Hi, Richard!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:   
      
   AH>  Improvisation   -- what we do when the music falls down   
      
   RW>  Also what we do when we're running out of songs to play   
   RW>  and want to make them last longer.   
      
      
             Yup.  :-)   
      
      
      
   AH>  Chords          -- something organists play with one finger   
      
   RW>  Depends on the organ I guess, but never was able to do that   
   RW>  with a Hammond b-3 (and glad that wasn't available there.)   
      
      
             I imagine you know more about such things than I do!  The   
   definitions were meant to be taken with a grain of salt, however, and this was   
   the first in a group of three which IMHO made a rather nice parallelism...   
   [chuckle].   
      
      
      
   AH>  Time Signatures    -- trivial details often irrelevant   
   AH>  to drummers   
      
   RW>  WOrked with a few who resembled that remark .  I   
   RW>  endeavor not to.   
      
   RW>  For drummers for whom that was true often dynamics are   
   RW>  trivial as well.   
      
      
             Some people may be attracted to certain instruments because they   
   like making a lot of noise and/or because they believe (erroneously) that they   
   won't have to work as hard as others do.  I've known folks who took up drums   
   in order to avoid learning to read music... I've known folks who took up the   
   sax because they thought it would be easier than the clarinet... and I knew   
   one who took up the trumpet because she thought it could play only three   
   notes!  As a teacher I was often asked which instrument was easiest.  My   
   response was "Whichever *you* want to play more than any other."  I figured   
   they'd be having such a good time it wouldn't seem like work at all.  But   
   whatever the reason(s) for their choice people use an instrument in a manner   
   which reflects their personality....  :-))   
      
      
      
   AH>  Melody             -- an ancient, now almost extinct art   
   AH>  in song writing   
      
   RW>  Oh yeah, that's for sure.  Back when I was doing studio for   
   RW>  hire I did a rap album for a young man.  Never again!!!   
      
      
             Uh-huh.  Rap isn't my cup of tea either....  :-)   
      
      
      
   RW>  Then there was the alternative band, not bad melodies, some   
   RW>  good words, but they wanted to run their vocals through   
   RW>  these awful guitar stomp boxes and a guitar amp and have   
   RW>  that track dominate over the actual capture of the singer's   
   RW>  voice in the room.     
      
      
             I'm reminded here of the younger teens who rehearsed in a back yard   
   a few doors down the street when I was a music student.  They obviously wanted   
   to make an impression... and they got a bit carried away with amplifiers too.    
   -)   
      
      
      
      
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)