Your Voice: A Little (less) Background Music
(Note from Dino: From time to time we find posts on the Community blogs that we think are great and deserving of your attention. We hope to make this a regular Friday feature, but really we hope for a lot of things. This post is from Tom Neal’s blog “Nealistically Speaking“. Thanks Tom!)
A Little (less) Background Music
This may come out of left field, but so be it. There was a band from Texas called Timbuk 3. They had a fairly major hit with “Future’s So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades.” Good, catchy tune. I went to see them at a club in Fort Worth. The band consisted of a guy who played guitar and harmonica and sang and his wife who also sang, played guitar and mandolin and violin … and their third bandmate was a boombox that served as their drummer/rhythm section. Quirky. Novel. Minimalist. Sort of weirded me out that they were accompanied by a machine. But, over the years I’ve seen all sorts of inhuman accompaniment … synthesizers, drum machines, effects loops, and the like. These have usually served a rhythmic support or aural atmosphere function. Not really my cuppa, but fine.
I like to go out and see local talent; I enjoy even the most basic, but honest, musician. But (you’ve been waiting for this), I have a gripe. What’s with the “solo” performers you see around town that sit down with a guitar, sax or other instrument and then flip on the karaoke machine or CD player or laptop that plays full musical backing (guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, horns, whatever) while the “solo” performer sings and plays along? I find this an affront to the whole concept of live music. Maybe people enjoy hearing Margaritaville or Twist and Shout delivered in this manner, but it makes me cringe. I actually feel somewhat embarrassed for the performer. You know, I would rather hear that sax player doing an intimate, heartfelt solo show or the guitarist/singer fumble his way alone through Norwegian Wood than be subjected to the prerecorded, amplified glitz.
Really, unless you’re presenting a comedy act, leave the karaoke at home and just bring your instrument and your passion for music with you. Let me know what your musical personality is, with all the flaws and shortcomings … and the style that’s uniquely “you.” Don’t give me a clone frontman backed by an invisible band. If you need backup support, find a fellow musician to work with. Maybe just a basic rhythm guitarist or somebody with a snare drum and cymbal or a keyboard plunker. Keep it simple. Keep it real. Then you’ll be more apt to keep people’s attention, instead of serving as background music to the venue’s shouted conversations.
Your Voice: A Little (less) Background Music-free music to download to mp3 said:
[…] Lill wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptI find this an affront to the whole concept of live music. Maybe people enjoy hearing Margaritaville or Twist and Shout delivered in this manner, but it makes me cringe. I actually feel somewhat embarrassed for the performer. … […]
February 8th, 2008 at 3:07 pm #
Barry Liss said:
You said it Tom - people are far too reliant on their machines…gotta make music the old fashioned way…
Barry
February 8th, 2008 at 4:58 pm #
Boogenstein said:
We have an example eho plays in my local bar. To his credit he records all the backing tracks himself, but the resulting noise makes his hard work pointless!
February 8th, 2008 at 5:09 pm #
Jim Carlson said:
I remember years ago when I was working with Manheim Steamroller an audience member walked out, clearly frustrated that the orchestra was playing with synthesizers and programmed tracks. I wondered, why did he buy a ticket (which was not cheap, by the way) to a concert he knew so little about. Manheim Steamroller has always been about combining live and programmed music.
The compositions were scored with both the orchestra and synthesis in mind. The programming was extensive, with a live engineer monitoring the delicate balance between the machines, the conductor and a live string orchestra.
Clearly, I’m not against machines helping live music. Done properly, it is brilliant. As with any tool, an artist needs to understand how the tool interacts with the performance.
In my hard rock guitar days, I developed a very cool, heavily processed - layered multi-tap delay - volume swell - slightly distorted tone that made my Marshall stack sound like a crescendoing keyboard. Essentially, I realized that I wasn’t playing the guitar, I was playing the effect. Most importantly, the effect only worked in certain situations where an non-guitar sound was required. Now, I’m no Manheim Steamroller, but it was cool.
My issue is a lot of the people using technology to provide backing tracks do not go out of their way to do anything ‘musical’ with their toys. A 4/4 drum beat used all night from a machine will always sound like a 4/4 drum beat from a machine [no matter what sampling rate the drums were digitized with].
I’ve actually seen an acoustic guitar player use a looper brilliantly. It was cool, until it was used the same way on every song. All night.
Technology can help the creative process, and when used properly, can enhance a performance. Unfortunately, it can also distract from a performance when used poorly.
The funny thing is, I’ve been in the audience for a lot of solo shows where mechanical support is driving me loopy (excuse the pun)…..and people are up dancing and having a great time.
Then again, I perform with just my guitar and my voice at my solo shows, and I don’t get a lot of dancers…..
February 8th, 2008 at 6:55 pm #
Barry Liss said:
Hey Jim - did we play together at that benefit for Innersleeve? I was playing congas…
Barry
February 8th, 2008 at 8:01 pm #
Your Voice: A Little (less) Background Music said:
[…] ralpharama wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptI find this an affront to the whole concept of live music. Maybe people enjoy hearing Margaritaville or Twist and Shout delivered in this manner, but it makes me cringe. I actually feel somewhat embarrassed for the performer. … […]
February 9th, 2008 at 12:17 am #
Your Voice: A Little (less) Background Music-Download Music said:
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March 3rd, 2008 at 6:29 pm #
Your Voice: A Little (less) Background Music-music said:
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March 5th, 2008 at 10:49 pm #