Prison Pete
Monday, October 11, 2004
Things You Missed By Not Listening To Performance Today on NPR.
There is a new CD out with different versions of Ravel's Bolero on it. In addition to the traditional orchestral version, there is a Benny Goodman swing version and an electronic music version.
OK, inquiring minds want to know: who has actually made love to the Bolero? I have to confess I never even attempted the feat, and would humbly suggest on behalf of the rest of the male population that to be fair, one would include "foreplay" in the definition of having made love through the entire song. I do not think there would be all that many complaints from members of the opposite sex by including foreplay, provided they were the recipient. I am purposely using the term "making love" as opposed to having sex! Well, if there are any comments on this subject, please feel free to respond.
I personally look forward to a day when, having found my soul mate, I can indeed lavish all the attention in the world on a member of the opposite sex while this piece is playing. That would be the orchestral version to be sure. Although the swing version would certainly be a challenge.
There was also a live studio performance by guitarist David Russell. He mentioned his unique method of memorizing a piece of music. He starts at the end! Depending on the piece of music, it may not even be a full measure!
One benefit mentioned is this way the "new" part is played first and the latter parts are already stored in the memory. He also mentioned that he used a two or three step process in that first day, short-term memory, later on that day, medium-term memory, and the next day, long-term memory.
I have not tried this yet, but I am going to try and use this method to memorize a couple of short dramatic readings. I will let you know how it works!
OK, inquiring minds want to know: who has actually made love to the Bolero? I have to confess I never even attempted the feat, and would humbly suggest on behalf of the rest of the male population that to be fair, one would include "foreplay" in the definition of having made love through the entire song. I do not think there would be all that many complaints from members of the opposite sex by including foreplay, provided they were the recipient. I am purposely using the term "making love" as opposed to having sex! Well, if there are any comments on this subject, please feel free to respond.
I personally look forward to a day when, having found my soul mate, I can indeed lavish all the attention in the world on a member of the opposite sex while this piece is playing. That would be the orchestral version to be sure. Although the swing version would certainly be a challenge.
There was also a live studio performance by guitarist David Russell. He mentioned his unique method of memorizing a piece of music. He starts at the end! Depending on the piece of music, it may not even be a full measure!
One benefit mentioned is this way the "new" part is played first and the latter parts are already stored in the memory. He also mentioned that he used a two or three step process in that first day, short-term memory, later on that day, medium-term memory, and the next day, long-term memory.
I have not tried this yet, but I am going to try and use this method to memorize a couple of short dramatic readings. I will let you know how it works!
Comments:
There is a story about the first public performance of Bolero. After the music stopped there was a stunned silence until eventually a woman stood up and said "Sir, you are completely mad!"
To which Ravel is alleged to have replied "Madam, you are the only person here who has fully comprehended the piece."
Or something like that.
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To which Ravel is alleged to have replied "Madam, you are the only person here who has fully comprehended the piece."
Or something like that.
