Fwd: hanashir digest

[NeilNFW <NeilNFW...>]

All,

Rick's comments are correct (and I am not simply agreeing because I need
chords too).  Without this type of word of mouth help and someone who was
nice enough to compile all of these for-profit contraband songs into the
easily accessible NFTY Chordsters, I would still be teaching Zum Gali Gali
(and only Zum Gali Gali).  

I have a definite problem for being scolded for asking for chords to
unpublished works (which many of the Debbie Fridman's songs are), works that
are presumably in the public domain, such as the Orthodox melody to Shalom
Aleichem-- even after asking the artist if it was OK to teach.  An example is
Debbie Winston's O Guide My Steps, taught at Hava Nashira.  If someone has
the chord structure to this song, it would save me immense, stress,
frustration, and broken tapes and tape players.  It is not easy to lift this
music off of vocal recordings and I want to teach these songs in six weeks at
camp.  Is it not appropriate to being these songs to our classrooms and
congregations?  Or should we simply purchase the tapes and CD's and play them
instead of an opening hymn on Friday nights.  Is this what we have come to?
 Hiding the music because of possible copyright infringement?  It's not
drugs. It's not guns.  It's not the secret ingredient to Coca-Cola.  It's
music, and it's what we do.

Perhaps we should all simply add a line "used by permission" and sing it in
full harmony at the end of every song we teach.  

Pardon my venting, I just want to spread the music.

Neil Weinstein
NeilNFW (at) aol(dot)com


---------------------
Forwarded message:
From:   RickPoet (at) wavenet(dot)com (Rick Lupert)
Sender: owner-hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
To:     hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
Date: 97-06-19 21:54:19 EDT

Could I look Debbie Friedman in the face if I were in the same room with
her?  I think I could manage...In my experiences being in the same room
with her, she's said things like "The more you give, the more you get back"
and "It's not about the money...don't do this for the money", and "don't
write the chords down now, I'll give them to you later, just be present
now."

I happen to own all (to my knowledge) of her recordings as well as numerous
other recordings and songbooks from many other Jewish composers.  I'm
fortunate enough to be able to have these things.

I just don't think we should be scolded here everytime someone asks for
help in learning a particular song...this is where this started...It is not
my belief that noone should support musical artists, and publishers of
their work...in fact we all should, the best we can...

I realize I somewhat exaggerated the intent of Alice's original
message...but hey it's about time this ListServ had some action... :)

Rick

Surf immediately to Lupert: It's The Website and The Poetry Super Highway
http://www.wavenet.com/~rickpoet