source file: mills2.txt Date: Sun, 18 May 1997 18:11:12 +0200 Subject: various comments From: Aline Surman First, Erlich mentioned, quite rightly, that I am subject to the same criticisms that I give to everyone else. No problem there; I have always felt criticism is a useful tool to progress as artists, and I have had my share. I come from a very hard school of learning; my teachers did not believe in being polite, but they were fair. When I began studying jazz/theory in 1976, I recall a gig I did where both of my teachers came to the job, sat there for several hours, and took a whole page of notes on my playing...I was petrified, and embarrassed, because I knew they were going to let me have it the next day, and they did. Not one of the notes was favorable; the whole page involved things I was doing wrong, and was expected to improve on...so, I worked very hard to get better, and I did. I saw my teacher, George Keith, play one of the most astonishing solos once (alto sax) on a jam session...I will never forget it, because it was flabbergasting, and he is a real undiscovered genius. He was a very difficult teacher, but he expected the best from you. He told me a story once of jamming with a well known bop player, and getting cut so bad that he went home crying. He said he went back, every time the guy came to town, and it took him 9 years before he could hang with him; but he did it. So, criticism, to me, is fine...I draw the line at personal attacks, because it is NOT a personal issue. My allegiance is to the art of music, and nothing more. Also, my CD has been out for several years now, and I knew full well, as I sent it around the world for reviews, that it was/is fair game for any and all comments...for the most part, it's done OK, but a few critics really slammed it (and some of them did get personal, which is unexcuseable). Well, boo hoo for me...I survived, and learned some things as well. When I criticize, it is never meant to hurt on a personal level; but, we're humans with feelings, so feelings do get involved. If one is critical out of a desire to get the best possible out of someone, that's OK by me. If one is critical out of spite, jealousy, or anger, it's nonsense, and has no place anywhere, in my opinion. My feelings about poor microtonal music are genuine and heartfelt. I want to hear great music, and I especially feel that in the field of microtonality, we need all the great music we can get. So, if my criticisms are not appreciated, that is not surprising. All I can say is, I am much harder on myself that I will ever be with anyone else; I will also be as honest as possible. As far as Will Grant's comments about where are we going, I can say that I want to produce music that speaks from deep and profound places, and that will last the years. That's not so easy to do, and I have no idea if I will achieve that goal. I do know, again, that it takes a lot of very hard work, practice, and some sort of intuitive knowledge about which way to achieve said goal. I feel blessed that I have no problem with seeing the path I want to follow. Will said that someone told him to "be yourself"...that's the only advice I could give, either. If one does not know what that means, it's time to find out where the barriers are inside, and try to integrate them. And, it is extremely difficult, and I feel for anyone who walks that path. In closing, I remember my teacher George telling me, over and over, to analyze Bach, as well as Charley Parker...I have done so, and also analyze any and all music I encounter, to see what makes it tick. By doing this for 21 years, I have received many valuable insights about the structure of music, and the art of composition. We are always our own teachers, and the art of analyzation is the greatest tool I know for learning...also very difficult. I have found, as a teacher, that most folks want the answers handed to them...well, that makes one weak and unoriginal. By doing it the hard way, we learn to take control of our own artistic destiny..that is, and will continue to be, my path...Hstick Received: from ns.ezh.nl [137.174.112.59] by vbv40.ezh.nl with SMTP-OpenVMS via TCP/IP; Sun, 18 May 1997 23:09 +0200 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA05007; Sun, 18 May 1997 23:09:49 +0200 Date: Sun, 18 May 1997 23:09:49 +0200 Received: from ella.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA05005 Received: (qmail 4435 invoked from network); 18 May 1997 21:09:45 -0000 Received: from localhost (HELO ella.mills.edu) (127.0.0.1) by localhost with SMTP; 18 May 1997 21:09:45 -0000 Message-Id: Errors-To: madole@mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu