James Boyk wrote:

Les Cargill wrote:
In the context of by-golly Equal Temperament, the context doesn't matter.

But--goodness!--the only instruments equal-tempered are the ones for
which this is forced by physical necessity.

Musicians - per se - do not have to understand harmony
any more than actors have to understand writing. They
just have to hit their mark. Granted, the good ones *do*,
but they ain't gotta.

Excuse me for disagreeing; but yes, they gotta. They don't need to know
the names of things, but they gotta understand the "tendencies" of notes
in voice-leading and harmony. And they do understand these things.
There's nothing rare about this. But apparently there's nothing rare
about the opposite, either.

(Surely you're not saying that actors don't have to understand their
roles and the plays!)


I am saying that there are people who are identified as actors who
don't have much of a sense of the work as a sum thing. These may
or may not be *good* actors, but they exist, nonetheless.

Likewise, there are people who are very popular entertainers who
are identified as musicians, who are not very technically adept.

BTW, a B on a G7 is technically a Bb, not a B natural.
G7 to C is a V7-I ( among others, but that's the main one ).
But I knew what you meant.

If G7 to C is V7-I, which is what I meant, then the B in the G7 chord is
indeed a B-natural. For the other example, I meant the B-natural that's
in Emin, moving to the B-flat that's in V7 of F.


Of course. Sorry about the error.

Why? Supppose somebody aesthetially prefers the mechanical-ness of it.

Sure. Fine. I imagine this is case once in a thousand times; or if
there's a fad, 999 in a thousand---for a few months.


I think it still is a fad. Either that or it's something
the producers feel they need to remain competitive.

I don't get it, either. Sounds like somebody singing through
a comb wrapped in paper.

Why on earth would anybody want to play an electric guitar
through an amplifier that's pushed to the point of distress?
Yet an entire industry was spawned from this.

That's a matter of sonority, which is far less crucial musically than pitch.

In the U.S., the wars are won on the playing fields of
insert your favorite university here.

Well, "W" didn't win any wars on any Yale playing fields I know of,
though his dad was a fine collegiate first-baseman, I believe.


I am just saying that music is less represented in the culture
than are sports.

By the same token, the little ( 50k ) town I live in has
a full symphony. May not be top flight, world class, but
it gets the job done and they're competent, so far as I can tell.

That's wonderful. And with all respect to them, sometime go listen to a
top-flight orchestra and hear the difference. One thing is simply that
the dynamic range is a lot wider on both ends (Sheffield Lab found
LAPhil peaking 5 dB louder than Pasadena Symphony in identical circs.)
Also the tone will be much more beautiful and will maintain that beauty
over a wider dynamic range. And the ensemble -- the "togetherness" --
will be a lot better. But I'm not saying this to put down lesser
orchestras. The important thing is to Have an orchestra.

(But I never volunteered to be a weirdo anywhere.)


It's just one of the risks of specialization.

James Boyk


--
Les Cargill