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Re: measure for measure



Two absolutely delicious explanations of how we can handle these wonderful 
transcriptions, both written in just the last few days!  Thanks to both Josh 
and Judith for taking the great amount of time to enlighten some of us. 

I had recently been grappling with how to "deal" with the vocal line when 
listening to an example of field recordings, most often being non-metered. 
I'm fully aware that text and breathing and pausing and other imprortant 
things would add and subtract beats and I've most often decided that there 
really was a meter but that the added beats, for instance, were merely there 
when the vocalist sang because of logical pauses in phrasing, because of 
text, because of emphasis, because of feeling. But I did feel that there WAS 
an overall meter. I wanted desperately to think that. I also felt I had 
another option that I thought was going to "work" for me:  only stick to 
tunes that seem to lend themselves to meter. Go for easy solutions. I had my 
classical musician's crutch  ready and waiting to be leaned upon. But I've 
cautiously thrown away the walker for now and will try ever harder to 
understand what one is supposed to do when trying to fit appropriate 
"accompaniment" to such songs that add and subtract according to text and 
mood. I know I could greatly minimize extraneous backup or go total solo, but 
wish to think about other options as well.
I could go on but dinner calls. 
Thanks again Josh and Judith.
Adrianne
 

---------------------- jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+


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