[HANASHIR:16552] Re: "Quality" and the teachings of Danny Maseng

[Friend, Tracy U. <TUFriend...>]

I would like to respond to Danny Maseng's comments.

How do you define quality (and who defines it)?  By level of talent?  By
ability to stay on key?  By clever verse?  By catchy tune?  Danny suggests
our culture deserves all we've got to give.  What about those of us who give
"all we've got to give," who feel compelled to write and to sing, who are
filled with both gratitude and respect for the power of music, but yet do
not meet some arbitrary definition of quality?  There are those of us who
may not be the most talented songwriters, and may not have the best voices,
but when we write and when we sing it is filled with a sense of holiness and
spirituality.  Should we stop writing and singing because we are not good
enough (and by whose definition)?

I will use Ros as an example (with complete respect, Ros, for your talent
and courage).  Here is a woman who writes with all her heart and soul, with
everything she has to give, who has a talent for expressing things in a way
others can relate to, who has shown more courage in her life than most
people I know.  And yet I fear her music would not meet Danny's definition
of "quality," though I enjoy listening to her music as much as to his.

We all put huge amounts of ourselves into the music that we create.  And we
each have something different to offer.  If we can look beyond someone
else's exterior definition of "quality" we can allow ourselves to be drawn
to the true spirit of what we do.  We create, and we share.  Some of us will
make money, others will become well known, and still others will simply
continue to share the music that is inside of us.  This ability to share the
music inside, and appreciate what others have to share is, I believe, the
essence of Hava Nashira.  

Tracy

Tracy Friend
Director, Corporate Quality
APAC Customer Services
(847)374-1946

"Be the change you wish to see in the world"
                                                       Mahatma Gandhi

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