Editorial
The Gift to be Simple When Less is More
W
riting in Sing Out! many years ago, Pete Seeger looked forward to a time when a music magazine could be more than just words. This was the era of the LP and Pete looked forward to a time when the recorded format would be small enough to include with a magazine. In short, he was looking forward to the era of the cover mount CD, which arguably has come and gone. We now live in a world of rich media, 24 hour news, ‘listen again’ technology which gives us access to almost any programme from the last 20 years or more and video phones which allow you to chat to friends and family on the other side of the world in real time with moving pictures. Is the experience better? In many cases the answer is ‘Yes if…’, but for me I am coming to the conclusion that in the vast majority of cases less is defi nitely more.
As a photographer I appreciate the power of the simple image. As somebody who enjoys music I enjoy the combination of a slow air, a great tune and a musician who feels the music, or the directness of a solo performer who really can make the hairs on the back of your neck bristle with excitement.
I also know that the right combination of simple elements can enhance the experience. A good analogy is with food. A relatively simple dish with the right combination of fl avours hits the spot. Overload the plate with all your favourite foods and it doesn’t really work.
Technology offers a chance to enhance our experience – as long as we make the right choices. I have been putting a lot of thought and some experimentation into how we harness the technology to help us improve our musical experience. Ultimately the aim of writing about music should be to encourage us to fi nd and enjoy that music as a live, social and participatory experience.
I have also begun to think of another dimension which enriches our experience. Through memory
The Living Tradition - Page 4
and imagination we can relive our experiences and enjoy them all over again. What better sign of a great performance than humming a tune on the way home. A strong melody sticks in your mind but sometimes you need a reminder to jog your memory. It might just be the fi rst few notes or it might be a physical thing such as an LP, CD or photograph.
The idea that objects are much more than physical, but also triggers to memories, has been running around my brain for some time. I have a reasonable collection of LPs stored in various places around the house. Heather would rather they weren’t there but to me they have an emotional attachment that is closer to ‘priceless’ than the ‘worthless’ value if they were to be packed off to a charity shop.
The strange thing is that for the last ten years or so I haven’t had a working record deck. I can listen to most of them on CD of course, but there isn’t the same memory attachment. If I hold the LP I can usually remember the club or concert where I bought it and transport myself back in time.
Our children recently bought me a transcribing record deck so that I can transfer the LPs to MP3s or CD. A thoughtful gift but although I look forward to enjoying some older recordings that haven’t made it to CD the MP3s won’t have quite the same capacity to carry memories as the LPs. The next person who listens to them will add their own memory associations and start a new chain of importance for them, but my personal experience is just that – unique and personal.
Where is all this pondering leading? In part it makes me rebel against the commercial tide that is infecting our music (and I don’t think that infecting is too strong a word), but on the positive side it is forcing me to think creatively about how we might embrace technology to make the work of the Living Tradition a more enriching experience. At the moment I am trying hard to contain my enthusiasm until I have something more concrete to show for it but I am coming to
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