[HANASHIR:16534] Re: "Quality" and the teachings of Danny Maseng

[Ros Schwartz <ros...>]

Like Shirona, I too am speaking my mind to air a strongly-felt opinion, 
without any personal implications ... hopefully, open exchange will 
allow us to find the truth in what we each are saying.

Yes, there is a place for perfectionism.  I am a perfectionist about my 
poetry - my songs are never finished, ten years after writing them I 
still find new words to brighten the imagery, express the thought more 
clearly.  There's a Yiddish saying - "There's no end to better".  The 
consequence is that my words can move people to laughter and to tears 
... I've seen it happen ... to quote 2/3 of a haiku I wrote,
"I can make you laugh or cry
with a turn of phrase".

Yet Joseph Boonin has just written about how he and his wife were moved 
to tears by hearing their 2 1/2 year old grandson singing 
barely-recognisable melodies in the bathtub ... to quote his letter 
(Hanashir #16533):

"Frankly, I was touched to a degree I wouldn't have thought possible to 
hear him in his bath singing "Shalom Chaverim" and "S'vivon." It took a 
bit of creative listening to discern the familiar words and melodies. 
When my wife and I realized what was coming from his little voice we 
were close to tears."

As I said in my earlier letter, the degree of "quality" required depends 
on the context and the purpose.  Danny Maseng (as described in Sbirona's 
letter) was preparing a show to which he was asking many large audiences 
to pay money to see.  This had better be top quality, to fulfill his 
side of the contract.  Joseph Boonin was touched precisely because his 
grandson's music was elemental and unformed ... and let him see the 
potential that resided within.

Shirona describes a carpenter who builds a poorly-designed chair of 
low-grade wood, with crooked construction and loose joints, and asks, 
"What use is this to others?"  My response:  this depends.  If this is a 
master carpenter asking for the same price as a well-constructed chair, 
then the exchange is unbalanced.  But if this is a first year 
carpenter's apprentice, just learning the craft ... then this chair 
serves the purpose of a physical representation of the time, effort, and 
commitment that its construction required.  ( ... which is probably 
greater than the effort put forth by the master craftperson in producing 
a polished result.).  And if this is a carpenter improvising with 
whatever limited materials come to hand ... either in happy 
circumstances, as out camping, or in difficult circumstances, as in 
hiding from oppresors ... then the chair serves the purpose of providing 
an elevated surface to sit upon, instead of sitting upon the ground.

There is a degree of poor quality which is so low as to be unacceptable. 
 If the chair is so poorly constructed that it falls apart while someone 
is sitting on it, they  risk injury, and would be better off with no 
chair at all.  In the world of music, if there is a teacher who is so 
unpleasant that they turn they students away from music, then the 
students would be better off with no teacher at all.  (My daughter had a 
dance teacher who swore at the kids when they made mistakes.  You can 
infer the outcome.)  But apart from this extreme, if a musician brings 
love and commitment to their work - even if their skills are limited - 
then their emotional expression can be more important than the degree 
of  technical expertise.

To quote Bill Staines (in Rise Up Singing, p 241)
"All God's critters got a place in the choir
Some sing low, some sing higher
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire and
Some just clap their hands - or paws - or anything they got now."

- Ros


Shirona wrote:

Subject: [HANASHIR:16516] "Quality" and the teachings of Danny Maseng
Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 12:51:26 -0500
From: "Shirona" <shirona (at) bellatlantic(dot)net>
Reply-To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
To: <hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org>


> Now that the dust settled on the Dinosaur...(till the next time 
> someone wants to "pick a bone...;-) I feel the need for a little 
> "closure" - since parts of this debate seemed to touch a nerve with 
> some people...clearly polarizing the community between "pro" or 
> "against" (and thank G-d for the "indifferent") - the dino.
>  
> I'm very sorry if my comments were hurtful - I never meant to offend 
> anyone personally or challenge anyone personally.  My comments about 
> the low level of quality in Jewish Music were general - but I 
> understand that each individual on this list had to interpret these 
> comments on a "personal" level and react accordingly.
>  
> I take comfort in knowing that "Anything worth saying will be met with 
> opposition" - or put the other way around - "If everyone agrees with 
> something you said it probably wasn't worth saying". I already know in 
> advance that the flack will fly in my direction - but I do it anyway 
> because I believe in what I'm saying and that it needs to be said.  OK 
> here's two more: "Someone's gotta do it"... and "No good deed goes 
> unpunished"... Flack accepted gracefully.
>  
> Then come the personal emails, many,  thanking me and congratulating 
> me on my "guts" - for saying the very things they believe in privately 
> but would rather not say in public - for obvious reasons... So I can 
> only imaging the tone of all the private emails flying between the 
> "other" campers. Oh well... that's the nature of the beast... uh oh... 
> is it a Dinosaur? ;-)
>  
> On the issue of "Quality". It's such a complex and multi-facetted 
> topic - swaying between the absolute and the relative, between private 
> impressions and public opinion...but here is an example that I hope 
> will highlight "where I'm coming from":
>  
> A Carpenter builds a chair. It turns out somewhat crooked, the joints 
> aren't tight, the wood is low grade and it's poorly designed.  Would 
> anyone buy this chair?  Would anyone accept the argument that this 
> carpenter is "expressing" him/herself...? Perhaps, but of what USE is 
> it to OTHERS?   In such a clear-cut example we KNOW when something is 
> poorly crafted - case closed. When it comes to music the criteria 
> aren't AS clear cut - but they still exist!!  My whole point is that 
> collectively... for whatever reason...(that's a whole other topic) we 
> lowered our standards of acceptability to the point of - well you 
> already know what I think.
>  
> These comments are NOT meant to discourage anyone from studying and 
> advancing their skills!!!  Why would anyone make that assumption?  On 
> the contrary! However - at what point a person feels comfortable 
> coming out in public with singing/playing/composing/recording and 
> publishing is first and foremost a sensitive and personal thing...but 
> very much a reflection of what the public considers as "acceptable".  
> Perhaps this is where the crux of the problem is.
>  
> Years ago I was in a musical review ("On Silver Wings") with Danny 
> Maseng.  On stage were Danny Maseng, Guy Jaffe and myself. We 
> rehearsed for six months for an hour and a half show.  Every note was 
> accounted for, every breath, every move.  Danny's level of 
> perfectionism was my teacher and my inspiration - as well as my 
> tormentor...  and being the first real performing I've ever done - the 
> only way I've known.  I'll forever be grateful for that experience.  I 
> also just came out of Art School - where being critiqued was a way of 
> life.  You spent three hours drawing (OK - mostly nudes...;-) and then 
> an hour having your work "shredded" by the teachers and other 
> students.  We learned not to be "precious" about our work, how to 
> honor our craft, how to pursue excellence and "quality" - usually the 
> product of lots of hard work. You can "express yourself" all you want 
> - but if your work is poor you're not going to get the"recognition" 
> you secretly crave....And don't think that only "technique" was valued 
> - but also Originality and Creativity.  Why  repeat what's already 
> been done? 
>  
> Singing was always a hobby for me... but I spent YEARS studying voice 
> before I felt ready and "worthy" of singing in public...I have 
> tremendous respect for the art and craft of fine singing - and I don't 
> mean Opera necessarily.  Great singers like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie 
> Holiday, Frank Sinatra, or Joni Mitchell (she's a total genius in my 
> opinion - as a singer/songwriter/poet AND artist!) Bonnie Raitt and so 
> many others. None of them tried to fit a pre-existing mold - in fact 
> they created their own styles... but none of them succumbed to 
> schlock.  The "real artists" out there in the "real world" - you may 
> not like their style... but can't ever accuse them of "bad singing" or 
> "poor musicianship".  Somehow the "real world" sets different 
> standards than we do in the world of Jewish Music... This is what I'm 
> lamenting about.
>  
> I believe that our Jewish heritage and culture - especially our sacred 
> texts - deserve better than they've been getting. Of course there's no 
> immediate "tachles" solution... maybe if there was some kind of real 
> money in this field it would attract more accomplished musicians... 
> who knows - but still I HAD to put it out there - something that's 
> been bugging me for years.
>  
> Shirona
>  
>  
>  
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
> Singer, Songwriter and Teacher of Jewish Music
>    www.shirona.com <http://www.shirona.com>
>    www.cdbaby.com/shirona <http://www.cdbaby.com/shirona>
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



------------------------ hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org -----------------------+
Hosted by Shamash: The Jewish Network, http://shamash.org  
a service of Hebrew College, which offers online courses and an
online MA in Jewish Studies, http://hebrewcollege.edu/online/

To unsubscribe email listproc (at) shamash(dot)org and have your message read:
unsubscribe hanashir
------------------------ hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org -----------------------=