paul_c2

What does a punch-in sound like, if its been edited well? Obviously, the volume is higher because its a solo, but that's not the same as a punch in.

There does seem to be a subset of amateur, not-naturally-talented, 'classical' musicians who follow a path of choosing an orchestral instrument, being uninspired by a very average teacher who lazily follows the ABRSM syllabus and are basically frightened of improvisation. I think the tide is turning but there will always be a reason not to try something new, with certain people.

Is it ABRSM's fault?

The problem is, there's so many exceptions both historically and in modern times, that it weakens the point you made. There is a wide range of aspirations in musicians, both those still aspiring and those who have "made the big time".

But historically, that is exactly what happened. The likes of Beethoven, Mozart etc were prolific writers and in addition to big symphonies, wrote lots of music, some much shorter and simpler, also in what you'd call the historical equivalent of different genres (eg adagio, waltz, minuet, gigue)

There are several aspects of playing music: * stage presence * 'inventiveness' (for want of a better word, but its the OP title) * music theory knowledge * (technical) ability to play (in time, in tune, appropriate phrasing/dynamics/timbre etc etc) * other aspects too As you learn (and everyone should be learning, all the time) you should IMHO develop well-rounded skills which have all the aspects as listed above. You could focus on one aspect over another if you wanted to, but you won't be well-rounded then. For a lot of musical situations, there is clearly a point at which you have the required aspects to the required level, ie its "enough". For example, if you were to sit a Grade 1 Piano exam, you don't need to be Grade 8 standard. Or, if you were to do a reading gig, you don't need much inventiveness. Or if you were to do a studio session, you don't need stage presence, etc. I don't think any one of the aspects interferes with another, except possibly in a synergistic way.

But it does't illustrate that formal training is a barrier. It just shows that no formal training means its still possible to be successful/inventive/good at improvising/whatever the measure is.

I've known several classically trained players who are good at improvising. And I know several classically trained players who can't play a piano/violin concerto. And several non-classically trained musicians who are terrible at improvising. The point being, I don't think they're necessarily related. You might chance upon a co-factor if you analyse enough statistics, but its more a case of "you are what you learn/practise". In that, if someone is using their ear (relatively) more than eg someone sight reading, they'll get better at that particular aspect of music. And if someone is playing from memory, or has to learn tunes to perform, they'll get good at it. And......if someone never reads music, they will struggle to sight read. Its the same for improvising too. I know what you mean about 'classically trained' musicians though, for a long time the "pathway" a lot of formally trained musicians went down, didn't include improvisation until much later on, like Grade 6 and beyond. I think that was just a historical thing though, which had merit in the past but in the days of YouTube and improved all-round education of music teachers, is probably not true any more. If we can conclude anything from it, its that learning a broad range of skills rather than narrowly focusing on one or two aspects, is better.

BBC Article on the topic, seems a sensible and well researched piece: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53428071

AIUI a dynamic mic (such as the Shure SM58) is more durable and has a more aggressive rejection of off-axis signal, so its more suited to live performance than a condenser mic. If you already have one, I'd use it and it will save buying another mic. If you didn't have a mic already and were to buy one for home/studio recording, you're "go to" mic would be a large diaphragm condenser. They are pretty much the same price, for what you might call a "decent starter" mic. Obviously for studio work, there is less risk of damage so the more expensive ones will go to many thousands of £, whereas in a live situation where you'd need one per singer rather than doing each part individually (so you'd need more of them) and you'd need them to be more durable, and probably hand held, etc etc then the dynamic makes more sense. Its probably worth getting a pop filter and a decent set of headphones, still.

Its quite clear that dedicated venues are going to be in the queue ahead of eg pubs. But that it will be quite some time before its back to anything near normal, or even viable to do it. I think we need to seriously look at the prospect of any smaller outdoor venues, while there still is (the hope of reasonable) summer weather

ETA here is an example, on an alto sax:

I understood it to be a synth doubled with the bass guitar. Of course, in a studio situation, its possible to focus in on a recorded bassline and also (either transcribing or knowing the music) put together a MIDI track of the same thing and if the bass guitar departs from the exact timing (which of course, it will do, being played by a human) tweak the MIDI notes to match. I've experimented with audio-to-MIDI and its possible, but there's a lag and also restrictions (at least, on the tools I used) in that the aftertouch and any pitch bend info aren't sensed. I'm not sure if the velocity maps that well either. And of course, there is a lag which isn't too bad if its a guitar playing high notes, but on a bass, the laws of physics means the lag is basically unusable. So it might be possible with a synth-type effect (if you can accept the lag of the synth part) or with a keyboard player also playing the same line, in a live situation.

Initially (first time hearing the briefing) I thought "no change" so I went back and listened to it carefully again. Its a bit vague. He said "we will restart indoor performances to a live audience subject to the success of pilots.....in the autumn" but then goes on to say again the Aug 1 date.

Simple question - what is the advantage of balanced tension?

Before 9th July guidelines I was in the dark but had hope we'd get back to rehearsals soon. There was no specific guidelines and community centres etc were rumoured to be able to reopen. But now the guidelines are released I'm obviously disappointed but it has (mostly) taken away the uncertainty. The bands I'm involved in all have wind instruments so it looks like it will be a long haul. The guidelines are somewhat vague though, so if someone else has interpreted them in a different way, or further info has come to light (maybe directly to rehearsal spaces) which allows amateur groups to rehearse (indoors), great! I'm all for getting back to it ASAP but obviously within the guidelines. Realistically, for amateur groups, it would need to be outdoors rehearsals <=6 people, which obviously allows some bands to rehearse but not me.

Personally I'd just hang on to what you have now, and wait until the shops fully re-open so you can try loads of them out. IMHO there is something not quite right about the PJ configuration which won't replace a (twin pickup, obvs) Jazz. The split coil is effectively a humbucker and the extra single introduces noise when turned up. Maybe the ones I've tried have been unusual, but they never quite "do it" like a P either.

It sounds well managed but how did they conclude its okay (or are you professional so the amateur-not-allowed-to-meet-indoors-more-than-two-households rule doesn't apply)?

Ca you go into a shop and try basses these days?

I think it says somewhere that they all need to be professional. Ie in your first example its a NO; but the second would be YES (IMHO of course!). You're right though, its not clear and for example, I'm in a band where the band gets paid for gigs, but it goes into the band's account and the individuals aren't paid (not even expenses) per gig. And even if they did pay the individuals, it would be on an "expenses" basis (you can pay up to £100 in expenses, I believe) to avoid issues like PAYE, NI etc. Otherwise they'd need to be paying employers NI and income tax etc.... For example I could ask.....how many of the people on here that do do gigs, get some cash in hand for them, etc declare that money as extra taxable income received and pay NI and tax on it? Are you self employed or employed as such? Were you able to be furloughed and claim 80% of your earnings? Or receive the up to £7500 available for the self employed, based on previous taxable income?????

Its far from clear but it says: From the 11th July, we will move to Stage Three. This means that performances outdoors with a socially distanced audience can take place in line with this guidance. DCMS will work with sector representative bodies to select a number of pilots for indoor performances with a socially distanced audience. Dance studios can fully reopen from the 25th July, and should follow guidance for providers of grassroots sport and gym/leisure facilities. We expect to say more on a possible date for Stage 4 soon and Stage 5 in due course. This guidance sets out how performing arts organisations can prepare for and deliver their activities at each of these five stages. This means that not all the guidance set out here will be relevant immediately; organisations should adopt the guidelines insofar as the government permits activities to proceed. Where a premises or venue delivers a mix of services, only those services that are permitted to be open should be available. Professionals working in the performing arts are permitted to return to their activities in line with this guidance. Non-professionals (meaning those participating in performing arts other than for work purposes), or groups which include non-professionals, may refer to this guidance for their activities, but must at all times do so in line with government legislation and guidance on meeting people outside your household. I am interpreting this as saying, for non-professionals the GUIDELINE says an outdoors meeting/gig is max 6 people; and the LAW is 30 people. For professionals, their guideline/law can exceed 6 people/30 people in accordance to the document, ie at a recognised/licensed outdoors venue (nothing indoors except for some pilots). So...in theory, a non-professional band of 3 members COULD meet outdoors BUT they could only officially invite 3 audience members (total people, 6 max); but it might be that the noise attracts others who come over and watch it. If the number of people exceeded 30 total, the Police could in theory come and disperse it (and enforce with fines/imprisonment etc)

It might be its not Mahogony or Rosewood at all, but its described as such for marketing purposes. If you tick the "leather" option for any new VW now, you'll get a plastic fake leather which definitely isn't the same and isn't as nice!

I am not sure if its already been posted, but they issued much more detailed official guidance last week, 9th July: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/performing-arts#arts-2-2 To answer the above....if you're a professional group, outdoor gigs are allowed; if its not a professional one, then the current guidelines relating to meeting others, ie 6 outdoors or 1 other household indoors (and doing social distancing) apply. And, no singing.

You can get a thing which plugs in between the power supply and the mains, I can't remember what its called but essentially it "cleans" the ground signal, which will have some noise on it due to the way the power supply works. I can't find a UK one but this is the kind of thing: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ebtech-Hum-Voltage-Filter/dp/B0002E4YI8