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thumbstruck
Ahonui
USA
2154 Posts |
 Posted - 07/27/2007 : 04:13:56 AM
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Jack has been working on the Musician's 10 Commandments and has three:
1) Wherever you're playing, remember: it's a gig.
2) Never play with someone who won't listen.
3) Listen, dang it!
I've added:
4) Know where the facilities are.
5) Get in good with the help, they can assist with eats and drinks.
Any more ideas?
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2007 : 04:16:26 AM
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6) Tune it or die.
7) Know your audience. |
Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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Basil Henriques
Lokahi
United Kingdom
225 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2007 : 04:36:41 AM
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| Never play a tune you don't know the words of.. |
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Trev
Lokahi
United Kingdom
265 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2007 : 06:13:08 AM
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| Whatever you do, don't crash the vocal. |
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Retro
Ahonui
USA
2368 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2007 : 07:40:22 AM
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> Smile! It makes a difference.
> If folks you are playing with seem to need a clue sometimes - give 'em one. (Okay, maybe that one's just for MY benefit...) |
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slipry1
Ha`aha`a
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2007 : 09:25:32 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Retro
> Smile! It makes a difference.
> If folks you are playing with seem to need a clue sometimes - give 'em one. (Okay, maybe that one's just for MY benefit...)
Well, actually #3 is "never play music with someone who can't or won't listen." It saves a lot of frustration. |
keaka |
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slipry1
Ha`aha`a
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2007 : 09:30:41 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Basil Henriques
Never play a tune you don't know the words of..
I try, but I (and many REAL Hawaiian musicians - Gabby, Led, eg) don't speak Hawaiian. They let me do "Mele of My Tutu E", because it's mostly in English, and my Hawaiian buddies (Noeau, Hilinai, and Gary) corrected my pronunciation and the grammer errors in the lyrics I got off line. It is true when I play standards on the piano. Monk, Coltrane, Lester and others have said that knowing the words helps you get the feeling of the song. |
keaka |
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slipry1
Ha`aha`a
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2007 : 09:33:58 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by wcerto
6) Tune it or die.
7) Know your audience.
I'm not sure of the last one Wanda. I spent the first half of the 80's playing in country bars, some of which were habituated by bikers - I'm pretty sure I DIDN't want to know them  . I agree, though. Especially if you want to get re-hired in the place. |
keaka |
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2007 : 10:08:31 AM
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| Hey slipry -- I didn't mean "know" in the biblical sense. |
Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2007 : 10:10:19 AM
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| Hey Basil - how you make that spinning dobro? Paul needs one spinning banjo or dulcimer. |
Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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rendesvous1840
Ha`aha`a
USA
1055 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2007 : 12:33:08 PM
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Play requests whenever you get the opportunity, unless taste becomes an issue. ( No Mothers Of Invention at the church picnic.)
Try to get the audience to join in. If you can get your audience to laugh, dance or sing along, they'll enjoy the show. Does anything else count as much?
Paul |
"A master banjo player isn't the person who can pick the most notes.It's the person who can touch the most hearts." Patrick Costello |
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noeau
Ha`aha`a
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2007 : 7:58:18 PM
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| Tune your instrument to match everyone else. |
No'eau, eia au he mea pa'ani wale nō. |
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thumbstruck
Ahonui
USA
2154 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2007 : 03:12:04 AM
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I forgot the actual 1st commandment!
DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB! |
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Retro
Ahonui
USA
2368 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2007 : 07:38:59 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by thumbstruck
I forgot the actual 1st commandment!
DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB!
Although I recently heard a successful musician say, to those who have a burning desire to create art (including the musical kind):
"Don't GET a day job." |
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Basil Henriques
Lokahi
United Kingdom
225 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2007 : 2:35:30 PM
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Without knowing the words how can you possibly expect to play the correct melody. Usually the words in separate verses are different and consequently the number of syllables can vary from verse to verse, simply repeating the same exact phrasing on each verse is lazy and inexcusable for a SERIOUS musician.
As an example, Sweet Leilani, if you repeat the notation of the first verse in the second verse, you run the risk of the listener "Switching Off" because they are probably singing the song subliminally and the second verse has a line that starts LATER on one note. The listener expecting that not will probably consider the note played early as a mistake.
In the first verse the word "Nature" is on thew first beat of the bar, as is the word "Tropic" in verse 2, the word "I" (in I dreamed) in the THIRD verse is on the half beat AFTER the downbeat.
Whilst musical Psychology is probably not discussed here on the Taropatch, there is a place for it in everyones mindset.
Subliminal learning of melodies and lyrics is in itself a most interesting subject.
Jeff Au Hoy stated that he often goes to the composer of the song to get his feel for it, and to stay within the accepted parameters of the notation/lyrics and interpretation.
quote:
Jeff Au Hoy
Member
From: Honolulu, Hawai'i
posted 18 January 2005 04:06 PM
Okay, my turn.
I think Baz has a very Hawaiian perspective on melodies.
I can't speak for all Hawaiian musicians, but as far as my generation's concerned... we play the melody as it was written or sung by the composer out of respect for that composer. As such, you find people of my age going to great lengths to research the original melodies of songs. This includes meeting the composer (if the composer is dead, meeting his or her kin), finding the earliest known recordings, (hopefully of the composer), and visiting with respected authorities on the subject.
To "jazz it up" the first time around is a slap in the face to the composer...it also creates confusion as to what the original melody is. Sure, do some improv in subsequent verses, but it's imperative that you play it the way it was intended the first time around. That's the general mindset.
I think it's important to keep in mind that Hawaiian music does not exist for itself. Melodies are an important part of it, but equally important is the poetry and the dance. That is what the music exists for. Hawaiian musicians of my age don't play Hawaiian music just for the sake of making music... we play it as a matter of cultural preservation. Many aspects of the culture have withered--what's left are the songs.
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Edited by - Basil Henriques on 07/29/2007 05:51:18 AM |
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noeau
Ha`aha`a
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2007 : 04:47:48 AM
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| Jeff makes some pertinent points but I know Jerry had a profound love for the music. His one goal was to live and die in Hawai'i and he did. Ha\e also stressed that one know the song that they were playing. It goes without saying that he would not lecture ad nauseum about that aspect of Hawaiian music. But when I was waiting my turn to go into the studio, I met Kelly boy Delima and heard about Owana Salazar and met some of the nicest blalahs coming out from their session. I understand what Jeff is trying to impart but interpretation is part of the evolution of a song. And there is more that any individual can do for the culture. A part of it is to meet the kupuna and learn and incorporate cultural aspects into our daily lives. Live Hawaiian and share the culture freely. |
No'eau, eia au he mea pa'ani wale nō. |
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