[HANASHIR:16551] Re: "Quality" and the teachings of Danny Maseng

[Adrian Durlester <adrian...>]

Shirona:
 
I am saddened by your portrait of modern society, and I do not share it.
 
You are referring to  polls that measure "popularity" and not "quality."
Consumption is NOT a measure of quality or approval. Consumption is driven
by many factors, not the least of which if advertising, which is known to
have a substantial influence on people. And you paint with a rather broad
brush, and cite unsubstantiated data.  Is there no "rap" of quality at all?
Are you saying that all rap artists have no talent, have not studied their
art, are not professional, have no knowledge, don't get reality checks?
 
Are you suggesting that ALL passion manifested in the arts without formal
instruction is pathetic and comical?  History refutes that assertion by the
countless number of self-taught musicians who have produced some of the
finest music in the world.
 
Again, we must recall the story of the boy with the flute.
 
And I'm not sure I would hold up the entire class of "music teachers" as
people for appropriate reality checks. There are as many bad music teachers
as there are bad doctors, lawyers, engineers, cantors, rabbis, etc.
 
And now you have raised the specter of the concept of "talent."   Is it
inborn? Genetic? Cultivated? What is talent and how do you know if someone
does or does not have it? Everyone has talent for things in varying degrees.

 
Lots of Broadway musical stars have merely adequate voices, adequate
dancing, and adequate acting skills. But put them together and they make a
brilliant star.  Sometimes, being adequate in several areas, rather than an
expert in just one, is the real key to success.
 
I think that perhaps, by applying the standards you suggest, there are a
large number of truly great artists of the last few decades that should
never have made recordings, never performed in public, never written songs.
sometimes the passion can and does overcome the less than stellar training,
knowledge, etc.
 
I will agree that anyone who engages themselves in making music should
strive to study, be professional, gain knowledge, and work to improve
whatever Gd-given talent they may already have. I do not agree with any
philosophy that suggests "you either have it or you don't." 
 
Humankind plans, Gd laughs. Our free will allows us to sometimes make bad
choices.  And, as a society, sometimes, in the short term, we do make bad
choices. I'm no fan of "gangsta rap" or Britney Spears or Jerry Springer.
Yet, their mere existence is no proof that society, as a whole, has no
interest in quality or standards. Maybe they are just the Korachs of our
time, making, as Safam once suggested, "Bad Choices." Korach garnered quite
a lot of followers. And Aharon helped to fashion a golden calf. 
 
And yet we survive. We survived Korach. We survived Amalek. We survived
Haman. We survived Torquemada. We survived Hitler. We are surviving George
W. Bush. Each of those past ages had their Britney Spears, their Snoop
Doggie Dog. Yet we are still here. Our generation will survive too. And not
through our efforts. Lo b'chayil v'lo b'koach ki 'im bruchi...Not by might,
not by power, but by My spirit.
 
And notice Gd says "by My spirit. By Gd's passion. It doesn't;t say anything
about quality, or talent, or knowledge, or meaningful reality checks, or
professionalism. 
 
Let's learn from what Joseph said, and stop putting ourselves at the top of
the heap, and leave the judging to the One Who Judges. Otherwise, we prove
ourselves once again faithless, like Korach.
 
Adrian
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org [mailto:owner-hanashir (at) 
shamash(dot)org] On
Behalf Of Shirona
Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2004 7:32 AM
To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
Subject: [HANASHIR:16547] Re: "Quality" and the teachings of Danny Maseng



 
 

Adrian wrote:
 
who is the arbiter of what quality is?
 
--it is and should be amcha, and NOT the musicians themselves.
 
 
Recent "Best of Amcha" awards:  (BTW - AMCHA means "The People")  
(Amcha votes by consumption in huge numbers...)
 
Best music of all times:  Rap
Best female singer:  Britney Spears
Best male singer:  Snoop Doggie Dog 
Best food of all times: Macdonald's
Best poetry of all times: Hallmark greeting cards
Best TV show:  Jerry Springer
Best newspaper: National Enquirer
 
 
yet failing to understand the underlying passion of the person they are
criticizing.
 
"Passion" (as expressed in the ARTS) without talent, study, professionalism,
knowledge, and meaningful "reality checks" (with people like music
teachers...?)... manifests somewhere between the pathetic to the comical. 
 
 but it is not up to them to decide for amcha what quality is. And that is
the nub of my argument. 
 
 
 That judgment is best left to amcha, and ultimately, to the One Great
Judge, whose name should be forever blessed.
 
I hope the One who's name is forever blessed approves of our recent
"achievements", as voted on by AMCHA.
 
-Shirona