the LEVNET zone.. Part 1 ;-))

fintushel wrote:

In the DVD accompanying the Etherwave Pro, Lydia Kavina is in places very clearly out of tune. Pamelia Kurstin can be heard to be very very out of tune in several classical pieces on at least one radio broadcast available online. If Peter isn't ever heard to be out of tune--he can confirm or disconfirm this--I suspect it's because he very carefully monitors what is made public and what isn't, as he publicly advises everyone to do.

***********************

I KNEW it! You've been SPYING Eliot!

LOL

When I video a performance, I divide it into two or three sections (different camera angles) and do multiple takes until I have one I can live with. That's pretty much the way most people work in recording and film studios.

I have never been totally happy with anything I have ever done (and I mean EVERYTHING, not just what I've done on the theremin).

What often surprises me about theremin players in regard to their own performances, is what they themselves deem worthy of posting to public access sites. As you pointed out, I have often advised people to monitor what they post, or allow others to post, to sites like YT but either they don't, or they are simply not hearing why the performance in question should have been left on the cutting room floor.

Gordon>> Thank you - okay, I see what that is now. Not something I'd want to use ... but I DO like the sound of John Armstrong's playing. It has a marked African flavour, and reminds me of incidental music in Disney's "Lion King".

Fintushel>> You are my hero for today ... saying a couple of things that really lift my despondant mood.
1) "The problem of intonation, which is, on other instruments, mainly a beginner's problem, is, on the theremin, a FUNDAMENTAL problem, even for "professionals.""
THAT is what makes the theremin different to other instruments ... it's an ongoing struggle. I guess that it may become less of a problem with practice, but the non-visible-non-tactile playing of the theremin will never be easy! Perhaps THIS is what draws some people to it.
2) "I would be very interested to hear a recording of anybody in the world playing, say, The Swan, three times in a row without wrong notes."
This brightened may day considerably. I thought I was the only person who couldn't play the same thing the same way twice! Even when I occasionally play something to my (sort-of) satisfaction, I can practically NEVER repeat the miracle! My small comfort is that several months ago I was fortunate to play something to my semi-satisfaction once a week, whereas now I can usually manage it once or twice a day ... but rarely (almost NEVER) on demand. THIS is what convinces me that public performance would be impossible for me; I don't see how I could rely on myself to play accurately once someone is listening - I even lose the plot just switching a camcorder on!

Coalport>> "Perfection on the theremin is an impossibility"
That's a relief. Oddly enough, I'd wanted to ask if a flawless performance IS actually possible, but thought I might get my head bitten clean off!! I guess the important thing is aim for the best you can manage, then, when you fail, pick yourself up and try harder next time!

It's not just thereminists that fail to achieve perfection.

[i]Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression.[/i] - Isaac Bashevis Singer

As Beckett wrote in Worstward Ho! [i]Fail again. Fail better.[/i]

[i]"In the DVD accompanying the Etherwave Pro, Lydia Kavina is in places very clearly out of tune. Pamelia Kurstin can be heard to be very very out of tune in several classical pieces on at least one radio broadcast available online. If Peter isn't ever heard to be out of tune--he can confirm or disconfirm this--I suspect it's because he very carefully monitors what is made public and what isn't, as he publicly advises everyone to do."[/i]

There isn't a musician in the world who hasn't hit a clunker. The difference is that the forementioned musicians do it very rarely, and obviously strive for good intonation (and regularly achieve it). If they hit clunkers, I seriously doubt they intended it. I also suspect they quickly corrected their intonation. The difference is that these are people who know when they are not playing in tune, as opposed to many who appear to be blissfully unaware.

Quite frankly, I am amazed that so many folks are jumping on my back for insisting that good intonation is something to strive for as musicians. [b]Good intonation is a basic fundamental of musicianship, period.[/b] To actually defend bad intonation as a virtue is mind boggling.

As for the comment about Peter Pringle's videos - I am sure you are correct. I seriously doubt that good Peter records his very first run-through of a piece. Instead I am sure he works on it to get it to a level he finds acceptable before making a recording. Although this might "deprive" us of hearing him play out of tune, I for one appreciate that he takes the time to work on a piece to the point where his [i]musicianship[/i] shows through, unfettered by distracting clunkers. I can instead focus on his personal interpretation of the music, as revealed through his focused, precise playing.

I don't think anyone's jumping on your back - I'm certainly not intending to. I certainly think the best possible intonation should be the aimed for.

I have deleted this section - see continuation (http://www.thereminworld.com/forum.asp?cmd=p&T=4118&F=1) for my apology for what was said.
---------------------------------------------

[b]EDIT .. In reply to the following posting .. [/b]

When I spoke of "sad" and "happy" people, I said "I have found that..."

I have never met you, Eitherspiel - I cannot therefore say anything about your personality or disposition - and you were NOT the target for my comments.. I know plenty of people who are brilliant, but never show this to anyone, and have low self-esteem and are deeply unhappy.. I do not need to draw on on-line persona's to derive my observations - and I am sorry - I can see how the placement of my comments could appear like an attack on you - I promise that this was NOT my intention! - I have edited my posting related to you not being willing to publish your work, as I recognise it was unjust and offensive.. And I have no excuse for this - my annoyance with you (your original "YAWN") probably got the better of me. and I am sorry.

[i]I have looked over my postings, and the other postings here, and not seen the word "sad" or "sadly obsessed"..[/i]

Maybe I missed the point where you said in reference to me: [i]"The above, in my opinion, is the sad result of this obsession with "perfection""[/i]

[i]I wish to make it clear that I do not see the persuit of perfection as "sad" - quite the contrary.. [/i]

I am glad to hear it, however, you singled me out as the "sad result of obsession with perfection" for some reason, simply because I do not find my performace fit enough to post on youtube. I am quite sure that every person does not record their first run-through and upload it to youtube. Everyone gets to a level they find acceptable before doing a performance - what I stated is that I do the same thing. It is not the "sad result of an obsession with perfection". Instead, it is me wanting to make a good recording. I am sorry that you find that sad.


[i]Conversely, I have found that the most unhappy people are those who are so worried about what others think of them, or what they do, or how what they may do might affect their 'status', that they never expose themselves - They live their lives in a limbo of resentment and fear - critisizing others who dare to "make a fool of themselves" and hiding their secretly honed abilities and talents from the world, for fear that, if exposed, "the world" will critisise them and remove their only source of pride in themselves.[/i]

This seems to be twisting the issue quite a bit. Practicing and striving for good intonation has nothing to do with "fear of exposure" or "living lives in a limbo of resentment and fear". It simply means that one strives to play the best they can.