[HANASHIR:6424] Re: Burton's Request

[Freedabet <Freedabet...>]

Thank you, Adrian.  Let me add that if you read the notes in Sing Out's book 
Rise Up Singing, they explain that one reason they did not use the 'lead 
sheet' format (melody line with words and chords) is precisely because it 
would have been so much more expensive to get the rights to do this.  They 
suggest you either learn the melody from someone or their tapes.

A couple of years ago I was handed a book of songs from our pre-school.  Just 
words, no melody or chords.  I know most of the songs, but I have a long term 
goal of learning the rest and transcribing them all so the melodies don't 
disappear as they are passed down from teacher to teacher, most of whom are 
non-musicians.  Does anyone have an existing library of public domain 
preschool-age songs in Finale or compatible format they would be willing to 
share?

Michael

-------- REPLY, Original message follows --------

> Date: Saturday, 01-Jul-00 09:11 PM
> 
> From: Adrian Durlester         \ Internet:    (durleste (at) home(dot)com)
> To:   Hanashir Mail Server     \ Internet:    (hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org)
> 
> Subject:  [HANASHIR:6422] Re: Burton's Request
> 
> Sender: owner-hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
> Reply-to:       hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
> To:     hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
> Burton (& HN subscribers):
> 
> Your own request also serves to highlight an additional important point. The
> work of a composer, or their agent, or professional transcriber, or other
> person engaged to transcribe a composer's music in sheet music form surely
> has a need for parnassa. While most, if not all, composers want their music
> used, and widely circulated, one can't really expect every composer to
> simply hand out, gratis and willy-nilly, an actual sheet music form of their
> work. Even a simple lyric/guitar chord lead sheet requires some effort,
> though most composers can scribble those off pretty quickly. Only a handful
> of songwriters I know actually transcribe their own songs.
> 
> And Burton, we should be careful of the terminology. Technically, a lead
> sheet *would* have one staff of music with the melody line transcribed and
> then accompanying chords (for guitar, piano, et al) listed. "Lead sheets"
> are what you generally find in most published songbooks by contemporary
> Jewish songwriters. What you find in the NFTY Chordster, on the other hand,
> with only lyrics and guitar chords would not be considered an actual "lead
> sheet" though it is often referred to as such, as we Americans get typically
> lazy with our language and word definitions.
> 
> If you are asking for more than a transcribed melody line with accompanying
> chord symbols, then, my dear friend, I think you ask too much. Then we are
> getting into the realm of multiple staff arrangements and piano
> transcriptions and scores. That is the only other way to represent the chord
> structure as you seem to be requesting. Guitar player or not, most
> musicians, singers, etc., that I know are fully capable of translating a
> chord symbol into proper accompaniment as long as they have the
> melody-either in their head, or on a transcribed lead sheet.
> 
> Few of us can scribble off full or even partially score music as fast as
> actor Thomas Hulce did portraying Mozart in "Amadeus."
> 
> Sure, some of can choose, as I have, to become proficient at transcription
> using the latest and best technology, like Finale.(And hopefully, find some
> parnassa for our efforts.) And now there are inexpensive shareware programs,
> like Noteworthy Composer, that empower songwriters to create their own
> transcriptions quickly and easily. But these efforts still take time, and
> ultimately it becomes a choice of where we focus our efforts. Professional
> transcribers exist because composers would like to focus their efforts
> elsewhere.
> 
> If your organization wants to do some serious fundraising and start a
> campaign to hire people to begin transcribing the music that isn't available
> to your archives in the desired format, then maybe that problem can be
> solved. I'm not sure it's fair to ask the songwriters themselves to provide
> the service. In fact, that's the kind of support today's Jewish songwriters
> need - a foundation to help them finance and produce albums, help them get
> their music transcribed for posterity, etc. "Birthright Israel" isn't
> enough; it's time for "Birthright Jewish Music."
> 
> Adrian
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> "Atheism is a non-prophet organization."
>                           -George Carlin
> Adrian A. Durlester. M.T.S.  -  durleste (at) home(dot)com
> http://members.home.net/durleste/
> Music Director, Congregation Micah, Nashville, TN http://www.micahnash.org/
> Home phone (615) 646-9788 Nextel cel-phone (615) 207-2661
> You can page me from http://www.nextel.com
> List-Owner for hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org; Co-Owner for L-Torah (at) 
> shamash(dot)org
> http://uahc.org/hanashir
> Editor, Bim Bam (for Torah Aura Productions) http://www.torahaura.com/
> Alternate Email: aad (at) iname(dot)com  adriand (at) aol(dot)com
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org [mailto:owner-hanashir (at) 
> > shamash(dot)org]On
> > Behalf Of Burton A. Zipser
> > Sent: Saturday, July 01, 2000 4:13 PM
> > To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
> > Subject: [HANASHIR:6421] Re: HN 2000 songs
> >
> >
> > Dear Hanashirites:
> >       The request (below) sent in by Neil Weinstein recently, highlights
> > a very big problem which composers of Jewish music, especially written in
> > the folk/pop idiom, need to address. Not every performer plays the guitar
> > (I, for example, had a childhood accident and can only play the
> > guitar com-
> > fortably when seated and with the instrument held with the neck almost at
> > right angles to the floor. If those who create such music could provide
> > more than just chord symbols, especially when a sound version may not be
> > available, it will do wonders for both musicians who can play a keyboard
> > and for non-Jewish musicians who have little concept of our music, to help
> > in perpetuating the traditional performance of many of these selections.
> > As Director of the International Archive of Jewish Music I will not accept
> > any music which has only a lead-sheet format.  There is a market
> > for Jewish
> > music out there.  For many musicians (Jewish and otherwise), the
> > "Sing Out"
> > format may be acceptable.  For many others, an alternative offering ought
> > to be available.
> >       (Just an observation).  Burton Zipser
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 

-------- REPLY, End of original message --------

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