Dad3353

Here is my contribution to the December 2022 Basschat Composition Challenge, illustrated with a picture chosen by the Master of Ceremonies: Lurksalot. A staple of our repertoire, I've cut out a little of the intro build-up, to keep to the time constraints. This is, in fact, a practice track for me, when the lads are not available. I need the signals from the vocal lines and guitar stuff, so I made this with MIDI instruments to play along to, using my e-kit and Superior Drummer 3. In fact two drum tracks are triggered, as I wanted to try thickening up the toms. Well it works for me, so... Thanks for listening, if you already have; if you're about to, enjoy, and Merry Christmas to one and all.

Yes.

Some bands were clever enough, or had foresight enough, to include the notion in their name from the outset. I give you... The Who..?

There's no money now in 'roll out the barrel' joanna-playing in pubs, either, or tap-dancing. The Wheel of Life has turned, and with turn further. It's not that I rejoice in any of it (I earned very little when I was playing professionally, which is why I had a day job and career...), it's only a factor of modern life, that's all. Farm labourers used to be everywhere, then tractors became a 'thing', and the jobs went. Not much call for miners now, either. I used to help out on a milk round, and baker's delivery; papers were delivered to the door by kids bearing huge satchels of morning press. If any of that exists still, somewhere, it's now rare. One adapts (or not...) and Life goes on.

Chippendale closed down, too, but people still buy chairs. Yes, I know about streaming, but I don't see it as being 'free' as you seem to. It's not 'free', just paid for indirectly. Musicians (or rather 'declared musicians' get a tiny sum for each play of whatever they've signed up to. Back in the olden days, a deal was struck and the declared musicians got a tiny cut of sales. Nothing has changed but the size of the cut and the volume of 'sales'. There's no-one to blame for any of that but those who sign the contracts. I could go much, much further, as I don't agree with the present idea of 'worth' and 'salaries' in any case, but that's a separate issue. If anyone is offered a bad deal on their music, it's simple enough : don't sign such a deal.

Now you tell me..!

No more than the craftsmen or women that made the tables and chairs need continual remboursement; without those, all would sit on the floor. No, the music should have a fixed price which, once paid, ends the matter, the same as buying chairs to sit on.

Recordings, when made, were 'live' performances; 'live' in a studio with no audience is all. Session musicians get paid for such work; others get paid when they sell the product (it used to be a vinyl record, then a cassette, then a CD...). They should get paid when they 'sell' it for radio play, or streaming, just the same as if selling a physical product, and that's the case, albeit a small amount per play. Those listening are not listening 'for free'; their listening is paid for by the advertising and spin-off stuff, otherwise the 'streaming' companies would have no revenue at all. It's paid for, but indirectly. For the record, I think it's a daft set-up from end to end, but it's not 'free music' at all.

How much do you pay 'per sitting' for the chair you're sitting on..? The musicians got paid when they played their music. Why do they need paying again every time it's played at home..? This 'gravy train' line of thought is the reason we're in this quandary.

Indeed; whilst they were playing music. Not much went to musicians sitting on their warm settee, at home, and why should it..?

It's a DeLorean..!

Typo fixed. ...

No, and no need to exaggerate to such extremes. I understand that if one is largely playing open low 'E', it could be a factor; it's not my style (at all...), and I'm not so fussy about overtones and the like; to me, bass is bass is bass. My main bass is a four-string (Hofner Verithin...), but I also have a six-string fretless, used every day by Our Youngest, and muting has never been an issue (varied repertoire of pop-rock, Radiohead, Bowie, SOAD, Noir Désir, Bashung and much more...). Disclaimer : I'm a drummer, anyway, so what would I know..?

Not strictly true; if playing the 5th string ('B'...) systematically instead of the 4th ('E'...), there's no more muting involved. One is simply playing a bit further up the neck, s'all, no..? It would be true if one's repertoire involved extensive use of the open low 'E'. Is that a 'thing', though..?

... titled 'Happy Big Red Xmas, Everybody'

'Most people' is a lot of people, but there's not much dross on 'Surrealistic Pillow', or 'De Capo'. Magma produced some splendid stuff at the time (and since...), too.

And the winner is ... @lurksalot..! Here, then, is your Winner's Certificates (download and save as pdf file, then proudly print and frame...) ... BC_Chal_Cert_2022_11.pdf ... which look like this (but bigger, of course..!)…

As was mechanisation for working horses. A sad fact of Life, maybe, but the wheel turns. Up until very recent times (early 20th century..?), recording sound was pretty nigh impossible; all music was 'live' or not at all. The sales of printed scores was doubtless more than today, but hardly a main revenue stream for the composers, and nothing at all for the musicians who played these scores. It's all been a very recent bubble; things are moving on, like it or not. Farriers had to become something else when horses were no longer mainstream.

If the ivory came from an antique piano (so pre-'75, and less than 20% of said piano...), could that not be justification, on the understanding that Alembic can provide proof of that..? It might be worth asking them. On the other hand, I have MOP-inlaid guitars, and there's no way whilst I'm alive anyone is going to be taking it out. It took me fifteen years to get it done on the Comittee, so... I'd rejoice in that splendid workmanship and let it be.

Cues.

See here ...

Welcome to the 21st Century ...