[HANASHIR:6899] In re "recorded music"

[Burton A. Zipser <zipmusic...>]

One of the mysteries of late 20th century music is the fact that a 
certain level of musical literacy is not considered important any 
more.  This comment may offend those among us who painstakingly 
create melodies and create songs for which guitar chords are used for 
accompaniment purposes, often played with great agility and dexterity 
by the practicioners of this form of music-making.  I do not 
denigrate their efforts because they serve a valuable service in 
bringing music to a larger public. (For the successful ones, I also 
envy the size of their bank accounts.)  However, some of us fall into 
the category which may be described as "traditional" musicians, which 
means that we can take blobs of ink which have been printed on a 
five-line staff and convert those blobs into sound. Furthermore, we 
can take the chord symbols printed above the notes and reproduce 
sounds, not only on a guitar, but also on pianos, organs, and even 
re-interpret them for instrumental and vocal groups of singers and 
instrumentalists.
        What Rabbi Schachet and I ask of those who are willing to 
present their music to a public which may be eager to reproduce that 
music for personal joy and utilization, is that the creators of that 
musical genre at least find a way to transfer their "creations" to a 
paper form, in which the notes of the melody are notated in some 
manner and for which some kind of chord symbols are used to indicate 
the harmony.  The melodic part is very easy, since a variety of very 
servicable software now exist which will allow someone to sing (using 
a neutral syllable) or play a single note melody on any melodic 
instrument, and the notes will magically appear on a computer screen 
(in either Mac or Windows format) to which the words and chord 
symbols can be printed above and below the notes, and then a printout 
of the result can be made.  The composer can then provide this 
document to their friends or even (imagine this!) sell the result to 
the public! For those who do not know what chords they are playing, 
it is possible to find chord dictionaries which will answer that 
conundrum.
        Unless there are some song creators who create their songs 
for altruistic reasons, this may solve the recurring questions of 
"how can I get a copy of so-and-so's song which I heard at ......". 
Please contact me individually (by e-mail) and I will be happy to 
provide you with the place to go to obtain the software, and I do NOT 
get a penny for such referrals.
        As a footnote, a group of us are in the process of creating a 
music curriculum for use in all types of Jewish schools.  If some of 
those who create Jewish music have compositions which have been 
deemed valuable for educational purposes, please note that we won't 
be recommending such tunes unless there is a written version of the 
song. (After all, congregational musicians have enough problems 
already!)
        Regards, Burton A. Zipser, Director, Intl. Archive of Jewish Music

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