It's not natural

This week I attended a service at a church I have been to many times. Wonderful music goes on there that is inspiring to sing along with save for one onerous distraction. As is the case with many contemporarily oriented churches, they use Power Point projected on screens to display the lyrics. The problem in this case is synchronization where it should not be. The words go up on the screen in sync with when they need to be sung. If you first see the line of a lyric when it is to be sung, it's too late. You need to see it enough before to be ready to sing it at the appropriate time. You don't need to see the last line of the preceding screen as you're singing it. That would be a good time to be seeing the incoming line. One would think that after screen after screen of lyrics result in a whole room full of people not singing the first line, the operator would figure out what is going on. But, alas, every Sunday in that church, year after year, it goes on the same. Several times I tried to tactfully make suggestions through channels that I thought might make a difference without being obnoxious or hurting any body's feelings, but to no avail.

That made me think about the natural tendency for people who don't know any better to center the subject of a photograph in the center of the frame. When they see the resulting print or screen image of that photo they know it's not good, but usually have no idea why. When the first-day-of-photography-class rule of thirds is applied, the same photo is improved immensely. I have a theory of why the natural knee jerk reaction is against what is artistically pleasing composition, but I'll save that for another day. Or maybe I already wrote about it somewhere else.

Anyway, this is about seeing, hearing, feeling, and in general, perceiving on different levels. Presentation is about individual artistic expression, but to be any good it must be informed by understanding of the hard wiring of the human mind. I used to tell my students that the power of visual communication is that it is a language that everyone understands, but relatively few know how to speak. This could be said for any artistic genre. Certain presentations of certain types of elements in certain modes and combinations will normally yield a predictable emotional response. Minor keys are sad. Slo-mo video is an emotional amplifier. This is because of the said hard-wiring. (Where this came from and cross-cultural variance is a discussion for another day.) For one's art to effectively speak, the individual expression needs to be done with an understanding of how it will be received through this structure of acceptance. Some call this a filter. Each of us has individual filters based on experience and personal taste, etc. But we also have mega-filters that most of us have in common based on the hard wiring. Ex: a photo using the rule of thirds will almost always be judged to be better than the same image made without understanding of the compositional rule even if the viewer has never heard a thing about the rule of thirds.

Okay, so going further down this line I got to thinking about perception of quality by practitioners of various arts. Our ability to either appreciate or produce art is directly proportional to our ability to see it and it's context. It is said that a successful sculptor must possess the ability to see in three dimensions in his or her mind. An architect must have this ability as well. One of the finest musicians I know speaks of hearing music in three dimensions and of hearing an entire piece at once. The more one can take in and analyze, the more complexity and subtlety is possible. The work space may be a camera's frame, a lump of clay, 3-D depth, the color spectrum, the spectrum of audible frequencies, the spatial field of a stereo or surround mix, the intervals of notes in a scale, the temporal sequence of pictures or sounds over time, and all kinds of combinations of those and other things. Perception and understanding of the space gives the ability to place elements in it with precision, with meaning assigned to the position, and with meaningful relationships to other elements and their placement.

A kid who looks at a guitar chord chart and figures out how to strum three basic chords is rewarded for his or her hour or so of effort with the ability to strum along and “play” dozens or hundreds of songs, albeit in a very rudimentary way that is only identifiable as a specific song if the melody is provided by a voice or another instrument. But it is thrilling nonetheless. I remember that day well! If one progresses, one starts to be able to hear where different notes in chord structures change things up and add to the whole. And then adding various notes to or in between chords pushes the sound along. This is where multi-tonal instruments have a huge world to explore that mono tonal instruments, like woodwinds or horns, do not. But in the mono tonal world, there has always been the possibility for an arranger to hear the possibilities of multiple players combining notes. And now in the era of multi-track recording technology, a musician or producer has the additional pallet of multiple passes to combine elements from different points in time even from the same player, instrument, or voice. Along side of all of the above, there is the world of notation that allows music to be written down on paper or produced referring to it. Some genres of music are so complex that the ability to function in that domain is a requirement for admission to the club.

I've been playing with multi-track recording myself lately, thanks to the amazing drop in cost and increase in capability of the never ending technology revolution applied to audio. I've always been tempo challenged as a musician and nothing makes that stick out quite like trying to do overdub recording. I tend to play all around the beat, usually pushing it. Speeding up is another human tendency similar to placing the cross hairs in a viewfinder on a subject's nose. It's an artistic mistake that is natural and yet another example of why good art isn't. It's curious that parts interacting in time that are way out of sync are obviously unattractive. But then, parts that are dead-on in sync are to a lesser degree also looked down on as being to “mechanical.” Drum machines are disdained by many in favor of live drums because they are too perfect. So, how to judge exactly when parts wandering around the beat are an ugly mess or a fabulous wall of sound? Syncopation, which some find ugly if not sinful, is the cornerstone of contemporary music. But sometimes I syncopate the syncopation. Maybe someday someone will think that's cool.

As a guitar player, I am middle class. I fall in the huge middle ground between beginners and good players where most other guitar players live. Almost any time I play with another guitarist, I am made aware of the dynamic of the ability to hear. If the other player is of lesser ability, I find myself thinking inside my head, “Can't you hear that it should be like this?” Or, “Don't you understand that this little thing here would add so much?” And I also know the confusion or frustration of playing with someone way better than me while trying to figure out what they are doing and/or how they are doing it. And I'm sure there is much I don't perceive at all about it or about what I'm doing wrong that makes the other guy think the same thoughts about me that I expressed above.

Okay, so my point in this meander is that in order to exploit any of this artistically, one must be able to hear and/or see the possibilities in one or another kind of multi-dimensional space. Or as is the case of experimental art, to be able to dink around in that multidimensional space and recognize when a combination of elements happens in a valuable way and seize on it. At some point things get complex enough that this type of perceptive ability is not only required for producing the art but also for appreciating it. There have been many discussions about this relative to most classical music and why the masses don't like it. The undeniable fact is that it is just over our heads. There is just too much to take in. References to things unknown to the consumer yield confusion, boredom, or blankness to that person instead of the symbolic richness experienced by the one who knows of the reference. Consuming entertainment is leisure. Appreciating art may be that but also can be work and certainly requires experience.

Cup #153

This was on my Starbucks cup today. The best thing I've read on one, I think:

Is art entertainment?
Art teaches us about who we are.
Entertainment tells us who to be.
Art is a public service.
Entertainment is a private product.
Art opens our minds.
Entertainment thinks for you.
Art is publicly offered.
Entertainment is publicly traded.
Art is the words we wish to say,
but lack the language to say it.

-Justin Dillon
of the band, “Tremolo”

Does this not make the Holy Spirit the ultimate artist?
“...groanings which cannot be uttered.” -Rom. 8:26

A couple of friends of mine who are or were gigging musicians have talked to me lately about song order, inclusion of expected standards, and the mix of the familiar with the new to make your music “sell” in the context of a bar or restaurant, etc. That's entertainment. And entertainment is a job. One you might enjoy doing, but a job nonetheless. What you are doing is dictated by the desires of someone else who is buying a service or product. For it to be art, one has to be true to one's self. I do what I do that expresses what I want to express in the way I want to express it. If an audience can and wants to appreciate it, so be it. If someone wants to pay for it, that's a bonus. If not, I play on alone. People like to dance and drink to the music of a cover band, but I don't think anybody really respects them. In the end, the songs the cover bands copy in the bars are created by those who stay true to themselves. But even then, to fit into the biz and hit it big, most at some point have to bend to the will of producers and recording company executives, etc. (None of this is original thought here, I'm just processing my own consideration of it.)

So the true artist creates because he or she must create, not to be seen or heard by an audience. My friend and I have discussed the artist who might be a paraplegic in a hospital bed unable to speak. That person may create wonderful art in his head but the only person able to receive it is God. That person could be a consummate artist. And then there is that person who's art requires an artist to appreciate. Perhaps it is so complex that only a few people are able to understand and take it in. Maybe that person is the penultimate artist.

There is no ultimate art. There may be ultimate product. The hit song that is the staple of a musician's every subsequent concert that provides for his retirement. But the artist never finishes. The expression must go on as long as he is alive. There is always more to express. And there is never complete satisfaction with what is, though one might come close on a given day for that day. There is always what could be and a new idea to explore and attempt to express.

So, I think I've come to terms with something. I am not an entertainer at all. I have no skills there whatsoever. I'm not much of a performer either. I tend to choke unless I'm very comfortable with the people in my presence and deep into the zone. But I will continue to struggle to develop my skill set to where I can get something of what's on the inside to the outside. I am an artist. Perhaps few if any will ever perceive this. But that is who I am. And it only needs to matter to me.

Memories

too soon old
and too late smart
my father used to say
when we're old and grey
and too worn out to play
we finally know the rules of the game

what I'd give to go back there again
and walk back through a few of my younger days
that foolish kid
who turned into me
would be a little smarter today

so many sweet things lost
we didn't know the cost
how much they would be worth
now, many years down the road
I stagger with the load
that breaks my heart into
memories

what I'd give to go back there again
and walk back through a few of my younger days
that foolish kid
who turned into me
would be a little smarter today

the file drawers of my mind
with me all the time
have some things under "R" for regret
but there are so many more
that send me out the door
in search of what I can't remember yet

we can never ever go back there again
to rerun even one of our younger days
but the memories
that stay with us now
make us a little wiser today

(yeah, it's a song)

A Prep Day Carol

And now for a little tribute to the last shoot of the year:

Check it Well
(to the tune of..., well, you know...)

Check, check, check
Check, check, check
Checking all the way
Oh what fun it is to make some video today, hey!
Check, check, check
Check, check, check
Checking all the way
Oh, what fun it is to make some video today!

Dashing down I-4
in a big old TV truck
When we turn it on
I hope we have good luck
If it doesn't work
we'll all get quite a fright
We'll never leave, we'll stay awake
and troubleshoot all night!

Oh! Check, check, check
Check, check, check
Checking all the way
Oh what fun it is to make some video today, hey!
Check, check, check
Check, check, check
Checking all the way
Oh, what fun it is to make some video today!

The picture's looking good
on cameras one through five
The coms are loud and clear
We're ready to go live
Our prep will soon be done
We're heading out the door
What's this?! Oh crap!
The tally doesn't work on number four!

Oh! Check, check, check
Check, check, check
Checking all the way
Oh what fun it is to make some video today, hey!
Check, check, check
Check, check, check
Checking all the way
Oh, what fun it is to make some video today!

Experience

I recently have been able to purchase a few pieces of music related technology I have fancied for a long time. They are marvels, but I won't bore you with the details. I've been a technology buff for most of my life. I get excited about devices. I have always gotten along well with machines; much better than with people much of the time I'm afraid. But the devices themselves are really not what is so great, it's what they allow you to do. And in the doing, you gain experiences. That's where the value is. The thing itself is worthless if it doesn't provide the experience you seek. Just owning something is a thrill that wears out very quickly. We all have known people who owned piles of things, but owned precious few experiences. But if you love the experience, you often have to own the thing to make it go on. You can sometimes borrow an experience like borrowing a motorcycle. But it's not the same as riding 60,000 miles on your own.

Of course there are lots and lots of experiences that don't require the purchase of anything. But they require one to value the experience. Like sitting by a fire. Or watching a sunset. Or having a talk about something that stirs in your soul with someone you care about. The experiences make memories and at the end of the day that's all we have left.

Experience is often not valued or even recognized as it is happening. So many things we remember from our childhood are so precious, but at the time they didn't seem special at all. We raced through them, sometimes despising them, looking forward to the next thing, the thing we thought would be exciting, which the present was not. But what a wonderful thing when we recognize in the moment that this is an experience that will be a treasured memory and drink it in, let the images and sensations and smells and feelings sear our souls and have it permeate our being.

I used to do a lot of international traveling. Dozens of countries. I enjoyed most of it and got to see exotic places and meet people very different from me. But the overall value of seeing the world in a much bigger picture is something that is profound and I really didn't always know it was happening at the time. I have a difficult time finding words to describe what it did to me. It changed me into a different person. I had many goals for my life when I was young but world travel was not one of them. It so happened that the opportunity came my way and the experiences are now priceless to me.

An opinion:

No person is truly educated, and no American can be a truly grateful person, until they have traveled widely away from their own country. If I had my way, it would be a requirement for citizenship.

An observation:

Those who are enthusiastic about something but have little or no experience of it often seem to have a need to talk about it obsessively and to prove their knowledge of the subject. Those who have done the thing for a long time and have developed skill and expertise often have no need to talk about it at all. But if you want good information or great stories, they are the ones to seek out.

A quote:

Good judgment comes from experience.
Experience comes from bad judgment.

A question:

Who is richer? The person with many wonderful things, or the person with many wonderful experiences?

Quote of the Day

"A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking"

Author

This post is what my kids would call "random;" a categorization that seems to encompass quite a few possible characteristics including randomness.

Tonight I got to hear Phil Yancey speak at First Presbyterian where I normally am at work on Sunday Mornings. I had it set as an alarm in my cell phone for a couple of months. Tonight it went off at 6:00pm and I couldn't remember if that was the actual time or an hour before. I was out and about and had forgotten about it. I decided to bag it. But as it happened the church was on the way back from where I was so I drove by and saw people sitting through the open door. I had some trouble finding a parking spot, and finally walked in the door about 7:15. He had just started and went to about 8:00. So it worked out and I was glad.

Philip Yancey has written a bunch of books, 12 Gold Medallion winners among them, some of which I have read and enjoyed very much. He attended the school where I just finished six years of teaching. Interesting that he is claimed as an honored alumni because he is a well known Christian author, but he has had some critical things to say about the institution in the past. He lives in Colorado and to date has climbed 51 of the 54 mountains in the state that are over 14,000 ft. He says that way up there is where he has gained some insight about God's perspective. He talked mainly about prayer, the subject of his new book: Prayer; Does It Make Any Difference? In the doing, he wandered through many different subjects with a story for each. A couple stuck with me.

He told the story of praying in the basement of the KGB building in 1991 with some heavyweights of that organization. I remember reading that particular story in a magazine article he wrote at the time. And he spoke of praying for enemies. I rarely have entertained the notion that I have had any enemies. I suppose I'm blessed that that has been the case. But there certainly have been and are people who cause me problems and/or are an irritation. So I guess I can consider them enemies. The basic concept is the same; they are people I would naturally not think to pray for. And I need to do that. Amazing things can happen.

Then he told another story the bottom line of which was that God is already here, we just have to make him visible. We don't call him down into a situation with our prayers. He is already there and much more concerned than we are about it. But our prayer and action may be what is necessary to make him visible to the principal players. Good stuff.

No doubt all of this is included in it's full detail in the book. It will be on my reading list. Actually, I need to read a lot more of his books. He's a thinker worth reading.

Fire

Tonight I finally had a break from work. I did something I have not done for a very long time. I made a fire and sat by it all by myself for a few hours. I have loved real wood fires all my life. They do something for my soul that nothing else can do. Nothing else can make me relax in quite the same way.

When I was very young my family used to go on weekend camping trips. It was the only thing resembling a vacation we did until I was in high school. I remember my father teaching me about fire one night sitting by the campfire. He said that one piece of wood by itself would not stay burning. But two pieces of wood would burn well and make tall flames. So you would always keep several pieces of wood together on a fire. The gap between the closely placed pieces would draw air through and make the perfect conditions for combustion that just cannot happen around a single piece. And the conversation and stories and laughter would go on into the night with all eyes staring at the beauty of the constantly changing sculpture of the wood and the ballet of the flames dancing around and above it.

Often when everyone has grown tired, had enough and gone on to bed and the fire is left untended, there will be one log left only partially burned after the rest are reduced to dying embers. It eventually cools and is an ugly left over. Not a very desirable thing to have around. And it still may be quite heavy and it's difficult to get rid of. There are still a lot of btu's of energy locked up inside it. But it certainly isn't attractive or something pleasant to have in sight like a woodpile from a freshly cut up tree. The textured bark and beautiful grain of the wood are replaced by an uncleanable surface of dirty black charcoal, soot, and messy ash. The log has known the fire and will never be the same. Once loved and admired as it provided warmth and a beautiful orange glowing light show, it lays there cold, filthy, despised, ignored, forgotten.

But those unused btu's have value. And they sit there unconsumed. That is the good thing. The other logs are gone, but this one waits, it's heart still dense with fuel. One day when the conditions are right, it may be nestled against some other logs. A new fire may grow up around it and it may contribute what it has to offer to the new combustion. Once again it will glow with the beautiful aura of a wood fire, and with it's fellows send tongues of flame and sparks dancing into the night sky to the delight of those gathered around it. The children will roast their hot dogs and marshmallows and as the logs reduce to glowing coals the adults will converse late into the night, all eyes mesmerized by the constantly changing beauty of the fire. Maybe this time the last logs to be put on will burn down at the same time and in the morning there will be nothing left but ash and a few smoldering embers. And the scent of smoke giving wistful reminders of the joy and warmth, beauty and peace experienced around that campfire the night before. Good things for a piece of wood to be consumed by.

Miss too good to miss

(How do you like the symetrical title?)
Most of the pictures from the sailing outing with my daughter came from her camera, which has a cool flip out screen making off angles easy to compose. But I found a few in my camera today that are just great.

Wheeze

I'm just a little winded. Spent the last two days at a hospital shooting a training video about how to use asthma inhalers.

Shooting with a teleprompter is always a bit cumbersome but at least the new ones are a good bit lighter with the flat screens instead of a CRT. This rig doesn't require any counterbalance weights on the back, which is nice.

Chris caught me amid exacting concentration performing the most critical task of the day: ordering my lunch.