source file: mills2.txt Date: Sun, 18 May 1997 05:16:37 +0200 Subject: Re: "microdoodling" vs. micronoodling From: mr88cet@texas.net (Gary Morrison) >However, taking an overgeneralized, dismissive, and >patronizing tone towards one's fellow microtonalists is below the level of >discussion here. I personally didn't get that impression of Neil's comment, but it probably would have been safer for him not to mention this particular performer's name. It's certainly true that there will always be compositions that reviewers or various audiences don't think much of but the composers like, or the reverse. But there often are at least *fairly* concrete reasons for such cases. If so, then there can be no doubt that it truly comes down to a difference of personal tastes. I personally however think it's pretty clear that there's a lot of xenharmonic performances out there where, if you were to ask the composer, questions like, * What were you feeling when you wrote/performed this part? * What do you think are the best parts or aspects of this piece? * What in this piece would you do differently if you had it to do over? * What were you trying to portray in this piece? they would pretty much draw a blank. They never really had anything in particular in mind to communicate; they were just simply doodling around on a canvas because they found the canvas neat. A lot of them, I'd bet money, wouldn't even be able to tell you what happened in a given performance after the fact. If on the other hand, the composer/performer can cite specific aspects they feel are unique, or spots of the music that they feel are especially moving, or such, and the reviewer just simply doesn't see them that way, then that's very clearly a perfectly legitimate case of different personal tastes. >You are a perfect target for all your own criticisms yet I would >never level them against you. Well, I know for certain of at least one of Neil's main criticisms that very few if any of us can rightfully level against him, that being performance prowess. Received: from ns.ezh.nl [137.174.112.59] by vbv40.ezh.nl with SMTP-OpenVMS via TCP/IP; Sun, 18 May 1997 05:23 +0200 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA04840; Sun, 18 May 1997 05:23:56 +0200 Date: Sun, 18 May 1997 05:23:56 +0200 Received: from ella.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA04838 Received: (qmail 1119 invoked from network); 18 May 1997 03:23:52 -0000 Received: from localhost (HELO ella.mills.edu) (127.0.0.1) by localhost with SMTP; 18 May 1997 03:23:52 -0000 Message-Id: Errors-To: madole@mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu