This particular rant would be appropriate on any one of a number of threads here on Mudcat, but since the subject has come up, this is as good a place as any.

< rant >

lady penelope is exactly right about the "written music versus learning by ear" thing. But, of course, it's not "versus," it's "plus." Any aspiring musician who either refuses or can't be bothered to learn to read music is intentionally handicapping himself or herself. You limit yourself to having to learn songs either from other people (often used as a justification by folkies because, "after all, folk music is supposed to be orally/aurally transmitted"—for urban-born singers who didn't grow up in the oral tradition, when did that become Holy Writ!??), or from recordings of other singers. It was this limitation that prompted me to learn to read music—because I had a whole book case full of song books (Sandburg, Lomax, Sharp, et al) that were useful to me only if I had heard the song before and already knew the tune. Learning to read music freed me from that narrow restriction and opened the whole field to me.

And the misconception that learning a song from written music means that you are limited to singing it only the way it is written is almost too dumb to bother refuting. But here goes:   listen to a number of actors, say Lawrence Olivier, John Gielgud, Derek Jacoby, do Hamlet's soliloquy (learned from a book or script). Same words, same content—but quite different in pace and emphasis. Or operatic tenors, say Placido Domingo, Ferrucio Tagliavini, Jussi Bjorling sing "Che Gelida Manina" from La Boheme (learned from an operatic score). Quite individual in style and approach. They all "dink around" with note-values, pace, and general approach. Each singer or actor puts his or her own individual stamp on the work.

I don't know how many folkies I've heard who, when they've learned a song from a Ewan MacColl or Joan Baez record, do their damnedest to sing it exactly the way Ewan MacColl or Joan Baez recorded it.

The written music is a starting point and a learning aid. It is not a set of handcuffs. Unless you make it so!

Learning to read music is not that difficult, once you get over your prejudices and misconceptions. And it is an extremely valuable tool for any musician.

####

And as to the matter of "Within the broader music industry, and beyond, what some get for their hour's work, compared with others, is ridiculous and inhumane. . . ." and what follows, displays substantial ignorance about what it takes to be a performing musician.

Segovia was able to command some pretty high fees for his concerts. So, by the hour, his pay seems to be "ridiculous and inhumane" compared to the singer of folk songs who performs mainly as a hobby and picks up the occasional tenner for doing a gig. But Segovia practiced six hours a day. Every day. Year after year, for every year that he performed. And this was time that he didn't get paid for.

How many singers of folk songs do you know who practice six hours a day, every day?

Can you imagine the amount of money that Van Cliburn (or his parents) spent on piano lessons as he was growing up? He also put in many hours a day at the keyboard. Hours for which there was no pay.

If you total up the amount of money spent on lessons, often the tuition paid and time spend in music schools and conservatories, and the number of hours that these musicians put in to eventually get those "ridiculous and inhumane" fees—and then, divide that into what they earn—earn—you may be very surprised to find out how small their "hourly wage" is, after expenses!!

And I'm not talking about only classical musicians here. Bruce Springsteen and the band he works with start rehearsals—yes, rehearsals— regularly, at nine o'clock in the morning. The Greatful Dead? Same sort of "woodshed" time put in. Kenny Rogers and the First Edition? Almost all of the more successful, highly paid performers in most fields put in the time and the work.

". . . talent, motivation, and dedication. . . ."

So, unless you have the motivation and the dedication, and are willing to invest the time, the money, and the energy, then don't bitch about the "ridiculous and inhumane" pay that these artists get.

If you pick up the guitar (or whatever) three or four times a week and practice for forty-five minutes, and learn a new song (from a record) and practice it for an hour or two before you can sing it without goofing it up, just count yourself damned lucky if someone is willing to toss a couple of quarters into your hat to hear you sing it.

< /rant >

Don Firth