompanied her while she shook a maraca in her chubby little fingers. It was an episode of pure,unadulterated joy. This is why I like music so much. A charming five minute episode reinforced my sense that we human beings are just naturally wired for music. It is natural to love it. It is an accepted and and an expected diversion in our lives, but we let it go away as we get older. Why do we let that happen? Parents, friends, bullies and (so-called) teachers often manage to corrupt our passion and our love of music. Here’s something that happens pretty often -  I’ll ask a person whether they are a musician (which is an acceptable question, after all, I work in a music store). Often they will raise their hands in defense and make a confession:

I’m not a musician
I try but I’m not very good
I can’t sing
I can’t carry a tune in a bucket
I have no talent
I only fool around
I’m not a professional
I just do it for fun.

Goodness. What have we done to ourselves? Some stage fright is natural some stage fright is learned. This kind of behavior is taught.

First of all, let’s get something straight. The word “amateur” is French, from that Latin “amator” which means “lover”. An amateur is a person who pursues a particular activity because they love it. A professional is defined on Wikipedia as “a person who performs commercially in a field typically reserved for hobbyists or amateurs.” The definition doesn’t mention the word love and it would be pretty difficult to convince me that playing music because you love it is an inferior approach to playing music for money, fame or influence. I don’t have anything against getting paid to play music, I do it all the time, but I do have something against the way our culture approaches music and art as though they sports that can be “won” or “lost”.  My favorite professional musicians are definite amateurs, they love music and consider themselves fortunate to be able to make a living at it. I know a man who when he inquired about lessons on baglama saz in Istanbul was asked where his family was, the point being that the family is where you learn music (amateur), conservatory is where you learn to get paid for music (professional).

I’m not arguing that Beyonce or Adele or Lil Wayne don’t believe in the music they offer, but the fact that their music earns a kazillion dollars doesn’t give it validity. There’s a 90 year old man from Connecticut who comes into my store and plays tenor banjo while his wife goes shopping. His playing, though a little creaky maybe, speaks to my emotion core when he strums tunes like:

There’ll be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight.
Has Anybody Seen My Gal? 
Darktown Strutters Ball

This fellow (whose name I’ve never learned) plays these tunes with the indifference that comes with seventy years of practice. He doesn’t care if anyone listens, he doesn’t care if he makes a mistake, he’s nurturing himself and giving his listeners a glimpse into another time and another way of life.

About ten years ago there was a bass player who also played trombone. He would give his student a bass groove and would then accompany on the drum kit using his feet for hi hat and bass drum while playing the melody on his trombone. One afternoon they were playing “Low Rider” and the music permeated into the store proper which moved a dentist at the counter to grab a saxophone and play along. A novice guitar player and her friend wandered in and were given assignments of strumming and singing (or laughingly talking) the lyrics. I started playing along on electric guitar and a few minutes into the tune noticed a fellow behind me kneeling on the floor and picking along on a mandolin. From professional to casual to complete novice to brilliant innovator. We were all amateurs,  a bunch of musicians having as much fun as any on the planet.

Rafe Kozaka - Fearless Banjo Player

On the east coast of Ireland 1974 I heard some youthful voices singing just beyond a sand dune. The tune was familiar but the words were made up to to express the feelings of a few eleven year olds carrying a soccer ball.  Here’s how the song went -

We won because we won because we won because we won!
We won because we won because we because we won!

The melody was Auld Lang Syne (which I have just been informed is played as the final tune at traditional music sessions in Edinburgh, Scotland.) It seems that all football (soccer) teams in Ireland have their own song, usually set to a familiar melody. These youngsters, bursting with pride after a successful match, decided to compose their own impromptu theme song to celebrate the victory.

Most people have had the experience of breaking the ice with another person when someone begins to play “Heart and Soul” on the piano. One of my most treasured musical memories is accompanying Athena Lilliendahl Sverrisdóttir in Keflavik, Iceland. I strummed chords on the ukulele while the ten year old Athena played the tune on the piano. I knew as much Icelandic as she knew English which is none, but we had one of those significant musical bonding experiences that makes all the sturm und drang of rehearsals and practicing worthwhile. I’m happy that these are not rare occurrences

My definition of music considers the social aspect. For me it is the authentic exchange of emotional ideas and opinions through sound. That’s me – I made that up. I googled a definition for fun and was informed that music is “The art or science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.” You know what? Beauty, as always, is in the eye of the beholder. The final product doesn’t need to be “beautiful” in a conventional way: often the beauty is in the fact of creation or in the collaborative process.

Yassou Benedict will perform at Club Helsinki tonight Sept 2
Otto Hauser at the Spotty Dog on Warren Street tomorrow Sept 3
Liv Carrow at the Spotty Dog on Sunday Sept 4

Ashley Price Fearless Musician