Piano Forum
Non Piano Board => Anything but piano => Topic started by: wishful thinker on October 26, 2006, 08:37:13 AM
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This thread is about absolutely nothing 8)
No religion, no piano playing, no washing up machines, no jogging, no nothing.
So this is one place that Pianistimo won't post. Right? ::)
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This thread is about absolutely nothing 8)
No religion, no piano playing, no washing up machines, no jogging, no nothing.
So this is one place that Pianistimo won't post. Right? ::)
I wouldn't put money on it!
But seriously - is the sole or principal object of this thread supposed to be a "pianistimo"-free thread? If so, you might like to tell us why you have been motivated to attempt to achieve this goal - unless, of course, you feel that, in so doing, you would be undermining the very nature of your thread by writing about "something"...
Best,
Alistair
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There you see..already we have gone off topic ;D Is nothing sacred?
Pianistimo is a fine member of this forum (yeah a God(dess) methinks) and her ability to take us to places that we never knew existed is amazing ;)
But stop, we are just adding further danger that a subject will materialise; therefore I will shut up (or should that be down?) now :-X
;D
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Thank you Henrah, an excellent contibution ;)
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There you see..already we have gone off topic ;D Is nothing sacred?
Pianistimo is a fine member of this forum (yeah a God(dess) methinks) and her ability to take us to places that we never knew existed is amazing ;)
But stop, we are just adding further danger that a subject will materialise; therefore I will shut up (or should that be down?) now :-X
;D
Your first post in this thread asked (genuinely or rhetorically) if the thread would be one to which "pianistimo" would not post, so my response thereto is surely not a digression from the content of the first message by the thread originator (i.e. you), even if that first post itself includes a question that may be deemed to be "off-topic", or at least partially so.
Your remark about "pianistimo" having the
ability to take us to places that we never knew existed
reminds me (and I am being serious here!) of the remark made by Cornish composer George Lloyd (1913-1998) about the purpose of music being to take the listener to places that he/she would not otherwise go. Whether "pianistimo" is any kind of "goddess" is clearly a matter of individual opinion.
You ask here
Is nothing sacred?
thereby adding still further to the risk that this thread will develop an actual topic; it is probably not unreasonable to suggest that plenty of things are obviously "sacred" to "pianistimo", since she has posted so very many words about and around religious topics on this forum.
May I counsel you not to "shut down"? - since you would then not be able to access any fora at all.
OK - let's sum up. This risk that this thread may indeed develop a subject, thereby undermining its very title, reamins to be assessed, but the potential subjects that could arise and be discussed are so far as follows:
1. "Pianistimo"
2. Sacrosanctity
3. Goddesses
4. The quality and value of members' contributions to this forum
5. Places of whose existence forum members may not previously have been aware
6. The possible consequences of failure or omission to shut up or down
7. The definitional differences (if any) between shutting up and shutting down.
8. Considering whether or not this thread might develop a subject
9. Morton Feldman
OK - so why "Morton Feldman", you may (or perhaps may not) ask? Well, he composed a Samuel Beckett based monodrama (if one could call it such) for soprano and orchestra entitled "Neither", two of the (very few) solo performers of which have, curiously, been Sarah Leonard and Elizabeth Farnum, each of whom is perhpas rather better known for her excursions into the songs of Sorabji.
Oh, yes...
10. Samuel Beckett
11. Sopranos
12. Sorabji...
Best,
Alistair
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Thank you Henrah, an excellent contibution ;)
Rather unnecessarily argumentative, though, wouldn't you say?...
Best,
Alistair
P.S. I'm off now to compose a G.P. bar (well, it's abit too early to have a drink in one, methinks...)
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I think this thread has deliberated into a discussion about this thread, meaning that this thread has a subject which Thinker has been trying to avoid. In creating this thread, he created a subject: nothing, and the arguementative sides for and against nothing and all that might be contained or constrained around it have become the subject.
So, in conclusion,
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Thank you again Henrah, and thank you Mr Hinton.
I don't think that I can allow 2 or 3 as meaningful new topics, as surely they would be discussions about nothing, in that without any tangible evidence we cannot say for sure that such things exist (or not). This leaves you with ten potential topics, not twelve.
Now if the number 12 is somehow sacred to you, maybe you may care to include as another potential topic of Why?
There are many things that matter, and many things that don't. But who is to say which is which ?
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There's no such thing as "nothing". Even "nothing" is something. It's "nothing".
Best, John ::)
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Aha, a fundamental flaw in our logic of "nothing"! Well pointed out John :)
So in discussing "nothing", we are failing ourselves in defining "nothing" as something through discussing it. So this whole thread was doomed to fail by inciting "nothing" as a topic.
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Indeed. We now have another potential subject, being "is nothing something". So how many is that now? Mr Hinton, will you be keeping a tally?
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and another thing. If nothing is something, then nothing must have some value (to someone) surely? And if it does have a value, can one exchange it; i.e. get something for nothing?
We are in danger of subverting the natural order of things with this pernicious desire to introduce a topic :o
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I don't think that I can allow 2 or 3 as meaningful new topics, as surely they would be discussions about nothing, in that without any tangible evidence we cannot say for sure that such things exist (or not). This leaves you with ten potential topics, not twelve.
OK, if you will; it's your thread, after all!
Now if the number 12 is somehow sacred to you, maybe you may care to include as another potential topic of Why?
But I didn't say that it is, nor do I believe it necessarily to be so (for example, the passacaglia which is the fifth movement of my piano work Sequentia Claviensis - which, as some readers will already know - will be premièred in London on 11 November has a 12-note theme but that theme is never treated serially - likewise, there is another passacaglia in my Piano Sonata No. 5 whose ground is a 12-note figure followed by its retrograde, but this is never treated serially either).
There are many things that matter, and many things that don't.
Indeed so!
But who is to say which is which ?
Or indeed to whom and why?
Best,
Alistair
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Nothing can be something through inaction, i.e. doing nothing can be quite significant to someone. For instance: in Kung-Fu Hustle, the Axe Gang poured gasoline over a mother and child and was threatening to set them alight if the person who killed their boss didn't come forward. If that person hadn't come forward, and the villagers knew that he had immense martial art skills, that inaction will be terribly significant. So, doing nothing would've held a great value to the villagers and to the Axe Gang.
And Thinker, you can sometimes get something for nothing these days. If an old person looks like he needs help getting his buggy on to a pavement and you help him, would you help him because he helped you? I sure didn't. I saw the need for help and I helped him, and he didn't and hasn't since done anything for me, and I don't expect him to. There are some favours which do not need returning.
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Indeed. We now have another potential subject, being "is nothing something". So how many is that now? Mr Hinton, will you be keeping a tally?
Thank you for the invitation, but no, I won't; I'd rather leave the "responsibility" to someone else to do that (if indeed anyone does want to do it). All I would say on the subject (which is presumably itself yet another potential subject in this thread) is that the tally of potential subjects in this thread appears so far to be struggling to keep pace with that of actual posts to this thread.
By the way, I make no apology for what any reader may perceive as my arguably typical composer's desire to make something out of nothing; it's just one of the natural weapons in the creative armouries of us composers and accordingly "goes with the territory", so to speak...
Best,
Alistair
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Henrah, surely he had a need, which you exchange for you help :) In contract law there must be what is called "consideration", that you beleived his need worthy of your help means that you did indeed, give something for something, not somehing for nothing ;)
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Or indeed to whom and why?
Khartoum calling.
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Khartoum calling.
That sounds like a piano roll :) Is a fox trot by any chance?
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Khartoum calling.
So that camel's gotten all that way - even with a pianola on its hump; amazing!
Best,
Alistair
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It's a limerick, actually, but here are three piano rolls.
https://www.pianola.org/music/4'33".mp3
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That sounds like a piano roll :) Is a fox trot by any chance?
No, I don't think that it can be so; they don't have foxes in Sudan, as far as I know - certainly not ones capable of trotting at speeds that would outpace pianola-laden camels, anyway...
Best,
Alistair
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It's a limerick, actually, but here are three piano rolls.
https://www.pianola.org/music/4'33".mp3
My computer won't play this file, apparently - but, since its URL has "4'33"" as its suffix, I presume that there'd be "nothing" to play, anyway...
Hope the treatment for those solenoids proved to be efficacious, by the way...
Best,
Alistair
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Well, it took me about half an hour to prepare, and I duly uploaded it. It is 4.1 Mb long, and Firefox allied to Quicktime on my Apple G4 (OSX) plays it to perfection. Cage would have preferred an Apple, now wouldn't he?
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Mr Hinton,
Prepare to be amazed ;D There are 27 different species of fox, and one does indeed live in the sudan!
The Pale Fox (Vulpes pallida) is a species of fox which inhabits the Sahel from Senegal in the west to Sudan in the east. It is widespread throughout the Sahel but its environmental status is described as "data deficient" due to lack of intensified study of the pale fox in the wild.
The pale fox is long-bodied with relatively short legs and a narrow muzzle. Its ears are long and rounded at the tip. Its tail is bushy and black-tipped. The upperpart of its body has a pale sandy color, while the underpart is whitish. A dark ring surrounds the fox's eyes.
There are four recognized subspecies of pale fox: Vulpes pallida pallida, Vulpes pallida edwardsi, Vulpes pallida harterti, Vulpes pallida oertzeni.
Perhaps you could write us a short waltz or some such, which Mr Pianolist can transcribe for the pianola? Maybe you two could then be a double act at your upcoming premier, if he brings his push-up?
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Well, it took me about half an hour to prepare, and I duly uploaded it. It is 4.1 Mb long, and Firefox allied to Quicktime on my Apple G4 (OSX) plays it to perfection.
Well, Windows Media Player 10 on my Windows XP Pro 2 didn't appear to like the piece (and could one blame it? How, in any case, did you manage to get its file size up to 4.1Mb?). Also, is it reasonable to assume that "Firefox" is not the same as the mythical trotting Sudanese one mentioned earlier?
Cage would have preferred an Apple, now wouldn't he?
Cor(e) blimey, I dunno, guv.
Anyway - toodle-(er)-"pip"...
Best,
Alistair
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Henrah, surely he had a need, which you exchange for you help :) In contract law there must be what is called "consideration", that you beleived his need worthy of your help means that you did indeed, give something for something, not somehing for nothing ;)
He didn't have a need for my help, he could've done it himself. I merely offered to help him accomplish this task, and he accepted. There wasn't a return on my offer, i.e. if I offered to help him as long as he gave me a ride home on the back of his buggy ;)
He didn't have a need, and he didn't give me a need, or anything else. Well, to be truthful he did give me his thanks, though that was afterwards and I did not accept them: I said in return "No no, my pleasure." If it is my pleasure to help him, then I am doing something for something completely for myself, i.e. giving him something to give myself something (the pleasure of helping him), but not giving him something to give me something (a ride home ;)).
I also offered him a 'good evening' without the expectation of him to return it, which he didn't as I don't think he heard me. All in all, he didn't ask me to help him, he didn't offer anything in return, and he could've done it on his own.
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Mr Hinton,
Prepare to be amazed ;D There are 27 different species of fox, and one does indeed live in the sudan!
Well, indeed I AM duly amazed! Clearly, my ignorace of this renardesque subject precedes me - and you've accordingly foxed me with your knowledge of it! Mea vulpa...
The Pale Fox (Vulpes pallida) is a species of fox which inhabits the Sahel from Senegal in the west to Sudan in the east. It is widespread throughout the Sahel but its environmental status is described as "data deficient"
so it's not at all like "pianistimo"'s posts, then?...
due to lack of intensified study of the pale fox in the wild.
The pale fox is long-bodied with relatively short legs and a narrow muzzle. Its ears are long and rounded at the tip. Its tail is bushy and black-tipped. The upperpart of its body has a pale sandy color, while the underpart is whitish. A dark ring surrounds the fox's eyes.
So, again we have consistency of comparison here, then, since your description reveals it to be nothing like "pianistimo" hersefl (save, perhaps, for the dark ring surrounding the eyes which, in her case, presumably results from exhaustion oafter so much posting)...
There are four recognized subspecies of pale fox: Vulpes pallida pallida, Vulpes pallida edwardsi, Vulpes pallida harterti, Vulpes pallida oertzeni.
Perhaps you could write us a short waltz or some such, which Mr Pianolist can transcribe for the pianola? Maybe you two could then be a double act at your upcoming premier, if he brings his push-up?
Again, many thanks for the invitation, but I'll politely decline, if you don't mind, especially since such an exercise might be seen as somewhat redundant in the light of the existence already of that old song that goes
"Pale fox I loved
Beside the old Sahel"...
(from "Sénégalese Love Lyrics" [which I didn't know they did] by Amy Woodfox Finden)
Best,
Alistair
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There we have it; in discussing nothing, sever interesting facts emerge: Henrah has an altuistic streak, and that the Pale fox of Senegal has an interesting love life 8)
Who knows what will emerge when our American cousins rise ::)
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You don't have to travel to the Sudan to encounter wily old foxes. I think there are at least two living in Kent, one in Gravesend, and the other I know not where as yet, though I hope to by 3rd December.
You may be interested to know that the French word "Renard" is the same as the German word "Reinecke". Karl Reinecke was the earliest-born person to record on piano roll, and you can hear him playing Beethoven's Ecossaise in Eb at:
https://www.pianola.org/reproducing/reproducing_welte.cfm
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I live in Kent ;D
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Speaking (or rather writing) of foxes of the mythical variety (wily or otherwise), does anyone remember the alleged but almost certainly non-existent "Jason Fox" who was cited a few times on this forum some while ago but of whom no reliable information ever emerged?
By the way, "pianolist" - is that "Firefox allied to Quicktime" that you mentioned earlier some kind of computer equivalent to the old "quick brown fox" (as distinct from pale ones of any velocity) of the typewriter era?
Best,
Alistair
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Best,
Alistair
Best,
Alistair
Has Alistair gone schizophrenic?
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Has Alistair gone schizophrenic?
No, but I think his computer may have done so momentarily - although its owner did notice the resultant supererogatory duplication almost as quickly as a quicktime pale fox would have done - and then he deleted the superfluous text forthwith...
Best,
Alistair
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But not as quickly as I was to quote it my friend!
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ahinton, himself, has roused me from sleep. rings around the eyes the only similarity to foxes. i am smitten with his knightly defending - until this sentence. of which, i stagger to get a glass of orange juice -smitten to the juiciness of my heart. if only he knew. if only i could post a picture. i am foxy. just not apparently - because i can't figure out how and what digital camera to buy to get a picture uploaded of any particular quality. and, perhaps, my husband - knowing how good looking i am - is putting off any ideas of getting digital camera - lest i start spamming the forum with pictures. of course, simply getting my passport picture made me wonder a little bit about brushing my hair - but aside from that - i usually look good at the crack of dawn. it is only at 11 or 12 pm that makes me feel a bit exhausted.
i'll have you know that because of my extensive use of gold bond moisturizing lotion - that i have neither wrinkle nor frown lines. only slight laugh lines. btw, despite how good looking foxes can be - i just saw one run over this morning. i fear that with my leg i shall someday not be able to cross the street fast enough either. so, in the end, beauty and godessing do nothing for getting one from A to B (as i found out when attempting to go to the premier of ahinton's work in waterloo). to console myself - i now have tickets to hear ricardo muti - who will be conducting some schubert (overture to rosamunde and tragic symphony), hindemith's 'nobilissima visione,' and strauss 'death and transfiguration.'
now, if i am able to use this thread as a wily fox - i will find out from you all what i should listen for in these works. sometimes people go into a concert with nothing in their heads and come out with nothing. imo, you have to go into a concert with some questions and come out with some answers. otherwise, you have wasted your money. although, entertainment for entertainments sake is some people's idea of joy. i can assure you it is not mine. the first thing i do is read the entire program at top speed before the lights go down. i must know what i am about to hear and about the composer and conductor. noone else - except a bitter few use the program for anything but a fan. why bother writing the stuff if noone reads it? now, i confess in earlier years i only read the ads and who was contributing to the symphony (finding out the richest people). but, that soon grew tiring. now, one thing i wish is that programs would have large print (or the lights would be better). i have had to slant the program towards the light and read at a sort of 180 level the program. this bothers me - and makes me think that if there was some sort of spot lights for every five people - they could give us the joy of reading the program with some light. of course, this is nothing to concert hall people who already have the ticket money and use it for other purposes.
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But not as quickly as I was to quote it my friend!
Indeed - as I then immediately spotted! Clearly, you're a quicker fox than most!
Best,
Alistair
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Good Morning Pianistimo, glad that you could make it :)
Now, I have a couple of questions for you:
1. If this thread of nothingness hadn't been hijacked by Messrs Hinton, Pianolist and Henrah talking rubbbish, remaining about nothing and therefore true to itself, would you have still posted? and
2. What's for breakfast?
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ahinton, himself, has roused me from sleep.
I think I should confirm to all readers that "pianistimo" does not mean this literally...
rings around the eyes the only similarity to foxes...it is only at 11 or 12 pm that makes me feel a bit exhausted.
It was indeed that end of the day rather than the beginning thereof that I had in mind when writing what I did about that.
i'll have you know that because of my extensive use of gold bond moisturizing lotion - that i have neither wrinkle nor frown lines. only slight laugh lines.
Despite having no prior knowledge of your skin mosituring routines, it would never have occurred to me to suggest otherwise - and, for the record, I suspect that most people here already know that you are a foxy lady in any case...
in the end, beauty and godessing do nothing for getting one from A to B (as i found out when attempting to go to the premier of ahinton's work in waterloo).
This I do not understand; the only efforts to do this that you could possibly have made so far is to try to plan the trip, not to make it; after all, it doesn't take several weeks to get from Philadephia to London unless you're sailing.
i now have tickets to hear...strauss 'death and transfiguration.'
Did you know that Richard Strauss, when on his deathbed, apparently told his son Franz (whom he had named after his own father) that death was just as he had compsed it in that work?
Best,
Alistair
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Good Morning Pianistimo, glad that you could make it :)
Now, I have a couple of questions for you:
1. If this thread of nothingness hadn't been hijacked by Messrs Hinton, Pianolist and Henrah talking rubbbish, remaining about nothing and therefore true to itself, would you have still posted? and
2. What's for breakfast?
1. "Hijacking"? How DARE you?! You named and started this entire thread, yet you also initiated that "hijacking" yourself in the third line of your first post! And, while you're about it, despite the fact that it would again run counter to the principle of the thread, I think it only fair and reasonable that, rather than merely claim that other contributors thereto are "talking rubbish", you identify and explain precisely what that "rubbish" is and what makes it "rubbishy", in your view.
2. Are you asking "pianistimo" this question? and will her answer - if she provides one - lead you to request an invitation to breakfast with her? (and, if so, was this your intention?)...
For the record, incidentally - and at the same time to demonstrate that I have not forgotten (still less dismissed) the actual thread topic - I usually have NOTHING for breakfast...
Best,
Alistair
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According to Wikipedia, there are two possible origins of the term "hijack"
1. That it arose from someone wanting a lift on a truck calling "Hi, Jack" (the exclamation plus the name), until this was used often as a trick by robbers.
2. That it comes from seamen who were robbed by prostitutes in former centuries in London. Prostitutes would call out "Hi, Jack" to passing sailors. Instead of receiving the services they expected, some sailors were instead robbed by an accomplice.
2. Could be quite topical, no? ;)
Now Mr Hinton, your really should have a good breakfast. Its the most important meal of the day :)
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The arguments on this thread prove once and for all that everybody here is a heathen who doesn't believe in God.
So I was jogging the other day, listening to Deuteronomy on my iPod, and I thought, I need to get back to the washing machine.
Then God appeared, and told me once and for all: Chopin's etude op.25 no.12 is the hardest of the bunch, Moonlight 3rd movement is harder than Fantasie-Impromptu, and Alkan's Comme le vent is the hardest piece ever, and Opus Clavitisimo is not the longest piece ever written.
Then I was like, "God, how do I play SUPER-FAST OCTAVES?"
He said, "Thou shalt ask pianitisimo."
Walter Ramsey
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i am totally confused. are we arguing semantics? i have never been one to win at this. highjacking. i am afraid to use the word. and, also afraid to fly. can someone come over here in a private lear jet? ahinton?
what is for breakfast? well, i can assure you that it would not be vegemite. as with all foxy ladies - (who don't cook) - nothing. my husband was not put off by this when we first married and started buying boxes of frozen waffles. eggo waffles. in great big containers at costco.
seriously, when i am in the mood - i will cook. and, i'll let you in on a secret. buy boxes of stuff like pancake mix, muffin mix, cornbread mix - and put a 1/2 cup or 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour in - more eggs than it calls for - and voila - a really great breakfast. also, i like to use buttermilk in pancakes. and, have lately been thinking about the great sourdough that was handed down to me from my mother in alaska - and where i put it.
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Nothing
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was that God's answer to super fast octaves? let me lookin the bible. well, here in isaiah it says that it is like 'a rainstorm against a wall.' that is how you play super fast octaves.
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The arguments on this thread prove once and for all that everybody here is a heathen who doesn't believe in God.
No so sir! We have our very own God, and she is called "pianistimo" ;D Of course whether anyone beleives in her as such is another matter ::) Is a cyber God better or lesser than a neon God?
I htink its time for my medication now :-\
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Nothing
But that is something? So surely, if you meant to post nothing you would post
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Now Mr Hinton, your really should have a good breakfast. Its the most important meal of the day :)
A lot of people say that this is true. I can't usually face anything at that time of day. Thanks for your kind thoughts, however - and, as long as you don't expand them to suggest that I breakfast on a tepid vegemite sandwich and a cup of horlickovaltine, I'll accept them in the spirit in which I like to think that they are intended...
Best,
Alistair
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The arguments on this thread prove once and for all that everybody here is a heathen who doesn't believe in God.
So I was jogging the other day, listening to Deuteronomy on my iPod, and I thought, I need to get back to the washing machine.
Then God appeared, and told me once and for all: Chopin's etude op.25 no.12 is the hardest of the bunch, Moonlight 3rd movement is harder than Fantasie-Impromptu, and Alkan's Comme le vent is the hardest piece ever, and Opus Clavitisimo is not the longest piece ever written.
Then I was like, "God, how do I play SUPER-FAST OCTAVES?"
He said, "Thou shalt ask pianitisimo."
Walter Ramsey
Neatly put, sir - except, perhaps, for the lack of credibility in writing
"everybody here is a heathen who doesn't believe in God"
and
"pianistimo"
in the same post...
By the way, from what I undestand from a report yesterday about the recent claims of one of "mephisto"'s compatriots, you'll very soon be able to listen to the Bible in toto on any piece of machinery that you choose (except, perhaps, your washing machine), although I'd counsel you not to let such activity distract you while you are driving on a public highway...
Best,
Alistair
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if we were to meet together as musicians - i can assure you that i would not bring up the bible. i never really attempted to convert my piano teachers - but i did feel this sort of awe at the 'spiritualness' of their playing and contemplated the different levels that one reaches in any particular area of study. now, in religion - the arabs and jews are probably WAY above our levels being that they are forced three times a day - and possibly more to pray - no less - either prone, or nodding back and forth. when i broke my leg and injured my knee - i admitted to one of my religious friends that i had not done enough knee bending - and God was bending them for me. sometimes life becomes so fast paced that even the supposed 'religous' are not really doing what they are supposed to.
in any case, with piano - the knee bending is given over to mind bending. you wrap your mind around concepts so deeply that you cannot help but remember the music. it is PARt of you. that is what i get from my teachers. it was so much a part of their nature - they could remember things from three years ago. the thing is, with performers, this ability of memory and recall is extrememly important. and, for me - is my downfall. i cannot remember unless i practice every day very diligently.
therefore, nothing comes when you don't practice.
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You get time to practise, AND write all this stuff :o
Are your children being neglected? Do you forget to feed them/ take them to or from school?
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But that is something? So surely, if you meant to post nothing you would post
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if we were to meet together as musicians - i can assure you that i would not bring up the bible.
I had hoped that you wouldn't but also did not really expect that you would.
i never really attempted to convert my piano teachers
Thank God (woops - sorry!) for that; this is surely not what they were there for.
now, in religion - the arabs and jews are probably WAY above our levels being that they are forced three times a day - and possibly more to pray - no less - either prone, or nodding back and forth.
Why? How? Iam not in any sense seeking to undermine Arabs and Jews here (or anywhere else, for that matter), but on what justifiable grounds can you believe such a thing?
in any case, with piano - the knee bending is given over to mind bending. you wrap your mind around concepts so deeply that you cannot help but remember the music. it is PARt of you. that is what i get from my teachers. it was so much a part of their nature - they could remember things from three years ago. the thing is, with performers, this ability of memory and recall is extrememly important. and, for me - is my downfall. i cannot remember unless i practice every day very diligently.
therefore, nothing comes when you don't practice.
This is, of course, very true for all performing musicians; however, it is so because the way that we are all designed does not, unfortunately, allow for the storage of muscular movements once learnt in any one practice session; give the scientists time - after all, if they successfully get to manage a full facial transplant, the muscle movement memory bank idea may eventually come to be a reality.
Best,
Alistair
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You get time to practise, AND write all this stuff :o
Are your children being neglected? Do you forget to feed them/ take them to or from school?
I must confess that I'd occasionally wondered about that, too - not that it's any of my business, of course; indeed, quite how it could be that "pianistimo" would also find the time to install a windmill on her car roof similarly puzzles me...
Best,
Alistair
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No, I think that the windmill is a good idea. Of have one on my barn and it works very well at running the lights :)
It depends how far and for what purpose that one needs to use the car. We know that Merkins have very large cars, and travel hundreds of miles in them at a time. In this case, the windmill might not get them very far. But if it was a short run to the shops then it might. Might I suggest in that case building your house on the top of a hill? In that way if there was not wind overnight, the trip down the hill might generate enough leckie to get you back up the hill again.
You could be onto something Pianistimo ;)
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No, I think that the windmill is a good idea. Of have one on my barn and it works very well at running the lights :)
As I indicated, it may have some use in certain places where high winds are of sufficient strength and frequency, but it is hard to envisage the possibility that wind power may come to have anything like a universal application and benefit.
Best,
Alistair
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Must say, I do wonder whether these windmills will ever generate enough energy to actually cover the usage in the manufacture and installation of the wretched things.
But, won't Wales and the English Channel look so much better with thousands of these things wining away?
What a wonderful legacy it will be to Tone and Two Shags :)
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_
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Speaking of windmills it's bloody windy here today. I have a leaf print on my cheek where it was hurricaned into me...
(That might not have been "nothing", but anyone who lives/has lived in Britain should know that whenever there's nothing to say, we start talking about the weather. It's some kind of genetic defect, not our fault.)
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I live in Kent ;D
That grin is a terrible challenge! I had already discovered your location this morning, because it's in your statistics.
Beyond that, I have found avid browsing on Google helps in the detective work. But, alas, I have no more time tonight. Tootle-pip!
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dear wishful thinker,
my children are neither neglected nor hungry in outward appearance. of course, last night when the little one fell asleep by the computer and was accidentally stepped on by her sister (i think her arm or hand or something) - it was then that i did have some feelings of remorse for being on the computer so late.
i think my temperament varies from day to day. one day - i am super mom. another day - i tell them to go play downstairs. it's just a matter of what needs to be done. i feel that i am quite efficient on most days and usually put dinner/homework/exercise - taking them to either ymca or whatever activities they are going to - first. then, i come home and take a break. sitting at the computer helps me unwind.
she went on a field trip today to a pumpkin patch. i told her that she was going to have all the fun today. she said, 'don't worry mom. i'll bring you something back.' i hope it's not her ice cream. she's so sweet though - i can't imagine her not being here - so i don't care if i don't practice all day. when she's in first grade next year - it'll be easier.
i do like reading stories to the little one, though. she is beginning to read and write words. i think she's going to be inbetween her sis and bro. her sis is a straight A student - her bro barely wants to go to school and i have to rouse him each morning as though he's just returned from a long exhausting trip. the little one just goes along with whatever is happening and likes to chime in and just generally make everyone feel good. she is known for hanging her head out the car door like a puppy and saying hello to the entire neighborhood - even strangers. she also is a very enthusiastic type of little girl and i have to sort of calm her down in the evening. she's sort of like a wind-up toy. she just gets busier and busier until 'bam' she's out cold on the floor. then, pick her up and carry her to her room.
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This thread is about absolutely nothing 8)
No religion, no piano playing, no washing up machines, no jogging, no nothing.
So this is one place that Pianistimo won't post. Right? ::)
Maybe there is no nothing. Because nothing negates itself.
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This thread is proof that PF members can crap on forever about nothing.
It's also proof that nothing, but nothing, can keep pianistimo or god from rearing their heads in this forum.
And on that note I take mah leave.
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This thread is proof that PF members can crap on forever about nothing.
It's also proof that nothing, but nothing, can keep pianistimo or god from rearing their heads in this forum.
And on that note I take mah leave.
Stay.
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This thread is proof that PF members can crap on forever about nothing.
It's also proof that nothing, but nothing, can keep pianistimo or god from rearing their heads in this forum.
And on that note I take mah leave.
We have yet to see ANY post from God on this forum, as far as I am aware; He is not included in the member list in any ID manifestation that would be recognisable as Him and, whilst I would be the last to disagree with what I also assume you to mean here in that He appears to have some representatives among the fourm membership, He himself does not actually post here himself.
Now, go have some vegemite - go on, you LOVE the stuff! While you're enjoying it, I'll make every possible effort to avoid a cup of Ovalhorlicks back here in the old (and damp) country.
To return to the thread topic, I guess that its initiator either assumed or hoped - as you so elegantly put it -
"that PF members can crap on forever about nothing"
- so one supposes that disappointment with the affirmation of this assumption is not the most obviously appropriate reaction thereto...
I need a glass of Grange after that...
Best,
Alistair
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Stay.
Seconded.
Best,
Alistair
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Seconded.
Best,
Alistair
Said Der Erlkonig before he ate the little boy.
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Said Der Erlkonig before he ate the little boy.
Which translation of whose transcription did you get that idea from then?(!)
Best,
Alistair
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Stay.
Es geht mir aber auf dem Wecker immer endloss von Gott zu horen. I' kann es nimmer hinnehmen ;)
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Es geht mir aber auf dem Wecker immer endloss von Gott zu horen. I' kann es nimmer hinnehmen ;)
;D Yes i just opened a topic in the pf board including the suggestion to arrange a separate child board only for religious debates. Good German, haha!
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hhhmmnnnn......
An attempt about Nothing and nothing to discuss about Nothing; nothing at all!
Makes one wonder why Nothing can be interesting if one can't say nothing and
nothing at all about Nothing. .... hhhmmnnnn...... Nothing can be more absurd
about not being able to talk about Nothing and Nothingness. I wonder how this
came about from nothing?
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Nature abhors a vacuum, while Ada abhors a vacuity.
I don't think I have much of a Wecker, so that God just rolls off. Chin up, sport!
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I guess there's nothing else to say...
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Nature abhors a vacuum, while Ada abhors a vacuity.
As in Much Ada About Nothing?
Best,
Alistair
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one more joke like that and I'll report you to Nils to have you banned ;D
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one more joke like that and I'll report you to Nils to have you banned ;D
Don't you shake your spear at me like that! - especially since I was, after all, trying to return the thread to the topic of "nothing"...
Best,
Alistair
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So this is the seventy somethingth reply to a non-subject post. :)
So what have we learned so far?
1. Nothing is, but what it's not.
2. Pianistimo rather recklessly allows her small child to put its head out of the car window, thereby exposing it to terrible danger of windmill blades.
3. The Sudan seems to be a rather racey place
4. God moves in a mysterious way: he is clearly not revealing his Piano Forum identity.
5. Mr Hinton needs to investigate why God is the most shameless self publicist, getting his name mentioned in EVERY non piano board thread (does he also do this in the other boards, Mr Hinton?)
6. Vacuum cleaners are not natural.
Any many other things, whose true meanings have not yet revealed themselves to me at this time in the morning. ;)
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So this is the seventy somethingth reply to a non-subject post. :)
And in only about 24 hours, too...
So what have we learned so far?
Oh, we were all supposed to LEARN something, were we? How stupid of me not to realise that sooner! Ah, well...
2. Pianistimo rather recklessly allows her small child to put its head out of the car window, thereby exposing it to terrible danger of windmill blades.
I have a suspicion that we would not have needed a "thread about nothing" in order to learn all kinds of things about what goes on between "pianistimo" and her children...
3. The Sudan seems to be a rather racey place
Try telling that to the war-torn and famine-stricken Sudanese in general and those in Darfur in particular...
4. God moves in a mysterious way: he is clearly not revealing his Piano Forum identity.
"God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform
Those wonders, though, do not include
Belonging to this for'm".
While those such as "pianowelsh", "pianistimo" and others would seek to have us all believe that God is everywhere (even in the company of born-again atheists and true unbelievers), I'm pretty certain that He is not a member of PianoStreet; only Nils will know for sure, however, so it's over to him to tell us (if so he chooses) whether or not he has an Almighty member (if you'll pardon the expression)...
5. Mr Hinton needs to investigate why God is the most shameless self publicist, getting his name mentioned in EVERY non piano board thread (does he also do this in the other boards, Mr Hinton?)
Why would I need to do that? and, for that matter, why would you assume that I would need to do that? As it happens I do not in any case believe that God is the shameless self-publicist that you seem to think I should investigate Him for being, nor do I think that He has any need to self-publicise when he clearly has at his disposal ("Man proposes, God disposes", remember) PR firms like "Pianowelsh plc" and "Pianistimo Inc." to do it for him.
6. Vacuum cleaners are not natural.
But then what is? and are they sharp or flat instead? This remark "sucks". "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust" (except that one should not use a vacuum cleaner in an attempt to "dispose" of the former while they're still hot, unless the machine is specially adapted for this purpose). Anyway, vacuum cleaners serve a useful purpose. I happen to have a Miele one...
Best,
Alistair
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Nature abhors a vacuum, and I abhor those terrible "volcanic" Dysons, purchased at vast expense, which breakdown after a short time and spew ash and dust all over the Royal Doultin with its hand painted periwinkles 8)
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I guess there was something about "nothing" left to say.
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I dunno Tinks.. I simply dunno.
There's a lot to be said for Dysons - v - Hoovers and other sucker uppers you know.
What about stickykeyboards?
I dunno Tinks.. I simply dunno.. wetwash vac systems or Henry? :D :D
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Dysons are rotten for cleaning out the insides of pianolas, because the sucker hose stolidly refuses to bend where you want it to. It always leaves something behind, instead of nothing.
There was a young man who said, "God
Must find it exceedingly odd
That this tree that I see
Continues to be
When there's no-one about in the quad."
Dear Sir,
Your astonishment's odd.
I am always about in the quad,
And that's why the tree
Will continue to be,
Since observed by
Yours faithfully,
God
Wry PM sent to thread owner at 12.45 BST or thereabouts.
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sooo, the thread about nothing has turned to dust and vaccums. this is a good topic of which i know plenty. you see - i am allergic to dust. severely allergic. just going out in the sun - and experiencing the dust which inevitably is collected along ray lines makes me sneeze once. it must be a sort of lucky sneeze - because after that one sneeze - i'm fine.
music libraries send me into canniptions. usually after an hour. that is because people are continously pulling books off the shelf and or sticking cd's in and out of machines with dust on or around or near. now, if i was the head librarian - i would make sure part of the duties of caring for the library was dusting (and not just brush the dust here or there) with some kind of wipe that collected the dust and made it disposable. also, the air vents in library and concert hall are GROSS. to think that the air we breath goes through those makes my heart do double flips backwards.
now, in terms of using a wet vac on sticky keys - i wouldn't do that! especially if you have ivory keys. but, most people don't - and have those plastic (whachamacallit) keys which only need a little bit of wipe with a cloth that has been dipped in dishwater( little dishwashing detergent - for some grease fighting capabilities) - another one that is simply slightly damp - and a dry cloth. the three steps prove effective to cleaning my own kawaii keyboard. not too much dampness, i might add, as it could warp the wood underneath if you poured a bucket.
imo, to teach piano, also means to not only keep the keys clean and disinfected occasionally with those 'disinfectant wipes' - but also the inside of the piano free of dust by keeping the lid down when not in use (and a cover on the piano). the reason is - when a person plays the piano - all sorts of dust (if collected) will then shower into the room from the tops of the hammers. also, i think that if one carefully vaccums the little holes in 'soundproofing material' in m ost studios - that one rids the place of the ransid smell that often accumulates.
i think my wish for perfection in dusting came from a french piano teacher who always kept his studio immaculate. it smelled good when you entered and you weren't blown over with the sandwich that had spoiled last week in the trash bin. also, he kept his pencils all in one spot. we won't get into that. well, you have the pencil sharpener which can also cause a lot of stuff to fly hither and yon. perhaps that is why he carefully used a handheld pencil sharpener and only sharpened to the point of sharpness. he did not have a pencil sharpener inside his studio.
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I discovered a new technique for reading pianitisimo's post. Read the paragraphs in contrary motion; start with the first, proceed to the last; next the second, then the penultimate; and so on and so forth. You may find that the posts make more sense. Perhaps you don't want that to happen. In that case, just read it straight through as you have been doing!
Walter Ramsey
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ramseytheii, i think you're right. i'm always graded down for this. i wish i had help writing. scatterbrain that i am. at least in the past several years i have attempted to read my own writing from a perspective of pretending someone else is reading it - and at least correcting spelling and grammar as best i can. the flow can be debilitating to try to order.
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dnephi,
is your " - " a representation of nothingness, or are you just being "negative" ;D
Please tells us. We know you can because you have used words in this thread before. ;)
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dnephi,
is your " - " a representation of nothingness, or are you just being "negative" ;D
Please tells us. We know you can because you have used words in this thread before. ;)
Negative,
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No, no, you must not be negative. Someone round here will try and lay hands on you, and you don't want that, now do you ::)
BTW, Messrs Hinton and Pianolist, I in no way regard myself as the "owner" of this thread. Threads, like umbrellas and park benches, don't really belong to anyone.
Bit like music too, really ;D
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No, no, you must not be negative. Someone round here will try and lay hands on you, and you don't want that, now do you ::)
BTW, Messrs Hinton and Pianolist, I in no way regard myself as the "owner" of this thread. Threads, like umbrellas and park benches, don't really belong to anyone.
Bit like music too, really ;D
+1
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No, no, you must not be negative. Someone round here will try and lay hands on you, and you don't want that, now do you ::)
BTW, Messrs Hinton and Pianolist, I in no way regard myself as the "owner" of this thread. Threads, like umbrellas and park benches, don't really belong to anyone.
Bit like music too, really ;D
I didn't intend to suggest that you are; if I used the term "your thread" anywhere (and I cannot now be bothered to look back and check), my intention was to indicate that you had yourself thought up the thread topic and initiated the thread rather than that you perceived yourself to have any specifically proprietorial interest in it.
However, umbrellas belong to their purchasers until those purchasers lose them (as so often happens), whereupon their ownership passes into the hands of whoever assumes it by picking them up (if anyone), unless the original owners reclaim them; park benches usually belong to the park owners.
Best,
Alistair
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And what of music? Are the pieces that you have composed still yours, or do they now belong to mankind (careful how you answer this one ;) )
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I in no way regard myself as the "owner" of this thread. Threads, like umbrellas and park benches, don't really belong to anyone.
Amen to that. After all, nothing belongs to everyone. Ol' Man River could testify to that; like a Duo-Art dinner medley, he just keeps rollin' along. Play it again, Wishful. ;D
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Amen to that. After all, nothing belongs to everyone. Ol' Man River could testify to that; like a Duo-Art dinner medley, he just keeps rollin' along. Play it again, Wishful. ;D
+1
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And what of music? Are the pieces that you have composed still yours, or do they now belong to mankind (careful how you answer this one ;) )
You do not make it sufficiently clear if it is me that you're asking, but I'll assume that it is, since no other composer seems to be contributing in this thread. The answer is one that needs not only care but due consideration, for it is not necessarily as simple as you may assume.
One has first to define what is meant by "the pieces I have composed". Now, before you think of complaining that I appear to be trying to dodge the answer by hiding behind semantics, I'll explain myself. Some years ago, the composer Anthony Payne made a brilliant realisation from the sketches that Elgar left for his Third Symphony. At the time Elgar died, there was some confusion as to how much of the work had been "composed" and the written sketches alone might appear to suggest that not much had been done; it is very probable, however, that Elgar had actually "composed" most if not all of the work, or at least gotten it to a certain level of completeness, in his mind. This, however, could not "belong" to mankind or anyone else except him, as there was no written evidence to support his thoughts so far and therefore, as "mankind" could not listen, respond to or evaluate the work that Elgar had "composed", it could not "belong" anywhere other than in the composer's head.
Having said that, we now turn to what happens when a piece has been not only composed but also written down in final draft by the composer yet which still awaits public performance; this, likewise, cannot realistically be deemed to "belong" to anyone other than its composer either, since no one else can get anything from it until they can hear it.
In the case of pieces that are available for general public consumption in the sense that they appear on currently available recordings and are performed at public concerts, broadcast and so on (and these, I think, are the ones to which your question is principally directed), the benefit of the music belongs to whoever wants to get whatever they can from it, whereas the music itself belongs to the composer. Now I suspect that your reason for warning me to be careful how I answer your question is because you either don't - or do(!) - want to witness me tripping myself over in matters relating to copyright. We are, however, dealing with two entirely different types of concurrent value here - the value of the music in terms of what the listener gets out of it and the value of the music to the composer in terms of the royalties he/she may derive from public airings and/or publication of it; accordingly, I see no problem in distinguishing between them and, after all, the value to the listener will always vary from one listener to another, whereas that to the composer will be quantifiable and definable in currency from time to time (for all its unpredictability).
Sorry for the length of this answer, but I hope at least that you can see that I have endeavoured to take it seriously and deal with it as comprehensively as I am able.
Best,
Alistair
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dear alistair,
is that why free samples are nowhere to be found of your recordings? amen to getting the money first. unfortunately, in this era - so much is found for free that people are put off by not getting something for nothing.
only the music from porgy and bess remind me of the satisfaction that once was had from having nothing and not wanting anything more. 'i got plenty of plenty- and plenty's plenty for me...got my song'
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Aha! The other day I uploaded a Porgy and Bess selection to my Editing of Piano Rolls threads (which belong to everyone, of course, although perilously few people download the recordings). The recording is free, young lady, and can be accessed here:
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,20642.0.html #msg236042
It includes "I Got Plenty of Nothin'", which means that dnephi can give it a positive rating.
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I told ya Tinks.. I dunno about this lot.. I simply dunno
My auld Ma always used a Hoover..
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dear alistair,
is that why free samples are nowhere to be found of your recordings?
Is what why they are not to be found? - I don't understand. In any case, there are a few such samples around somewhere (someone on this forum identified a couple of them a while ago but I can't now remember who or when - try having a browse!)...
Best,
Alistair
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dear pianolist,
that's fantastic! never heard an arrangement like that!
dear alistair,
ok. i'll look. when ihave time. which is getting hard to find with all these socks getting raptured. i simply cannot find my family any matching socks.
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dear alistair,
ok. i'll look. when ihave time. which is getting hard to find with all these socks getting raptured. i simply cannot find my family any matching socks.
Never let it be said with any justification that I came between you and your family's allegedly missing socks - indeed, perish the thought (if not the socks)...
Happy hunting when time permits!
Best,
Alistair
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da void
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let there be light! wait. i'm not sure where the lightswitch is. God, can you turn the lights on.
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let there be light! wait. i'm not sure where the lightswitch is. God, can you turn the lights on.
how did this happen? i think it was a miracle.
do you ever wonder about fig leaves?
www.everystudent.com/journeys/nothing.html
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*bump*
;D ;D ;D :-*
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interesting....
a thread about nothing. I wonder...
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Welcome to oblivion. I am here.
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*sigh* a thread where I don't have to explain myself....
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aaah.... boring today ;D
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I'm still here, waiting in oblivion.
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*sigh* *cough* *sigh*